:

World

mood but gov't stance divides
adherents of Sajudis movement

By IGOR SEDYKH

Novosti special correspondent in Vilnius

Lithuanian President Vytautas Lands-
bergis has strongly refuted western news
reports that Lithuania is ready to put on ice
the resolutions passed by his parliament
since March 11, and to agree to a two-year
period of transition to independence. But
rumours remain current in Vilnius nonethe-
less. Similar proposals have been voiced by
some Lithuanian deputies, and the idea of
compromise seems to be meeting with a
growing understanding among the public.

And Sajudis’ second congress has just
ended in a clash between the two
approaches to Lithuanian independence.

_The republic’s largest mass movement,

which put its representatives in power, now
finds itself at a crossroads. What next?

President Landsbergis, backed by the
Sajudis ideologist, Virgilijus Capaitis, ar-
gued fora strongly centralized and, in effect,
political party within the Sajudis frame-
work.

“Sajudis has a dual nature — as an
organization and as a certain concentration
of hearts and minds,” Landsbergis told the
congress. “The task now is to lend it more
organizational certainty, preserving the link
of hearts and minds with Sajudis.”

But the liberal wing of the movement, led
by a 32-year-old philosopher, Vitautus
Radzvilas, argued strongly in favour of
keeping Sajudis as a mass movement uni-
ting different parties and political views in
the common cause — the building ofa free
and independent Lithuania.

- Heated debates went on for two days and
well into the night. Finally a resolution was
passed entitled Sajudis and Power, which
stated that the movement shall “collectively
analyze, oversee and assess the performance
of government bodies.” The new Sajudis
charter states that members of the move-
ment shall not register as such, and that

Blockade affirms independence | Caribbean

|

HE CLAIMS IT'S AN A
ACT OF SELF-
DETERMINATION! ;

Wage os
\.

\

50 1S
TAKING
THE STAIRS!

deputies and members of government can
take part in the work of the SEJM (Sajudis)
only after a majority vote. Commission of
the SEJM council will formulate Sajudis
Initiatives and analyze legislation drafted in
the parliament.

Radzviles told me that “a reasonable
compromise was worked out. Sajudis, while
continuing as a mass movement, is disso-
clating itself from political power structures
and will influence them through public
opinion. The basic aim of the movement is
to foster civic initiative, which is essential for
building a free and independent Lithuania.
This work is more difficult than declaring
independence.” I think the choice reflects
the mood of the public. The euphoria of

Dr. Allan Inglis
President

May Day Greetings
to our friends in the labour movement
from the executive and members of
The Canada-USSR Friendship Society

Mike O'Neill
Secretary

May Day Greetings
for Peace and Jobs

Ukrainian Senior Citizens Club, #1

March has cooled down. Today, Rasa
Andrasiunaite, writing on this subject in the
newspaper Tiesa says Landsbergis and
Prime Minister Prunekiene should resign
their office. “Only then would Moscow
begin positive talks with Vilnius,” she
writes. “It is unreasonable to make Mikhail
Gorbachev a sworn enemy, using world
opinion for the purpose and at the same
time hoping for successful talks with him.”

The economy of the republic is virtually
at a standstill and thousands are facing the
prospect of forced unemployment. Gaso-
line is scarce and 4,000 private taxi cabs in
Vilnius are not running. The ration for pri-
vate car owners is only 30 litres a month
although vital services are not rationed. But
public anger is turning against Moscow,
whose sanctions are prompting even greater
unity behind the idea of independence.

Witness the just-published results of an
opinion poll conducted by Gallup and the
Vilnius University Institute of Sociological
Research. Four out of five residents of the
republic, half of them non-Lithuanians,
were in favour of independence.

However another poll finding shows that
support for the first secretary of the Lithua-
nian Communist Party, Algirdas Brazaus-
kas, puts him ahead of all national and
international political leaders and has
increased in all social and ethnic groups
since early March.

Without questioning the choice made by
the people, the Lithuanian papers are
increasingly critical of the Sajudis’ authorit-
arianism. “Landsbergis was right when he
talked of the Sajudis of hearts and minds,”
One congress delegate said. “But there is
also a Sajudis of ambitions.”

WARM GREETINGS
TO ALL OUR FRIENDS
AND SUPPORTERS
ON MAY DAY

‘Canadian-Cuban Friendship
Association
P.O. Box 69482, Stn. K
Van., B.C. V5SK 4W6

journalists
back Cuba
on TV Marti

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — Jour-
nalists and sections of the media industry
in the Caribbean have rallied to the side
of Cuba in its efforts to resist what is
being described as U.S. “electronic
aggression.”

In recent statements, representatives
of groups such as the Caribbean Associa-
tion of Media Workers (CAMWORK)
have dismissed the arguments that the
U.S. | Information Agency-controlled
Radio Marti and TV Marti beaming to
Cuba was helping to promote the free
flow of information. Instead, they say
that such programming constitutes pro-
vocative and illegal interference against
the sovereignty of a sister Caribbean
nation.

In a Tribune interview, Ricky Singh,
head of CAMWORK, the umbrella
group for journalists’ organizations in
the English-speaking islands, said he had
already written a stiff protest note to U.S.
embassy officials here on the matter.
Singh termed the signals from the
Florida-based stations “communications
weapons.”

Said the CAMWORK letter: “This
unprovoked act by the United States
against Cuba could contribute to confu-
sion in the broadcasting environment
and, worse, to unnecessary political ten-
sions in this region at a time when a
climate of peace is most desirable for

better U.S.-Caribbean relations.”
Already, another body representing
the islands’ major radio and TV stations

General of the Caribbean Broadcasting
Union (CBU), Terrance Holder, told the
Caribbean News Agency that it was par-
ticularly concerned that the USAID
(Voice of America) activity contravened
international broadcasting regulations.
That approach was shared by CAM-
WORK.

Norman
A Faria

had expressed its own concerns. Secretary-———

FROMTHE
CARIBBEAN

Commenting on the Radio and TV
Marti broadcasts, the Barbados-based
Caribbean Conference of Churches
(CCC) said it called into question “the
existing information order as it relates to
ideological differences ... information
hostility and the possible violation of
national sovereignty. Until information
ceases to be used as a weapon of foreign
policy, there is in reality no free flow of
information.”

Cuban officials, meanwhile, have
made initial and informal contacts with
their Anglophone counterparts. Several
Cuban journalists participated in a
recently-held CAM WORK seminar here
which dealt with exchange of material
which would serve to build up and unite
the region, rather than destabilize and
subvert its institutions.

As well, Cuban television has expressed
interest in subscribing to some programs
from the U.S., including CNN news net-
work, which already broadcasts reports

program, World Report.

Pacific Tribune, April 30, 1990 « 21

from Cuban journalists on its magazine -

a a