European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 27, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 columns William Safire the stars and stripes saturday May 27,1989 . Could help Baltic Independence movement in Light of the decennial eruption that threatens communism in China the newly elected delegates to this week s Congress of people s deputies in Moscow Are hard pressed by a Challenge to communist Rule much closer to Home a courageous Independence movement is sweeping the Baltic states. Last november Estonia s legislature passed a Law asserting is right to veto Kremlin decisions and its people s right to private property. Moscow promptly declared that heresy invalid bul last week defying a commission set up to delimit autonomy in soviet republics the parliament of Lithuania went even fur ther declaring itself not Only economically autonomous but also this breathtaking Defiance of soviet Rule has gone largely unremarked upon in the West bul Moscow is profoundly concerned. The Kremlin directed a Legal academician to warn in pravda this week that such Complete spa ration from Moscow Rule provided justification for a crackdown by hard liners who Long to turn inc screw and Call for a firm the Kremlin s i real is palpable sovereignly inc assertion of not Only cultural autonomy but also National Freedom will trigger a harsh soviet response. In the United slates. Inc Don a make Waves set wants us to Button our lip on internal turmoil within communist countries isl we encourage demonstrations Hal elicit violent repression. Restraint on Bolh sides is urged when the Only Side threatening violence is a Central tyranny. Pusillanimous Cven handedness is uncalled for in this Case because the Bailie Chal go is not a soviet internal the Bailie slates Are free and inde pendent nations that were illegally awarded to Stalin by ill scr inc uni cd slates and Many other democracies have never recognized the 1939 Molotov von rib Bontrop pad. Our sustained policy of non re cognition has acl ivc diplomatic expression. The legitimate former govern ments of Estonia Lithuania and Latvia have legation in the United Stales supported by funds Here that denied the puppet regime a half Century ago. . Diplomats in inc soviet Union have always refused to meet the Baltic communist usurpers Baltic affairs arc dealt with in our state department s Eastern european Section and arc pointedly not part of Sovil i put a probe into stale wednesday and received this official response the uni cd Stales docs not recognize inc forcible incorporation of the Bailie slates into inc soviet Union which occurred in 1940. The Baltic Peoples have never accepted the loss of their Freedom and Liberty. We strongly support their peace Ful efforts to regain control Over their own so far so firm but follow up questions Aboul reaction to the startling reas Scalion of sovereignty get Only a Bland we Are watching developments with in Terest and sympathy and official comment on the ominous warning in pravda degenerates into terminal fudge factory dithering that too. Is part of change and adjustment to that is what is said when you have not decided what to do. President Bush can do plenty but his administration has failed to focus on this crucial test of soviet Imperial intentions. Centrifugal ism in the Baltic states is not the same As the yearning for Freedom in soviet Georgia or arme Nia or even the Ukraine. Because the first uprisings in Georgia and Armenia were crushed in what we recognize to be the soviet Union a Case a weak Case is made for limiting our reaction to hand wringing and discreet Cluck clucking at soviet brutality in those so Viet socialist republics. But the push for Freedom in the Baltic has a differ ent base in Law. Our official position is that these arc occupied lands we should show at least As much con Cern for the Well being of their non violent citizenry As we do for the Rock throwers in what we Call the occupied West Bank. We can Hope that newspapers will dateline future reports from soviet occupied Bush consistent with . Policy of a half Century should make Plain to Gorbachev that it is hypocritical to denounce Stalin s crimes while perpetuating them. The occupation of the Baltic Stales is an indisputable International crime that should be redressed right now. In concert with the leading democracies the . President should invite the non governmental leaders of the Baltic Independence movements to be honoured observers at the economic Summit meeting this sum Mer and publicly plan now to receive them in Western capitals. By making them famous we increase their strength. A great struggle has begun if our place is on the sidelines we can at least get off the Bench and cheer. C now York times Anthony Lewis Cambodia does t need the Khmer Rouge if americans can agree on any thing in foreign policy it is that the Khmer Rouge should never be allowed Back into Power in Cambodia. When its fanatics ruled the country from 1975 through 1978, they murdered about 1 Mil lion people a seventh of the population. The United states talks about the importance of keeping the Khmer Rouge out. But its policy conflicts with its words. The policy works to sustain the Khmer Rouge and even increase its men Ace to the future. The reason for this perverse result i believe is that our Cambodia policy is caught in a time Warp. It was designed for circumstances that no longer exist. Adjustment of the policy should not be difficult because the needs Are Plain and the opportunities great. All it takes is the courage to change. The Khmer Rouge regime was Over thrown when the vietnamese invaded Cambodia in 1979. The invasion stopped the butchery and of course the United states did not object to that. But America strongly opposed the Cam Bodian regime installed by Vietnam and demanded the withdrawal of vietnamese troops. 11 voted in the United nations to give Cambodia s seat to a Khmer Rouge delegation. And the . Supported a so called coalition government made up of the Khmer Rouge and two non communist factions headed by Prince Sihanouk and son Sann. That policy was based on great Power calculations. It was designed to harass communist Vietnam and Embar Rass its major Backer the soviet Union. We were also in enl on improving relations with China and China supported the Khmer Rouge. But the premises of the policy have now crumbled Vietnam is withdrawing its troops and promises to have them All out by september obviously with Mikhail Gorbachev s approval. When and if the vietnamese arc gone Cambodia will effectively be of no fur ther strategic significance to the unite states. It will just be a country whose people have suffered horribly and who Are entitled to some peace and reconstruction. The american plan for Politi Cal peace in Cambodia is to have a quadripartite interim government that would hold elections. In it would be representatives of Prince Sihanouk son Sann the Khmer Rouge and the present government in phenom penh headed by prime minister Hun sen. Again events have outpaced the policy. Hun sen has liberalized his regime and won some legitimacy among cambodians. The thai government had him in bang Kokas a Gucal in january. Prince Sihanouk dropping various conditions for negotiations has met Hun sen and reached a considerable degree of understanding with the . Purpose is to keep the Khmer Rouge out it should now be encouraging a new i Nom penh government of Prince Sihanouk Hun sen and son Sann. That would isolate the Khmer Rouge squeezing ils guerrillas Between cambodian forces and the army of Thailand which would support such a new the Bush administration has merely reiterated its Call for a quadripartite interim regime including the Khmer Rouge the one thing Hun sen cannot be expected to do is to bring the Khmer Rouge into phenom penh. So insisting on that idea is to kill the Hope of a Deal and assure continuation of the Khmer Rouge guerrilla War. Several american journalists and academics with deep experience in Cambodia have visited there recently an concluded that . Policy no longer fits realities. Among them arc David Green Way of the Boston Globe Elizabeth Becker writing in the Washington Post and professor Eileen Blum meal of Rutgers writing in the a l Street convincing voice is that of John pedlar. A former British diploma who now works for Oxnam on cambodian Relief and who has seen both Hun sen and Sihanouk lately. He believes that they could make a Deal if the United Stales would allow is there for the asking Podler said the other Day. The soviet Union China and Vietnam All have such difficult internal problems that none can take a hard line on Cambodia. The Prince gels on pretty Well with Hun sen Between them is conditioned on his dropping the Khmer Sihanouk would surely like to end his ties to the Khmer Rouge which killed 30members of his family. Bui he needs a signal from Washington. All Secretary of state Baker has to do is look at the Reali ties and at cambodian humanity and Stop pressing for a regime that includes the Khmer Rouge. C naw Yot times
