From Lithuania
Communism on the Run
This is a compilation of news stories from The Baltic News Service and a press release from The International Congress on the Evaluation of Crimes of Communism.
"As we are approaching the end of the Millennium, it is clear that Communism has been one of the two worst [scourges] of mankind. While its twin brother, [Nazism], has been critically evaluated, condemned, and its major perpetrators punished (e.g. Nuremberg Trials), so far nothing of this sort happened to Communism which is responsible for even greater (sometimes far greater) numbers of victims according to many international analysts. This is not only a major gap in social/historical analysis but an injustice of historical proportions as well." So began Vytas Miliauskas's invitational letter regarding the International Congress on the Evaluation of Crimes of Communism (ICECC) held in Vilnius on June 12th to 14th and September 4th to the 6th.
Miliauskas, Chairman of the ICECC Organizing Committee, sent out announcements of this important Congress because, "…we, the victims of Communism, do believe that the system and its perpetrators should be brought to account for all the crimes against humanity. There will be no lasting peace or progress in the post-communist world without a minimum of justice!"
A coalition of Former Political Prisoners' organizations, Former Political Deportees' organizations, and Former Freedom Fighters' associations established The Communist Crimes Research Foundation. This Foundation, in turn, was the chief sponsor of the Congress.
During the first three-day session held on June 12th to the 14th the Congress's first stage was called the International Public Tribunal to Evaluate the Crimes of Communism. Its chief goal was to collect evidence and examine deeds indicting Communism. The evidence against Communism was so overwhelming that a verdict could not be decided at that time. The tribunal's collegium, chaired by the lawyer Vytautas Zabiela, reiterated the chief prosecutor's, Zita Slicytë's, proposal that Communism was not an ideology, but a means to justify crimes committed. The Soviet Union was indicted for plotting, preparing, and implementing aggression.
The organizers referred to this tribunal as the second Nuremberg process. Politicians and representatives of public organizations from 20 countries took part in the tribunal.
The second session of the International Congress on the Evaluation of Crimes of Communism started at the Lithuanian parliament on Sept. 4th. This session was attended by two supporters of Communism; whereas no defense speeches were made at the Tribunal's first session in mid-June. One of the supporters, philosophy professor at the Vilnius Gediminas Technical University Jurijus Radovičius, gave a speech in support of Communism, which last an hour and a half. In addition, 29-year-old engineer Mykolas Okulic-Kazarinas spoke in favor of Communism by " protecting Communism from nonobjective accusations."
A seven-member international panel of tribunal judges, three Lithuanian members and one from Latvia, Ukraine, Germany and Romania each, were to assess all of the evidence and reach a verdict. New accusers from Bulgaria, Belarus, Poland, Moldova and Chechnya attended the second four-day session.
The Tribunal was expected to announce its verdict on Friday, September 8th, after closing its three-day session in Vilnius on the 6th, but again postponed its verdict until the end of September because of the abundance of evidence. The deputy chairman of the Tribunal's organizing committee, Arturas Flikaitis, told BNS that they had failed to foresee that the judges would need more than one day to draw up conclusions.
The ICECC produced resolutions and appeals directed to specific world organizations. Resolutions included the condemnation of Communist ideology and doctrine; extending the meaning of the concept of "genocide"; compensation for the damage done by Communist occupation regimes; preventive measures to be taken against the restoration (renewal) of Communism; international co-operation in investigating and legally assessing crimes of Communism; and the spiritual consequences of genocide.
The appeals, in their full context, are included below:
A P P E A L
To the United Nations organization, parliaments, and governments of the world states concerning the establishment of the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of the Crimes of Communism and their Perpetrators.
The International Congress on the Evaluation of Crimes of Communism held in Vilnius on 12-14 June 2000 decided:
· to appeal to the United Nations Organization, Parliaments and Governments of the World States urging them to immediately establish the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of the Crimes of Communism and their perpetrators.
· All crimes against humanity recognized by the Nuremberg process were also in an adequate way committed by Communists. In some places, where they came to power, it was perpetrated for a much longer period of time than were those of the Nazi.
· A horrible consequence of the Communist dictatorships is the largest political massacre that has ever been carried out throughout world history. It is thought that from 1917 to 1990 communist regimes killed about 100 million people. The court should also severely condemn a systematic long-term spiritual mutilation of the people.
· Nazism was condemned a long time ago and Nazis perpetrators were punished. Communist perpetrators must be punished in the same way as well.
A P P E A L
To the world community and international public organizations concerning the establishment of the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of the Crimes of Communism and their Perpetrators.
The International Congress on the Evaluation of Crimes of Communism held in Vilnius on 12-14 June 2000 decided:
· to appeal to the World Community and International Public Organizations calling upon them to urge the Parliaments and the Governments of their countries to initiate the establishment of the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of the Crimes of Communism and their Perpetrators.
· The memory of hundreds of millions of innocent victims of the communism terror is still calling for justice. Our future and the future of our children must be protected against the threat of communist, as well as that of Nazi, genocide.
· Set up public committees to make the course of the establishment of the International Court more active!
In awaiting the Tribunal's verdict, it is important to remember the words written in one resolution regarding spiritual consequences of genocide. "Unable to withstand the spiritual stress, people forgot the norms of morality and the scale of societal values diminished. This became particularly evident following the withdrawal of communism. The International Congress proclaims that the spiritual terror of communism constitutes a major crime against humanness and humanity, exerting a negative influence against its future." These words come from nations who have climbed out of Communist strongholds and seek a "humane" political style to guarantee a future for their respective countries.
Lithuanian Parties Launch Campaigns for Oct 8 Parliamentary Elections
VILNIUS, BNS — Lithuanian political parties have officially stated their intents and goals in time for the Oct. 8 parliamentary elections.
According to the Law on Parliamentary Elections, all parties and independent candidates running at single-mandate constituencies will be offered an opportunity to use state-owned media free of charge.
Every candidate list will be able to appear on the national TV and radio for at least 90 minutes during the next month, while independent candidates at single-mandate constituencies will be allowed to speak for at least five minutes on the national television and seven minutes on the national radio.
Some 27 out of 39 parties and political organizations registered in Lithuania have put up their candidates at 71 single-mandate constituencies and for proportional voting.
A total of 1,180 persons will run for the parliament through party lists for 70 seats of the Lithuanian 141-member parliament.
Another 700 individuals have registered as candidates in Lithuania’s 71 single-seat districts. Most of them are members of political parties, and 50 will run for the parliament as non-affiliated candidates. The independent candidates were to collect at least 1,000 signatures in support of their candidacies to the parliament.
The ruling Homeland Union (Lithuanian Conservatives) is planning to put up 140 candidates in a multi-seat district and 40 candidates in single-mandate districts. The Conservatives have formed an informal coalition with the Lithuanian Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees and included 19 candidates into the Conservatives` candidate list. The Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees will run separately in six single-mandate districts.
Other parties include the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party, the Christian Democrats ,The Social Democracy 2000 Party, the Moderate Conservative Union, and others.
The oppositional Lithuanian Democratic Labor Party (LDDP), the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party, the Union of Russians of Lithuania and the New Democracy party (formerly the Women's Party) have formed a Social Democratic coalition with former president Algirdas Brazauskas and are planning to propose a joint list of candidates in a multi-mandate district.
The parliament to be elected during the forthcoming elections will be the fourth group of legislators including this one, which declared independence on March 11 1990. The parliament is elected for a four-year term.