
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, March 18, 1990                   TAG: 9003182291
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A11   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: From The Associated Press and The Washington Post
DATELINE: MOSCOW                                 LENGTH: Medium

BALTIC RACES INCLUDE CALL FOR FREEDOM

Thousands of Latvians rallied in support of pro-independence candidates and Estonian nationalists plotted political strategy Saturday on the eve of elections for new parliaments.

Crucial runoff elections also are planned today in the Soviet Union's vast Slavic heartland, which makes up 80 percent of the country's territory and is home to some two-thirds of its population.

Most of the 1,800 races held March 4 required runoffs because no candidate won 50 percent of the vote. Pro-democracy groups predict they will gain a voice - and in some areas even majorities - in republic parliaments and local councils.

Latvian and Estonian popular movements hope to follow Lithuania's lead and see their pro-independence candidates emerge victorious in the elections. They mark the first time non-Communist parties have competed for parliament seats in the two republics.

Also on Saturday, Lithuania, brushing aside a Kremlin demand to withdraw its declaration of independence, formed a new coalition government and appealed for diplomatic recognition by democratic nations.

The appeal for international support was issued by the Lithuanian parliament only hours after President Mikhail Gorbachev set a deadline of Monday for Lithuania to reverse its decision to secede.

The United States, in common with many other Western nations, never recognized the incorporation of the Baltic states of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia into the Soviet Union during World War II. But the White House has refrained from formally recognizing the new Lithuanian government on the grounds that it does not yet fully control Lithuanian territory.

In Washington, a White House spokeswoman, Alixe Glen, said there is no change in the U.S. position on Lithuania, which calls for peaceful change and urges both Lithuania and the Soviet Union to work out their differences.

In the Latvian capital of Riga, thousands attended a pre-election rally in support of the pro-secession Latvian People's Front, the state-run news agency Tass reported.

The rally included speeches, songs and flag-waving. A Lithuanian representative was greeted with an especially loud cheer and cries of "Long live Lithuania!"

Latvian People's Front spokeswoman Anda Anspoka said the group nominated 185 candidates for the 200 seats in parliament. It hoped to gain a two-thirds majority "in order to fight for independence."

In the Estonian capital, Tallinn, on Friday night, several hundred nationalists attended a pro-independence rally. Nationalist leaders gathered Saturday for last-minute strategy meetings.

Backers of independence dominated the field of 392 candidates competing for the 105 parliament seats in Estonia, according to activists and the Estonian Election Commission's list of nominating groups.

Tiia Raudma, a spokeswoman for the Estonian Congress, said the republic's methods of pushing for independence would differ from the head-on approach adopted by Latvian and Lithuanian groups.

Raudma said Estonian activists expected today's elections to bring in a Supreme Soviet willing to step aside for the Estonian Congress on questions of independence and relations with Moscow.

"There is no doubt that the wish of the people is to restore the republic," she said.

by CNB