March 26, 2015

April 1, 1990

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Twenty-five years ago, on April 1, 1990, The Ukrainian Weekly’s editorial noted the independence movement in Lithuania and the subsequent Soviet military action in response. It also criticized the lack of response by the White House.

The editorial explained: “On Tuesday, March 27, [1990], Soviet troops swooped down on hospitals where Lithuanian deserters from the Soviet Army were being sheltered. Some of the deserters who were captured said they had been beaten. The Lithuanian Information Center in New York reported that armed paratroopers had stormed the Maujoji Vilnia hospital and attacked the young men who found safety there under the auspices of the Lithuanian Red Cross. ‘They were brutally beaten, bloodied and dragged down the stairs,’ said Carla Groudies of the Lithuanian Supreme Council’s Information Bureau. As well, Soviet troops occupied the Communist Party headquarters in the Lithuanian capital and other buildings, among them the Political Education Institute and the Institute for Higher Part Education.”

Lithuanian President Vytaytas Landsbergis wrote in a telegram to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev: “The Supreme Council and the Government of Lithuania express a strong protest against actions of the USSR Armed Forces on the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, grossly violating the sovereignty of the republic. The constant demonstration of armed force, blackmail by means of armed interference, unlawful occupation of civil buildings by military personnel, and especially the kidnapping of Lithuanian citizens on the night of March 26-27, 1990, …are clear indications that Lithuania remains a country on whose territory an occupying power can commit acts of violence and remain unpunished. This is an inexcusable aggression and a continuation of the aggression against the people of Lithuania which began in 1940.”

On March 27, 1990, the Soviet Foreign Affairs Ministry ordered all foreigners, journalists and diplomats to leave Lithuania, charging that their mere presence was escalating tensions. Lithuanians feared this was a precursor to a Soviet military crackdown that would take place unwitnessed by outside observers.

Bill Keller, the Moscow correspondent for The New York Times, noted the concerted effort by Soviet press and television to paint the scene of ethnic tension, hostility and disorder in Lithuania, noting that the only anxiety in the republic was that caused by Moscow’s intimidation tactics.

The U.S. Senate passed a resolution in response that called on the Soviet Union to “immediately cease all efforts to intimidate the Lithuanian Parliament and people,” stating that the USSR ”has no right to use force against Lithuanians peacefully exercising their democratic rights.” The resolution further urged the USSR to “immediately begin the process of good-faith discussions with Lithuanian authorities to satisfy peacefully the desire of the Lithuanian people for independence,” and urged President Bush to “reaffirm his commitment to an independent and democratic Lithuania and to seek ways to demonstrate that commitment” and “to consider the call of the elected Lithuanian government for recognition.”

The White House spokesperson refused to criticize President Gorbachev’s moves in Lithuania, and made it abundantly clear that the U.S. was not siding with President Ladisbergis.

The New York Times cited official U.S. statements that the U.S. did not want to jeopardize progress toward democracy in Eastern Europe and Mr. Gorbachev’s promises of change in the Soviet Union. The Times reported: “Officials said there had been a fundamental political decision that those considerations outweigh Lithuania’s quest for immediate independence – as long as Mr. Gorbachev refrains from the kind of bloody crackdown that Chinese leaders imposed last year against political dissent.”

“It’s high time,” The Weekly’s editorial continued, “the wavering U.S. lived up to its previous noble-sounding statements regarding Lithuania. It’s high time the U.S.  took a moral stand on the continued subjugation of the Lithuanian nation. Judging from the Bush administration’s statements this week, however, it seems the U.S. is waiting for another Tianinamen Square before it will dare speak out. By then, of course, it may be too late.”

Iceland was the first to recognize Lithuania’s independence on February 11, 1991. After the failed Soviet coup in August 1991, the U.S. recognized Lithuania’s independence on September 2, 1991.  The Soviet Union recognized Lithuania’s independence on September 6, 1991, with more countries in Europe doing likewise.

Source: “Wavering in Washington,” The Ukrainian Weekly, April 1, 1990.

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