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News highlights from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

News Highlights from August 24—August 31, 1998

• Russia on August 31 switched off it’s last operational military object in the Baltic states, the Skrunda radar base in Latvia. The event has been hailed here as the final end of an unwanted Russian military presence that has spanned half a century.
          Latvian officials said the shut-down of the radar is a milestone, not only for Latvia, but also for neighboring Estonia and Lithuania.
          "After almost 60 years, this is the end of the last Soviet outpost in the Baltics," said Latvian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrejs Pildegovics, speaking from Riga the week before the Skrunda closure. "This means a lot."
          Soviet forces occupied and annexed the Baltics at the start of World War II. Over the following decades tens of thousands of troops were brought in and hundreds of military bases were established.
          After the Soviet collapse and the restoration of Baltic independence in 1991, the Kremlin pulled virtually all its soldiers out of the region, completing its withdrawal in 1994.
          But in exchange for the withdrawal, Latvia grudgingly agreed to let Russia continue operating Skrunda for five more years, yielding to Russian pleas that it could not find an immediate replacement for the Latvian-based radar—Russia’s most westerly radar, responsible for scanning the skies for any incoming ballistic missiles.
          By terms of the lease agreement, Moscow paid five million dollars annually for the use of Skrunda and promised to switch the radar off by August 31 this year. Russia will have 18 additional months to dismantle the base.
          While some media reports have suggested Moscow applied pressure behind the scenes in an effort to extend the lease, Latvian officials deny Russia ever brought up the issue of an extension.
          "No such requests were ever made by Russia," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Pildegovics. "The agreement was fulfilled perfectly, without any problems."
          An unnamed Russian Defense Ministry official recently told Russia’s Inter-Tass news agency that the loss of Skrunda would not weaken the nation’s air defenses. He said existing radar stations could take up the slack and suggested that a new radar might also be built in Belarus.
          The successful implementation of the Skrunda agreement is a bright spot in Latvian-Russian relations which have otherwise been badly strained over Moscow charges that Latvia is discriminating against its huge Russian-speaking minority.
          "This has been a unique experience for Latvia and Russia," he said. "There aren’t that many examples between us of long, complicated agreements being fulfilled like this. It’s a nice precedent."
          The phasing out of Skrunda has also led to another rare phenomenon: Latvian expressions of sympathy for the plight of Russian military men.
          An estimated 400 Russian servicemen remain at the Skrunda base. But only a handful will stay behind to help dismantle the base. Most will soon leave Latvia and may lose their jobs in the military once they get back to Russia, according to Pildegovics.
          He said general economic turmoil in Russia meant the Russian servicemen must be departing relatively well-off Latvia with a sense of foreboding.
          "As they leave here, the Russian military people seem pretty unhappy," he said. "And it’s not because they’re sad Skrunda is closing—but because they’re worried about what is waiting for them when they get back to Russia."

• The three Baltic states reacted calmly to economic turmoil in Russia this week—with Baltic analysts and politicians alike assuring investors that there would be no immediate impact on their countries’ economies.
          Baltic stock markets have generally followed the downward spiral of the Russian stock exchange. But the Baltic currencies have remained strong, showing no signs they were on the verge of collapsing a la Russia’s currency.
          Compared to Russia, economists say the Baltic economies are virtually models of reform. Growth is strong, privatization in all three nations is practically completed and their financial sectors are comparatively well-regulated.
          That, say observers here, means there should be no structural flaws that could undo the Baltic economies.
          The biggest concern, however, is that foreign investors could be scared away from all emerging markets, especially ones in Russia’s immediate neighborhood. The Baltics, while having little in common with discredited Russian-style reforms, could be guilty by association.
          Baltic trade is highly diversified, with the largest percentage of trade now with the West. But some exporters in the Baltics, especially food processors, have relied heavily on the Russian market. With Russian consumers quickly running out of money, some Baltic manufacturers could see their sales plummet.

• Lithuania’s president says he is committed to closing the country’s powerful Soviet-built Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. But he says Lithuania is also leaving open the possibility of conversion to Western-built atomic energy stations.
          "Like it or not, we will have to shut our reactors down," President Adamkus said in an interview at his presidential palace in Vilnius. "The only question is what alternatives we will turn to. We’re still looking at that."
          Adamkus, recently a top-ranking official at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said that Lithuania over the next 15 years would phase out use of its sole nuclear power plant, whose two 1,500 megawatt reactors are the largest Chernobyl-type reactors in the world.
          The Ignalina plant, some 130 kilometers northeast of Vilnius, has long been a source of anxiety for neighboring countries, especially nearby Sweden, which has kicked millions of dollars into upgrading safety at the facility.
          There is no containment building around the Ignalina plant and, despite safety improvements, environmental watch groups say it is potentially one of the most dangerous atomic energy stations in the world.
          But President Adamkus said he was confident the plant posed no imminent threat.
          "Operations at Ignalina have improved, and I believe Lithuanians are not now exposed to any emergencies, nor is Ignalina a threat to any of our neighbors," he said.
          A previous government said Lithuania would close one of the two reactors by 2005, and the other by 2015. But the current government has not committed to firm closing dates and has called for further studies.
          But the Lithuanian president said the closure of Ignalina was virtually a foregone conclusion, saying the plant reactors, built in 1983 and 1987, were only designed to be operational for around 25 years.
          But Adamkus admitted that closing down the reactors and weaning Lithuanians off nuclear power won’t be easy. The country is among the most nuclear-dependent nations in the world, relying on nuclear power for over 80 percent of its energy needs.
          He said the Lithuanian government was still considering which power sources to switch to. Some have suggested turning to gas- or oil-powered energy plants.
          But President Adamkus says he has never been an opponent of nuclear power on principle and suggested that the country could still choose a nuclear option.
          "I grew up in the United States where nuclear power is a major source of energy...a clean source," he said. "But any future source of nuclear power in Lithuania must be properly constructed, properly maintained and properly used."

• A Tallinn flying club says it wants to usher in the era of the 24-hour helicopter shuttle service.
          The First Estonian Aeronautic Club is offering to have clients in the air within 30 minutes of being called, flying them anywhere in Estonia in under an hour and a half. The helicopter being used is a Volkswagen-sized Robinson R22, which can top 150 kilometers per hour and has a range of 350 kilometers.
          Ex-British air force officer Bob Moggridge, who brainstormed the idea, says the club will target business people for the service. He said they have received permission to land the helicopter virtually anywhere in Estonia.
          "All we need is a little open space in a yard or a tennis court," he said.

News Highlights from August 17—August 24, 1998

• Passengers trying to get away with riding public transport in Lithuania without paying are liable to think twice after a bus driver drew a gun and shot one ticketless passenger.
          Trollybus driver Gintaras Dzengelevicius pulled a gun on the 24-year-old victim who had been riding without a ticket, and then shot him in the leg as he tried to flee.
          Witnesses of the August 17 incident in Vilnius say the driver and passenger jostled after the driver stopped to check for tickets. The passenger punched the driver in the face, before the driver drew a small pistol, pursued the passenger on foot and shot him.
          A ticket for a Vilnius trollybus costs the equivalent of 15 U.S. cents.
          The driver had a license to carry a concealed weapon. Police, however, say they are investigating the shooting and could bring charges against the driver.
          The director of the fleet of Vilnius trollybuses, Yuri Komarov, told the Baltic News Service (BNS) he was surprised to find out Dzengelevicius had managed to secure a gun license, saying the driver was known for his hot temper.
          "Had someone asked us for references before issuing a gun license, we would have certainly warned that he has a personality with a tendency toward conflicts," the director said.

• Blue, black and white tricolors flew from houses across Estonia on August 20 as the country celebrated seven years since the restoration of its independence—the first time the day has been officially marked.
          Fireworks lit up the evening sky around Tallinn’s Toompea Castle, the seat of the Estonian government, where political leaders told assembled crowds that the day was a time to reflect on how lucky the country was to have escaped Soviet rule.
          "Seven years ago, it seemed to many that only a miracle could ever restore independence," said Deputy Speaker of Parliament Tunne Kelam, a key figure in the Estonia’s drive to break from Soviet domination. "The miracle has indeed taken place."
          Estonia was independent from 1920 until 1940, when it was annexed by Stalin at the start of World War II. After three years of German occupation, it was again occupied by the Soviet Union and spent the next five decades under Moscow rule.    
          During an attempted coup in the Kremlin, Estonia’s Soviet legislature passed a declaration on August 20, 1991, saying Estonia was restoring its independence. At the time, many Estonians believed the move would be followed swiftly by a Soviet clampdown.
          Those fears gave way to euphoria the next day when the Moscow putsch failed. Within three weeks, Estonia and the other two Baltic states, Latvia and Lithuania, were recognized as independent by Moscow.
          Estonian lawmakers named August 20 a national holiday only this year. Some Estonians had objected to giving the day the same standing as February 24, the date in 1918 when Estonia first proclaimed its independence.

• A former Soviet partisan suspected of a World War II massacre has been placed under arrest in Latvia, according news reports on August 17.
          Vasily Kononov, 75, is accused of murdering nine people, including a pregnant woman and several children, during a raid behind German lines in 1944.
          A spokesman for the Latvian prosecutors office, Uldis Strelis, told BNS that Kononov was facing war crimes charges. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
          Latvia was occupied by the Soviet Union at the outbreak of World War II, and then occupied by Nazi Germany in 1941. Soviet forces retook the Baltic state in late 1944.
          After Latvia regained independence in 1991, it vowed to prosecute both Soviet and Nazi war criminals.
          In 1995, ex-KGB cheif Alfons Noviks was the first and only Latvian resident ever to be tried and convicted of Soviet-era war crimes. He died in prison in 1996.

• A former top U.S. environmental regulator and now president of Lithuania has called for an end to exclusive hunting grounds for high-ranking officials.
          President Valdas Adamkus said he couldn’t justify tax money being spent on the grounds, which he said hearkened back to the Middle Ages when Lithuania was a monarchy.
          "How can we officials have exclusive rights to such festivities as if we were dukes in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania," he told BNS. "Officials with a passion for hunting can pay for the sport as all mortals do."
          Hunting areas are set aside in the Panevezys, Marijampole and Kaisiadorys districts of Lithuania, which cost some 100,000 dollars to maintain each year. Foreign diplomats in Lithuania also have access to the grounds, which contain wild boar, deer, moose and other game.
          Adamkus, who traveled from his hometown of Chicago last year to score a surprise victory in the Lithuanian presidential election, campaigned on a platform of greater openness and accountability in government. He also said he would make the environment a high priority.
          He renounced his American citizenship before taking office early this year.

• Nationalists in Latvia this week said they had gathered enough signatures on a petition to force a referendum on changes to the country’s controversial citizenship law—changes they bitterly oppose.
          Under international pressure, Latvian legislators in June approved amendments softening the nation’s tough naturalization rules. Among other provisions, the amendments would grant automatic citizenship to thousands of stateless children.
          The changes were widely praised by Western governments, who said they seemed to signal that Latvia was committed to integrating some 700,000 stateless Russian speakers in the country.
          But Latvian nationalists have opposed any easing of the country’s citizenship laws, and made no secret that they wanted a national referendum in order to torpedo the June amendments.
          The right-wing Fatherland and Freedom party, which has led a petition drive to call a referendum, announced Tuesday that they successfully collected some 140,000 signatures—more than enough, party officials say, to make a referendum mandatory.
          Latvia’s president and foreign minister have strongly opposed a referendum, saying it would keep the divisive citizenship issue alive and could also badly damage Latvia’s international prestige.
          Latvian Prime Minister Guntars Krasts has supported the idea, signing the referendum petition himself.
          Most Russian speakers immigrated to Latvia during Soviet rule. Many Latvians say they came illegally and should be required to meet citizenship tests, including a Latvian language exam.
          Moscow has accused Latvia of discriminating against Russian speakers, saying naturalization laws are designed to disenfranchise non-Latvians.

• Riots erupted in a holding center for illegal refugees in Lithuania after a handful of the detainees broke out of the facility.
          More than a dozen refugees escaped from the center in the city of Pabrade, near Vilnius, early on August 17. When several escapees were caught and returned, women and children in the center began hurling chairs and dishes through windows, and also at detention guards.
          The riot, which started at 9:00 in the evening, lasted for more than five hours. Troop reinforcements brought in at midnight had to use shields to deflect flying plates and other small missiles thrown by rioters.
          BNS quoted the center’s director, Edvardas Tuinyla, as saying that "hysteria had broken out" in the facility, which houses some 300 illegal immigrants—many from Afghanistan, Iraq and Vietnam.
          One Afghani refugee was brought in to talk to the angry rioters and was instrumental in calming the situation.
          As of noon the following day, 14 refugees who had escaped were still at large. Lithuanian officials said that some of those involved in the riot could be prosecuted.
          Lithuania, which is still in the process of strengthening its border regime seven years after regaining independence, has become a favorite transit point for illegal refugees trying to reach western Europe.