Soviet Union Show of Force

Last week Soviet troop planes swooped into Yerevan, capital of the Armenian republic. The soldiers who alighted and began patrolling the streets with tanks and armored vehicles were charged with a delicate mission: to calm the latest and most volatile outburst of ethnic unrest so far in Armenia and the % neighboring republic of Azerbaijan. The show of force indicated that Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was eager to halt the regional conflict, which has become an embarrassing distraction from his goal of reforming Soviet political and economic life, as well as a potential weapon in the hands of his enemies.

The turmoil centered once again on the largely Armenian enclave of Nagorno- Karabakh, a part of Azerbaijan since 1923. Trouble began when Azerbaijani attacked a busload of Armenian students near the regional capital of Stepanakert in Nagorno-Karabakh. Fighting spread swiftly as roving bands set fire to houses and cars. Ethnic Armenians and Azerbaijani battled with knives and guns in the worst outbreak of violence since 32 people died last February in riots in Sumgait, an Azerbaijani city. As Soviet troops arrived to restore order, authorities imposed a military curfew. The Soviet news agency TASS said one Armenian had been killed and 48 other people injured in the fighting.

News of the violence inflamed passions in Yerevan, where residents are still furious over Moscow's refusal last July to grant their petition to allow Armenia to annex Nagorno-Karabakh. Yerevan workers declared a city-wide strike, and thousands of protesters surged into Theater Square to chant "Sessiya! Sessiya!" (session) -- a call for the Armenian legislature to hold an emergency meeting to take up the annexation issue. Gone were the posters of Gorbachev that crowds carried earlier this year. "Things are different now," a protester said. Several demonstrators tore up their Communist Party cards.

More than 1,000 Soviet troops sealed off Lenin Square, which houses the Armenian Supreme Soviet Building. Three tanks circled the square and then drove off. Elsewhere, troops set up roadblocks on streets leading to and from Yerevan while others waited in armored personnel carriers at the edge of the city. "The violence is in Stepanakert," said an irate citizen. "Why do they need tanks here?"

The unrest is placing Gorbachev in an increasingly difficult position. If the Soviet leader meets Armenian demands, he risks fanning nationalist sentiments that smolder across the country. But if he cannot resolve the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, opponents may argue that the strife exposes the dangers of letting Soviet citizens speak their minds so freely. Both sides may have a point. As Armenian protesters continued to speak out last week, some went so far as to call for Armenian secession from the Soviet Union unless Nagorno-Karabakh can be annexed.