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The
Weekly Crier
Archives
News highlights from Lithuania, Latvia and
Estonia.
News Highlights from
June 29—July 6, 1998
- Ex-KGB need not apply to a wide range of jobs in Lithuania after the country's
parliament passed a law imposing severe restrictions on where former agents of the Soviet
secret police can work.
The bill, which the Seimas adopted by an overwhelming 68-7
vote on June 30, bans one-time spies from virtually all government jobs and also from many
jobs in the private sector, including banks, security firms and law
offices.
The new restrictions were prompted by a wave of press
reports alleging that former officials of the KGB have entrenched themselves in key
government and private institutions, and that they may be using their intelligence skills
to engage in criminal activities.
Police recently charged several former KGB staff with
trying to smuggle millions of counterfeit dollars into the country, saying the scheme
could have seriously harmed Lithuania's monetary system had it succeeded. Others accuse
former KGB of still spying for Moscow.
Backers of the law estimate that there are some 4,000
ex-KGB workers in Lithuania, about 2,000 of whom hold government jobs and could now be
subject to dismissal.
"This law is needed because the KGB existed and still exist
in Lithuania," said Loretta Zakarvicene, spokesman for Parliament Speaker Vytautas
Landsbergis, who drafted the legislation. "No one can be sure that these KGB workers
have stopped their activities. And we know very well that, as a group and working
together, they can be very dangerous."
The employment bans appear to have wide support among
Lithuanians, many of whom still have fresh memories of the KGB, which was responsible for
stamping out political dissent and repressing religious worship during fifty years of
Soviet rule.
But Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus, a former U.S.
environmental regulator who came to power earlier this year preaching greater tolerance in
society, has expressed strong reservations about the law.
A day before the legislative vote, the president's press
chief told journalists the law was too vague. She also raised questions about parliament's
right to dictate to private companies who they could and couldn't hire.
"Lithuania's constitution ensures freedom of economic
activity and private ownership, so such restrictions might go against the fundamental laws
of the country," Violeta Gaizauskaite said.
Since Lithuania regained independence 1991, the issue of
how to deal with the legacy of the KGB has been hotly debated. Vytautas Landsbergis, an
outspoken anti-Communist and former president, has led the drive for tough restrictions on
former agents.
Government leaders and parliamentarians in Lithuania are
already required to take an oath swearing they never worked for or cooperated with the
KGB.
- A leading Nazi-hunting group, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, has blasted Lithuania
for not acting fast enough to bring accused war criminal Aleksandras Lileikis to justice.
Lithuanian prosecutors charged the 91-year-old with genocide in
February, but pre-trial hearings have dragged on for months. Last month, a Vilnius court
fixed a trial date of Sept. 1—which the Wiesenthal Center said was too long to wait.
"Given the serious charges faced by the defendant and his
advanced age, it is obvious that such delays reflect negatively on the willingness of
Lithuanian authorities to try Lileikis," Efraim Zuroff of group's Israeli office said
in a letter sent to Lithuania's President Valdas Adamkus on June 28.
Zuroff said the slowness of the courts reflected a general
reluctance among Lithuanians to confront their past under Nazi occupation, when over 90
percent of Lithuania's Jews, or around 200,000 people, were massacred.
"One can understand why such a trial, which will
expose the important role played by Lithuanians in the mass murder of Lithuanian Jewry,
might prove difficult to your country," Zuroff said. "Yet the repeated and
unjustified delays in starting the trial, are making a mockery of the initial and
praiseworthy decision to bring Lileikis to justice."
Earlier, the Wiesenthal Center has said Lithuanians were hoping
Lileikis would die before his trial begins, thereby avoiding the bad publicity for
Lithuania that a war-crimes proceeding might bring.
Lileikis, who headed the notorious Vilnius security police
during World War Two, is accused of ordering the arrest of scores of Jews and then handing
them over to be killed. He has maintained his innocence.
While Lithuanian prosecutors insist they have enough
evidence to convict Lileikis, defense lawyers have continually asked for more to time to
prepare their case. They also say Lileikis is too ill to stand trial.
Lileikis lived in Norwood, Massachusetts before being
stripped of his U.S. citizenship in 1996 and moving back to Lithuania.
Earlier in the week, the Simon Wiesenthal Center also
criticized a recent decision by Latvia's parliament to declare March 16 a day to
commemorate World War Two soldiers, including those who fought in an all-Latvia division
of the Waffen SS.
The Wiesenthal Center said that the decision showed Latvia
has failed to face up to the country's mixed record under Nazi occupation, from 1941-1944,
when most of the country's Jewish population was wiped out.
Many Western diplomats in Riga have also said that
parliament's move could be received badly abroad and could even complicate the country's
bid to join the EU and NATO, the Baltic News Service reported.
Latvians have argued that Latvia's history during the World
War Two era is misunderstood, and that the Waffen SS was not akin to SS divisions charged
with carrying out mass murders and guarding concentration camps.
Historians confirm that the Latvia's Waffen SS was
primarily a fighting force used on the Russian front in the waning years of the war. They
say non-Germans were barred from fighting in the regular German army. Many Latvian
veterans say they wanted to fight for their independence against the advancing Red Army
and had no choice but to serve in the Waffen SS. Thousands of others were conscripted into
the unit.
A popular Catholic priest in Lithuania has disappeared after an
apparent robbery at his home, and may have been kidnapped.
Ricardas Mikutavicius, who gained fame for recently
baptizing a tiger over the objection of Church authorities, was reported missing from his
apartment in Kaunas by his maid.
A collection of valuable art owned by the priest, including some
50 paintings, were also missing. The artwork, some of it dating back to the 16th century,
has been valued at 4 million dollars.
Police said there was no sign of a struggle in the priest's
apartment and that the paintings, including several by well-known European masters, had
been carefully cut from their frames.
In addition to a possible abduction, investigators said they
were also looking at two other scenarios, but refused to say what they were.
The 63-year-old priest said earlier that he intended to turn his
art collection over to Lithuanian state.
Despite criticism about him from the Church hierarchy, a
recent poll voted him one of the most popular persons in Kaunas-a city of 430,000 some 100
kilometers west of the capital Vilnius.
Mikutavicius is chaplain at the Lithuanian University of
Agriculture, and has authored several books of poetry.
The London-based Observer newspaper on June 28 released its
human rights index, which included ratings for the Baltic countries. According to
the survey, there are fewer human rights abuses in the three Baltic states than in the
United States, which has been criticized abroad for maintaining the death penalty.
The index allots scores on various human rights abuses,
from torture in prisons and restrictions on press freedom to a lack of children's rights
and discrimination against minorities. According to the scoring, the higher the score the
worse the human rights violations; the first country listed is considered the worst human
rights abuser. The scores follow:
Ranking Country Human Rights Index score
|
| 1 |
Algeria |
110.55 |
| 2 |
North Korea |
105.27 |
| 3 |
Burma |
99.560 |
| 9 |
Yugoslavia |
79.980 |
| 17 |
Cuba |
64.347 |
| 28 |
Belarus |
54.002 |
| 32 |
Russia |
50.292 |
| 53 |
Israel |
38.346 |
| 92 |
United States |
25.434 |
| 106 |
Nicaragua |
22.790 |
| 109 |
ESTONIA |
21.728 |
| 114 |
LATVIA |
20.974 |
| 125 |
France |
17.974 |
| 139 |
Poland |
15.012 |
| 141 |
United Kingdom |
14.896 |
| 143 |
LITHUANIA |
14.478 |
| 168 |
Germany |
8.316 |
| 180 |
Denmark |
4.635 |
| 183 |
Norway |
4.243 |
| 185 |
Sweden |
2.808 |
| 190 |
Finland |
1.880 |
| 194 |
Tuvalu |
0.700 |
News Highlights from
June 23—June 29, 1998
In a move that it hoped could lead to improved relations with
Russia,Latvia’s parliament has given final approval to amendments softening
thecountry’s controversial citizenship law.
After eight hours of heated debate, the Saeima voted 49-26 on
June 22 toaccept a package of amendments making it easier for Russian-speakers in
thecountry to acquire citizenship.
Out of a population of 2.5 million, some 700,000 people in
Latvia arestateless—most of them Russian-speakers who immigrated to Latvia in
thedecades after the Baltic-coast nation was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940.
After regaining independence in 1991, Latvia granted automatic
citizenshiponly to those who lived in the country before World War II and
theirdescendants—leaving virtually all Soviet-era immigrants and their
childrenstateless.
The Kremlin has accused Latvia of using citizenship laws to
permanently disenfranchise Russian-speakers, who, without citizenship, can neither vote in
national elections nor hold certain government jobs. A long-running-dispute between Latvia
and Russia over the issue intensified in recent months, with Moscow even threatening trade
sanctions. The new amendments end a much-criticized quota system and also grant automatic
citizenship to all children born in Latvia after independence in1991. An estimated 25,000
children will now become immediately eligible for Latvia citizenship.Adults, however, will
still have to pass language tests proving proficiency in Latvian—which most
non-citizens do not speak.
In the months prior to the June 22 vote, deputies came
under heavy pressure from the West, with the European Union and even NATO publicly urging
Latvian legislators to adopt the changes. National Minorities Commissioner for the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OCSE) Max van der Stoel—who made
the initial recommendations about modifying Latvia’s citizenship laws—welcomed
parliament’s vote.
"Once the law has come into force...the key elements of my
recommendations regarding citizenship and naturalization will have been fulfilled,"
he said in a press statement. "Together with the implementation of [a national
program teaching Latvian to Russian-speakers], these steps can serve to promote the
process of integration which is presently under discussion in Latvia." While official
praise poured in from Europe and the United States, Moscow reacted coolly to the
legislative vote, saying the changes to Latvia’s citizenship law were not
substantial. Russian leaders have long said they also want the language requirement for
citizenship to be waived. Many Latvians are still bitter about the influx of
Russians during Soviet rule and say softening of naturalization rules is a threat to the
ethnic Latvian majority. Those opposed to the amendments passed this past week said Latvia
was caving in to pressure from Russia and the West. The right-wing For Fatherland and
Freedom, the largest party in parliament and a member of the ruling government coalition,
led opposition to the amendments, saying it would try to delay enactment of the changes
and force a national referendum. But Latvia’s president and foreign minister have
argued that making citizenship laws less stringent was the key to improved relations with
Russia, and would also boost Latvia’s chances of winning European Union membership.
After repeated delays and criticism from abroad that it was
acting too slowly, a court in Lithuania has finally fixed a trial date for alleged Nazi
war criminal Aleksandras Lileikis.
Judge Viktoras Kazys said in a Vilnius court on June 26
that the trial of the 91-year-old Lileikis would begin on September 1 this year. It would
be the first Nazi war crimes trial in Lithuania since the Baltic-coast nation won
independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Lileikis, who headed the war-time Vilnius security police, is
accused of sending scores of Jews to their deaths during the Nazi occupation of Lithuania,
from 1941-1944. He has denied the genocide charges. Prosecutors expressed confidence that
they had enough evidence to convict Lileikis, who lived in Norwood, Massachusetts before
being stripped him of his U.S. citizenship in 1996 and moving back to Lithuania.
The lawyer for the defence, however, insisted that Lileikis
is ill and not fit to stand trial. "I do not see how it's possible that this trial
can go on," Algimantas Matuiza told journalists. "Lileikis is seriously ill and
he can not attend the sittings." The defendant was not in court, and has also not
attended other pre-trail hearings.
During the German occupation of Lithuania, over 95 percent
of the Baltic nation’s Jewish community—or some 200,00 people—perished at
the hands of the Nazis. Since the country broke with the Soviet Union, five emigres,
including Lileikis, have been stripped of their U.S. citizenship for lying about their
Nazi past and have returned to Lithuania. Lithuania has vowed to prosecute Nazi war
criminals, and genocide charges are pending against several other Lithuanians.
But Lithuania has been closely scrutinized by Nazi-hunting groups
and also by Israel for what many critics say has been the country’s failure to act
swiftly to bring alleged war criminals like Lileikis to justice.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center has repeatedly accused Lithuania of
dragging its feet, saying many Lithuanians wanted to avoid the upheaval of a trial and
were hoping the frail, aging Lileikis would die before actually going to court.
A majority stake in Lithuanian Telecom, the largest state
company ever auctioned off by Lithuania’s government, has gone to a consortium set up
by Sweden’s Telia and Finland’s Sonera.
The decision to offer Lithuania’s telecommunication’s
giant to the Swedish-Finnish consortium was made by privatization officials and confirmed
by the government on June 24.
The consortium, called Amber Teleholding, will receive a
60-percent stake in Lithuanian Telecom at a price of 510 million US dlrs. The Swedish and
Finnish buyers will also pump in another 221 million dlrs of investments over the next two
years.
The Swedish-Finnish consortium beat out Danish Tele Danmark,
which was also in the running to buy Lithuanian Telecom.
The sale is considered fulfillment of a promise by the
country’s conservative government, which came to power in late 1996 vowing to speed
up large-scale privatization.
Some observers had doubted the resolve of the government, which
came undersome political pressure to delay or even abandon the privatization of such large
state companies.
There were demonstrations in the country earlier in the year by
Lithuanians who feared the privatization of Lithuanian Telecom would lead to steep rises
in phone costs. Others said such a large infrastructure company should be kept entirely in
Lithuanian hands.
A congress of pagans on June 25 called for pagan unity around
the world, and also appealed for greater tolerance of their beliefs.
A resolution adopted at the close of the five-day World
Pagan Congress in Vilnius said pagans should network and become more active in the
societies in which they live.
"We encourage pagans of the world to strengthen their
solidarity, and seek membership in international institutions, and we urge societies to be
tolerant of our beliefs," the statement said.
Some members of the congress complained that their beliefs
were not accorded the same respect as established religions, and said pro-pagan
organizations were often unable to secure any official recognition.
The gathering brought together about 150 pagan enthusiasts
from 15 countries, including India and the United States.
Lithuania, the site of the congress, was the last nation in
Europe to be converted to Christianity. Before its conversion around 1400, Lithuanians
worshipped many different deities—including Perkunas, the god of thunder.
Since regaining independence, the predominantly Catholic
country has seen a rise in groups advocating pre-Christian beliefs. Romuva—one of the
largest, most outspoken pagan groups in Lithuania—says it is dedicated to founding a
pagan university in Vilnius.
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