Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 17, 1990 TAG: 9003172222
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: MOSCOW LENGTH: Medium
The Soviet news agency Tass said the deadline was communicated in a telegram Gorbachev sent Vytautas Landsbergis, Lithuania's new president and leader of the independence movement Sajudis. The telegram did not specify what action the Kremlin would take if, as seems practically certain, Lithuania does not comply. The Kremlin has indicated it would not resort to military force.
The constitutional showdown over Lithuania's attempt to secede is Gorbachev's first crisis since his election Thursday as the Soviet Union's first executive president. After arguing the country needed a strong presidency to avert political and economic chaos, he is under some pressure to show he can act decisively.
Moves toward secession are also under way in the Baltic republics of Estonia and Latvia as well the southern republic of Georgia. In a declaration earlier this week, the Georgian parliament described the republic's incorporation into the Soviet Union in 1921 as illegal and called for negotiations with Moscow on independence.
In an attempt to forestall further independence declarations, Soviet leaders persuaded the Congress of People's Deputies Thursday to adopt a resolution declaring that Soviet law remained in force in Lithuania. The resolution also instructed Gorbachev to ensure that the rights of all Soviet citizens are respected in Lithuania.
Lithuanian leaders have insisted they will not back down. Interviewed on Lithuanian television Thursday night, Landsbergis said the congress's resolution was by a foreign power and is therefore "irrelevant" in Lithuania.
"It is not a problem that they do not recognize us now. The time will come when they will recognize us," the Lithuanian president said.
by CNB