Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 21, 1990, Winnipeg, Manitoba Ron Winnipeg free press january 7 issues a to Independence by rein Tagepera los Angeles times when Adolf Hitler occupied the czech lands in he incorporated them into nazi Germany under the name of the protectorate of Bohe Mia and but the czechs Felt that being protected by the germans was a cruel most of the world the land remained occupied run directly and mercilessly from when czech Independence was restored at the end of the second world no one in his right mind said that the protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia had seceded from Ger except As a nazi semantic the protectorate never one year Josef Stalin occupied the Republic of Lithuania along with Latvia and Estonia and incorporated it into the soviet Union under the name of the lithuanian soviet socialist the lithuanians Felt that such a Republic was a cruel they still this land remained occupied run directly and Merci Lessly from now that Lithuania is trying to restore its Moscow says that Lithuania is threatening to secede from the soviet one cannot secede from a Union that one never joined in the first except As a soviet semantic a soviet lithuanian Republic never does it matter that soviet occupation of the Baltic states has lasted 10 times longer than the nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia even if nazi Germany had lasted for 50 the czechs would not have stopped being an occupied nation before the last of them was murdered or mentally the soviets have had plenty of time in Latvia and and they have failed on both a because the baits feel like occupied they and occupied nations do not hearts and minds we avoid the word secession even in the Case of some people whose hearts and minds did belong to an Empire for much longer than 50 but who then decided to Cut that if secession does not fit the 13 american then it fits the three Baltic states even a major mistake of soviet presi Dent Mikhail Gorbachev has been to View the Baltic Issue As a secession by voluntary members of a family of nations undergoing hard calling rape lovemaking is not a Way to win the victims yet that was Gorbachev main theme while touring no Dia Logue can result from such faulty Moscow of suppress Baltic rights by brute but that would mean fight ing for the drumsticks when the drum is As they say in maybe All of stains conquests in Eastern Europe were Worth fight ing from an Imperial but having let go of 90 per cent of there is no logic in trying to hang on to remainders in the Baltic the proper place for Moscow to hold the line is the soviet Border As established under act quickly Baltic Independence is an Inte Gral part of the liquidation of the Hitler Stalin it is not a Prece Dent for Independence of pre1939 parts of the soviet unless Moscow chooses to present it As but the soviets will have to act they still can declare the occupation of the Baltic states As a stalinist mistake and pull out the with fairly Little from the prewar soviet one year from now it will be More this does not mean abdicating All soviet defence and economic inter ests in the most Baltic Patri ots Are willing to negotiate for soviet military bases in their coun try As a Price for some soviet generals have raised the spectre of the Independent bal tic states joining the Atlantic Alli but the finns have not done so and the poles Are not expected should the baits be More oblivious of geography the same applies to economic Gorbachev asked the lithuanians where they would get their should they became they Hope to get it from the same place that Finland does largely from the soviet Baltic Independence would not Cut any Trade relations As Long As Moscow does not Boycott Baltic goods out of sheer the Baltic states certainly would not try to embargo their closest and largest when All else soviet spokes men argue that instant Independence is All Baltic patriots recognize that the withdrawal of soviet troops and civilian administrators will perforce take a Long the last thing they would want is a Retreat so rapid that it leaves a but the baits want an instant Start of negotiations for because talks now Are the Best guarantees against instant Independence Gorbachev has persuasively talked about a common european Home stretching from the Atlantic to the a Home has not prison Latvia and Estonia Are part of the common european that the republics of Latvia and a soviet Lithuania there never except in the warped sense of a protectorate of Bohemia and rein Tagepera is with Romuald of the Baltic states years of 1940 Independence movement in Lithuania left and violence in Azerbaijan both result from stains another failure for soviet communism by Graham Fuller los Angeles times watching blood run in the streets in Baku is yet another reminder of the terrible Cost that the Peoples of the soviet Union have paid for 70 years of communism did not create the hatreds Between azerbaijanis and but communism did prevent the open expression and gradual adjudication of National passions and thereby serving Only to bottle them up until they burst out into the latest exercise of rage Between the the real tragedy is that Baku might not have had to happen at least in quite the same Way if Mikhail Gorbachev rather than Josef Stalin had succeeded the dying Lenin in not that Gorbachev possesses some magic Wand to will away National but a soviet Union under glasnost might have addressed its nationality problem rather than through application of the stalinist big armenians and azerbaijanis along with georgians have a legacy of rivalry in the caucasus that predates communism by Cen the conflict grew More into the open in the late 19th Century with the urbanization of Baku As the leading Oil producing capital of the this created an upper class strata of wealthy armenian and other foreign entrepreneurs in positions of Power Over the native who shared less directly in the Power and wealth of Azerbaijan Oil bolshevik Power these problems might have worked their Way out into some kind of modes Visendi with the establishment of the Tran Cauca Sian federative Republic in but the russian civil War and the Advent of bolshevik Power put an end to that tentative As the hand of communist Rule grew heavier Over the next nationalist expression was outlawed and most nationalist leaders were systematically eliminated by local communist parties hewed to the Moscow line at literal pain of there was no longer any representative body that could Tell Moscow what the local realities and passions a new image prevailed Happy joyfully coexisting in the new age of the incredible irony today is that the sins of Stalin have been visited upon what Moscow now needs More desperately than anything else is precisely that nationalist the Leader or organization that can honestly and directly represent the local nationalities to Moscow with the authority and backing of the people them it does Gorbachev no Good to negotiate about the future with local communist puppets who can not represent popular that is Why local communist party leaderships All Over the soviet if they want to hold onto Power a Little Are now embracing the once forbidden nation Alist today the Only Road Gorbachev can follow is to permit the Frank expression of National aspirations and passions in the Hope that this process in itself will somehow help purge the legacy of bitterness and rage that is Felt by nearly Allna tonalities at their enforced incarceration within the soviet never mind that there have Proba Bly been some advances and Bene fits through membership in the so Viet system no nationality is willing to cede its right to Selex pression and National self fulfil ment by subordinating itself to an other Gorbachev Hopes that improvement of the system will now eliminate the desire for sees it will the very improve ability of the system is in question the hour is too so the blood on the streets of Baku is a tragic reminder of the legacy of nationalist passions sup pressed for too nationalism is often ugly in its doubly so when artificially contained by Force and violence can hardly fail to what can Gorbachev do it would seem that some form of democratic pro Cess is the least bad route for Moscow now to follow the painful expression of National Aspi rations and resentments the Crea Tion of genuinely representative local and the gradual adjudication of grievances that can begin to produce More responsible National leaderships on All deeper cancer by going this Moscow is in for Tough with maybe Only a Loose Commonwealth of nationalities coming out the other but the alternative a reversion to the Savage suppression of stalinist Days has already proven that it can Only create a deeper cancer in the body politic and hasten the demise of what Gorbachev is trying to Graham former vice chairman of the National intelligence is a senior political scientist at the Rand minority Rule the the bad and the painful the current composition of the with 24 21 Liber als and 12 new produces a unique combination of bad and on the Good Side is the necessity for the government to be More open and provide sufficient reasons to ensure passage of its fiscal and legislative for those who want House business to proceed More the constant repetition of arguments and oppose Tio inspired emergency a bad meanwhile there is pain for the tories who must Compromise or sacrifice principles in order to gain new democrats who must justify Why they Are allowing the government to and liberals who believe they should be govern that situation often leads to ugly confrontations As liberals accuse the nip of hew democrats Label the liberals As opportunistic and both groups attack the governments action or inaction and the tories accuse them of hampering under the dome Arlene Billinkoff All those factors were apparent during consideration of the Munici pal assessment which updates Laws that have been in effect for Many in mid december the which has 62 98 sections and countless pro Gressed to committee in a government often introduces amendments for clarification and does the if the government has a its amendments Are usually while relatively few from the other Side Are in the current minority Howe the process becomes More con when Rural development minis Ter Jack Penner introduced the legislation in Early he said it would restore fairness to tax it required municipal assess ments to be updated every three years and ensured the Burden would be redistributed with heavier Load on buildings and less taxes collected on the government wanted to have the Law in effect by the new year in order to meet the deadline faced by school divisions and initially there seemed to be Little problem in achieving that after the com Mittee heard concerns about various aspects of the the opposition believed More time was required to hear the Public and study the when the government liberals and new democrats boycotted the thus ensuring there was no quorum and no Progress could be made until a com Promise was recognizing the concessions were made and All parties agreed to hold one More meeting for Public presentations during the Holiday recess and pass the Bill in the first week after the House while that sounded what occurred was far from simple As the Las began clause clause con Penner initially outlined the governments intended changes in Hope of curtailing but within minutes the liberals introduced the first formal amendment and the process was under because each amendment seemed to Lead to the pile of papers in front of each la continued to too did the potential prob As one la dealing with this legislation was like playing with a rubies changing one Section affected other sections and created the possibility of throwing the whole thing out of for three Days and that result seemed a possibility As each party kept legislative lawyers jump ing around with amendments and indeed on several a recess was required to provide time for the Legal advisers to catch everything took be it the opposition desire to extend exemptions which ultimately required a written Legal opinion to Back up the ministers Contention that it was out of order or a dispute about whether the act should refer to hectares or the hours kept slipping and there was always the num Bers because each party required support from another in order to pass an manoeuvring was constantly under frustration was apparent on All but finally at the witching hour of the third their work was completed during the endurance 107 amendments had been introduced and 61 were of those 51 came from the government Al though Many incorporated wishes of the other two parties six came from the liberals and four from the another 10 amendments were 31 withdrawn and five ruled out of when the Bill returned to the another three Amend ments were approved and debate began on third the last Opportunity to express views prior to Royal for the it was the time to attack the governments earlier reluctance to extend study and justify their own stalling they also took credit for improve ments in the legislation and indicated that any existing unfairness was solely the responsibility of the gov some individuals indulged in Petty personal while others dealt with one la warned about Legal Imp Lica refraining from similar attacks for the the minister thanked his staff for their efforts and noted with Pride that the committee had developed a system of assess ment that would ensure fairness and Only time will Tell which views Are but All parties will continue to claim credit for the positive aspects of the while each will blame the other for any this unique situation of a minority House can be bad or just Plain painful but with no single group in ultimately the Public Noay be better ;