From: thietani@klaava.Helsinki.FI (Tapani Hietaniemi)
Subject: More on BALTIC crackdown in 1991
Organization: University of Helsinki
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 18:16:04 GMT


I forward some fresh information from Baltlist:
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Broadcast to list 18 January 1993

reflections, developments, on the 13 January 1991 Vilnius TV tower
massacre
Edis
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Original sender:"Evaldas.Darskus@ee.goodwin.win" "Evaldas Darskus"

     INNER DISCORD IN LITHUANIA'S POLITICS STIMULATED AGGRESSION
     AGAINST IT IN JANUARY 1991, BRAZAUSKAS SAYS
     VILNIUS, JAN 13, BNS - Disappointment of people and inner
political discord in Lithuania encouraged the most conservative
circles of the Soviet regime to use armed aggression in January 1991,
acting Lithuanian President Algirdas Brazauskas said at a solemn
session of Lithuanian parliament Wednesday.

     Such a negative accent on inner circumstances in Lithuania
marks a major difference of estimations by Brazauskas and his
predecessor as head of the state, Vytautas Landsbergis, on aborted
coup attempt in January, 1991.

     Brazauskas noted that after March 11, 1990, when Lithuania
declared its independence, "more and more people gradually began to
feel uneasy, started experiencing the increasing political and social
indistinctness, moral offence". Many people were called enemies
without any grounds for this, political passions and suspicions were
often inflated and caused tension in the society, said Brazauskas.

     "People's discontent with the worsening conditions of life,
discord among politicians have induced the aggressors to undertake
actions of violence", Brazauskas said. He also noted that the events
in January 1991 showed that "when we are united, we are invincible
and are capable of overcoming any hardships".

     Lithuania's leader said he is positive that the organizers and
the executors of the attempted coup, among which he mentioned
Kriuchkov, former head of the Soviet KGB, and Ochalov, former Soviet
defense Vice Minister, will appear before justice.

     Speaking on foreign issues Brazauskas reminded that Iceland,
"the country of ice, was first to break the ice" of Lithuania's
international recognition on February 11, 1991.

     117 countries have already recognized Lithuania now, diplomatic
relations have been established with 74 of them. Lithuania became a
member of many international organizations, including the United
Nations, it has 18 missions abroad, the same number of foreign
missions were opened in Lithuania. The nearest event in the
international life of Lithuania is expected membership in the Council
of Europe, Brazauskas said.

     However he noted that Lithuania's road to Europe "will be long
and difficult".

     "The free world has appreciated our endurance and heroism, but
this does not mean that we may become its dependents. We must solve
our problems on our own", Brazauskas said.

     Brazauskas awarded January 13th commemorative medals to a large
group of Lithuanian and foreign citizens after the speech.

     A monumental composition in commemoration of the tragic events
two years ago, was opened near the parliament building after the
solemn session of the parliament. Part of ferroconcrete blocks, used
as barricades around the parliament in January 1991, make up
the composition.



     COMMANDERS OF JANUARY 13, 1991 EVENTS IN LITHUANIA RANGED FROM
     HEAD OF SOVIET KGB TO LOCAL COMMUNIST PARTY LEADERS
     VILNIUS, JAN 13, BNS -Investigation of the January 13, 1991
events in Lithuania is about to be completed, Juozas Gaudutis, Chief
Investigator of the Criminal Investigation Department at the
Lithuanian Prosecutor's Office, told Lithuanian radio Tuesday.

     He said that the investigation was very difficult because certain
information about the Communist Party, the army and the KGB of the
former Soviet Union was inaccessible to the Prosecutor's Office for a
long time. Some information has been received now from Russia, after
the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the Soviet Council
of Ministers were searched.

     Information about the January events in Lithuania was also
received from the Soviet KGB and the General Commanding Headquarters
of the Soviet armed forces. According to Gaudutis, Lithuanian
investigators managed to interrogate all former leaders of the Soviet
KGB and Ministry of the Interior, except Kriuchkov, who was head of
the KGB then.

     The investigation found out that on January 5, 1991 a cipher
telegram ordered transport of two paratrooper regiments of the Pskov
division to Vilnius. An analytic group of the Soviet KGB was sent to
Lithuania on the same day. This group collected information January
5-13 and passed it over to Moscow.

     Head of the Soviet KGB Vladimir Kriuchkov, Vice Minister of the
Interior Demidov, Vice Minister of Defense Ochalov, leaders of other
army units came to Lithuania on a special flight January 8, 1991.
Ochalov commanded all the events in January and everyone was
subordinated to him.

     Assistant head of the KGB special group Alpha came to Lithuania
on January 8, the whole group on January 10. Gaudutis claims that
Alpha was "subordinated directly to Kriuchkov - no one could use this
group without the order of the Soviet KGB boss". Special units of the
Soviet Ministry of the Interior were transported to Lithuania from
southern parts of the USSR.

     According to Gaudutis, all activists of the Communist Party, led
by General Algimantas Naudziunas, secretary of the Soviet Lithuanian
Communist Party, were gathered in the building of the Communist Party
Central Committee on the night of January 12-13 and awaited the
storming of the TV tower, radio and TV center and the parliament.
Mykolas Burokevicius, First Secretary of the Soviet Lithuanian
Communist Party, was on the territory of the 107th Soviet infantry
division, which was deployed in the so called Northern Town in
Vilnius, at that time.

     "Many say that this case is a political one. However, I think
that those responsible for the January events, for the bloodshed in
Vilnius must be punished", Gaudutis said. He stressed that the guilt
of Lithuanian Communist Party leaders - Mykolas Burokevicius,
Algimantas Naudziunas and others has been proved.

     The Chief Investigator quoted Burokevicius' words, said on
January 11, 1991. After one Soviet general asked, "does it matter how
much blood will be shed", Burokevicius replied: "Yes, really, this
doesn't matter".


     JANUARY 13TH COMMEMORATIVE MEDALS AWARDED TO FOREIGN JOURNALISTS
     VILNIUS, JAN 13, BNS - Acting Lithuanian President Algirdas
Brazauskas issued a decree to award January 13th commemorative medals
to foreign journalists who defended Lithuania's independence between
January and September 1991.

     The medals were awarded at a solemn session of the Lithuanian
Seimas on January 13, 1993 to:

     Ralph Boulton - Reuter correspondent in Great Britain,
     Juris Puodnieks - documentary director, Latvia (posthumously),
medal was presented to his son,
     Aleksandr Dancenko - cameraman of Puodnieks studio, Latvia,
     Kristina Gustavson Gotze - corespondent of the Swedish
National Radio Company,
     Migel Bas Fernandez - correspondent of the Spanish ESE news
agency in Moscow.

     January 13th medals were also awarded to other foreign
journalists, who were not present at the ceremony:
     Koichi Hamazaki - Japan,
     Harald Hamrin - Sweden,
     Jorg Mettke - Germany,
     Kento Nagoshi - Japan,
     Yves Plassero - France,
     Aidan White - Ireland.


     MIKHAIL GORBACHEV AVOIDS DISCUSSING HIS ROLE IN THE TRAGIC
     EVENTS IN VILNIUS
     VILNIUS, JAN 13, BNS - The case of the tragic events in Vilnius
in January 1991 has much evidence suggesting that the anti-Lithuanian
action was carried out with the silent approval of the USSR's former
president Mikhail Gorbachev. Such a conclusion was made by Juozas
Gaudutis, the chief procurator of the Lithuanian Procurator-General's
Office's Investigation Department, during his interview with the
newspaper Respublika.

     Gaudutis noted that despite the promise to give evidence,
Gorbachev has been avoiding this for two years.

     Lithuania's ex-charge d'affairs in Moscow, Egidijus Bickauskas,
told the newspaper "Lietuvos Rytas" about his futile attempts to get
in touch with Gorbachev by telephone during that tragic night. "I'm
convinced," he said, "that during that night Gorbachev was hardly
fast asleep. He was regularly informed of what was going on in
Lithuania and just did not want to talk with me," he said.


     INVESTIGATORS "FEEL PULSE" OF THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR JANUARY
     TRAGEDY IN LITHUANIA
     VILNIUS, JAN 14, BNS - Investigators of the tragic events in
Lithuania in January, 1991 have obtained information about current
places of residence of those who are responsible for the deaths of
peaceful civilians, however there is no possibility of handing these
people over to justice.

     Juozas Gaudutis, Chief Prosecutor  of the Criminal Investigation
Department of the Lithuanian Prosecutor's Office, told daily
Respublika that the investigation knows where the perpetrators and
executors of the January killings currently live. Gaudutis said that
employees of the Prosecutor's Office are "carrying out operation
work" in cooperation with "certain foreign special services".

     "We feel their pulse", Gaudutis says.

     According to Gaudutis, the hiding criminals are supported by
former Soviet communists, they even have bodyguards. These people are
constantly changing places of residence, depending on the political
situation in countries where they stay. Some of them, including
Mykolas Burokevicius, former first secretary of the pro-Soviet
Lithuanian Communist Party, Boleslav Makutinovich, former commander
of the Vilnius OMON (special police squad), and others are changing
not only places of residence, but their appearance as well: growing
beards, wearing unaccustomed clothes, etc.

     Lithuanian investigators found out that some of the criminals
are trying to escape to the West, foreign bodies of law and order
have been warned about such possibility.

     Lithuania's requests to hand over the criminals remain
unanswered.

     Lithuanian investigators also know the fate of the Soviet
military, who took part in the failed January coup attempt in
Lithuania. Lieutenant Colonel Astakhov, former commander of a tank
unit of the 107th infantry division, previously deployed in Vilnius,
who commanded the tanks during the storm of the TV tower in Vilnius,
was promoted. He was appointed for service in Sovetsk (Kaliningrad
region) and currently commands a large formation of Russian armed
forces.

     General Uskhopchik, former commander of the Vilnius garrison,
appointed commandant of Vilnius by the coup members, was later
appointed commander of the Brest garrison (Belarus), and recently
became commander of the 3rd Russian tank division in Belarus.

     Many of the military who killed civilians in Vilnius were
promoted, were awarded medals and orders.

     Lithuanian investigators have not yet managed to interrogate
former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, although
such a promise was made after numerous appeals. According to the
existing evidence, Gorbachev was supposed to know about acts of
violence against Lithuania, which were carried out with his silent
approval.



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Life in Freedom
Eesti Vabaks            Bri/vu Latviju           Lietuva Laisva

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forwarded without comment
by the observer
Tapani Hietaniemi, Universitas Helsingiensis
                   urbs fennorum