Gorbachev: Hands off
situation is the endemic rise of The background to the current democratic rights in the Baltic tion 1.6 million), Lithuania had, the movements for national- states and among the other op Along with Estonia (popula- prescd nationalities. By David Shepherd Lithuania! SOVIET imps are massing to press in what could be the on the borders of Lithuania (population 3.7 million) as we go ture from the Soviet Union on 11 prelude to an invasion of the Bal- lic state wluch declared its depar-
munist Paty Gigi Gumbaridze, table and a violation of the rights there was a demonstration of 4,000 outside the government and Communist Party headquarters in Thilisi protesting af presidential In Ukraine (population 51,7 ment - Rukh - mobilised 50,000 in the capital city Kiev in a militant protest against the crea- tion of the executive presidency. Rukh won control of the Kiev council in the March elections and at the time of writing look set to win a large number (perhaps a Page 3 But Gorbachev's assumption of vastly increased powers as the Union's new super-president has been interpreted by many as being in part a move designed In secessionist tendencies and hold the disintegrating Union The strongly nationalist first secretary of the Georgian Com- for example, moved a resolution in the republic's Supreme Soviet saying that the powers of the ex- of the republics, On 3 March million) the popular front move- ecutive president were unaccep Supreme Soviet). The 'super-president" rules out talks ready under way by mid-March. Clearly a complicated tactical game was being played by the Even as ho was rejocting the sion on the implications of the Lithuanian move, to be headed by Meanwhile there are no less than five bills on issues to do with Supreme Soviet in the current provides a right of departure from the Union (by referendum, on a tum out of at least seventy-five percent and to be ratified by the leader) dismissed them as "just for public consumption', The im- plication being that Gurbachev was trying not to frighlen the con- servatives and, importantly, not to give the green light to the nation- Leaders of the Lithuanian popular movement Sajudis were tions with Muscow on the tenns of their secession were in fact al- Lithuanian independence, Gur- bachev was announcing the es tablishment of a special conmis reported as saying that negotia- Prime Minister Nikolai Ryzhkov. al movements in other republics. session. including nationalities mcats has been a combination of taken at face value by leaders of bouring Transcaucasian republic, Deputies stating that Lithuania's His strong words, however, do the national movements. Algirdas Brazauskas, leader of the inde- hefore the I1 Murch declaration, (population 5.4 million) whose negotiations with Moscow lo repression and tolerance, com- declaration of independence had already renounced the treaty by which it was forcofully: incor- porated into the Soviet Union in 1940, Latvia, the other Baltic republic (population 2.7 million), ing the republic of Georgia Sovier on 2 March declared illegal the treaties under which it joined the Soviet Union in 1921 and demanded immediate In common with its neigh- bloodshed in its capital within the Moscow's response to the rise bined with (very belated) al- Gorbachev ruled out negotia- tions with Lithuania on the issue of independence and won by a massive majority a resolution in not seem initially to have been pendent Lithuanian Communist Party (and a popular nationalist When it does so it will be join Azerbaijan, Georgia has last year as Soviet national-democratic is bound to follow suit. republican relations. "no legal force". SOCIALIST OUTLOOK no 23, April 1990 This time the Soviet rulers do tionally, to rally in defence of the conditionally Lithuania's right to independence, which means its of the right to self-determination, ie. the right of nations to socede, of the privileges of the dominant ministration, to the detriment of Now is the time for socialists would be a criminal act of denial Coming in the wake of the against the democratic ture of glasnost - at least as far as means nothing more than defence pendence by Lithuanin': Supreme Soviet came in the aftermath of Lithuanian populur movement Sajudis in the March republican elections, and has the support of the majority of the population. Any Soviet military intervention of the national-democratic rights haijani national movement carlier movement in the Baltic republics would not bode well for the fu- the Soviet Union's oppressed not even have the fig leaf of defence of an ethnic minority from pogroms to cover their military-bureaucratic repression of the national democratic move- Socialists should defend un- As Lenin said, "Repudiation nation and police methods of ad throughost the USSK and intema- hloody repression of the Azer- this year, such a show of military nationalities are concerned. departure from the USSR. of the Lithuanian people. the massive victory democratic methods.* people of Lithuania.
with the USSR had a terrihle distorting effect on oconomic development, The last thing they want in castem and central Europe in a rapid dissolution of Comecon trading arrangements: their entire economies we geared into that of the Soviet Union, any sudden break would Icad to Immediate If this is true for Poland, Czechoslovakia and the GDR. how much more is is true of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia? On the economic front at least it cannot casily be shandoned cconomic relationship and complete collapse. the republics to the cconomy of the ties that hind Georgian stall: economic Issues are key But the ties UPDAT production currently goes outside being mostly Russians state also has plans 1o. Baltic howevet be rather dif- ficult given that only rency - the icroon - by the end of this year. three per cent of Es- population, the (27.9 per cent). This tiny least of Gorbachev's headaches in unofficial 499-member well in March to be the legitimate representative of the Estonian pendent starchood It also called for the withdrawal of all Soviet Lithumia's declaration of in- dependence may come to be the the coming months, it is already Congress of Estonia declared it- people and called for the re-es- troops, which it said had heen it- tablishment of Estonian republic's Supreme Soviet only one wong many- legally occupying majonly) of
Gorbachev still has plenty of of providing even u lemporary, One thing is cleur palice methods of adminstration, to use Lenin's phrase, have no chance Tel alone a Tasting, soluben In the effective at bringing supporters to next years AGM, at which the unimpressive balance sheet of the coming year will be drawn. nabonal questions in the UJSSR: