Lithuania expects Belarus to extradite General Uskhopchik
19- 18.09.2009, 9:48
The Prosecutor General of Lithuania hopes the meeting of Dalia Grybauskaite and the Belarusian dictator will facilitate this process.
Lithuania addressed Belarus asking to conduct acts of criminal procedure in respect of the suspects of the attempted coup in Lithuanian on January 13, 1991.
“We are sending the requests for legal assistance so that the aim of closer cooperation between law-enforcement institutions expressed during the meeting of the Presidents of Lithuania and Belarus would become a new drive in the case of January 13th rather than remaining a promise,” “Yezhednevnik” quotes the press release of the Prosecutor General of Lithuania Algimantas Valantinas.
Valantinas didn’t say the concrete names, but Belarus doesn’t cover up anyone who took active part in events in 1991, except for General Vladimir Uskhopchik, the former deputy minister of defence of Belarus. Lukashenka understood this and chose not to protest in order not to spoil relations with Europe that have showed some improvement recently.
“If you have claims to a soviet general, you should take into account that Russia, not Belarus, is a successor of the Soviet Union. If you have claims to our residents, you can express your claims in accordance with the international law,” Lukashenka told journalist in Vilnius on Wednesday. “give your materials and we’ll take appropriate decisions.”
The documents weren’t slow to arrive.
It should be noticed that General Uskhopchik for Lithuania is the main suppressor of freedom who was near to quell an attempt of separation from the USSR and becoming independent in 1991. He was a commander of Vilnius garrison, and was in charge of the Soviet soldiers trying to seize the TV Tower. 14 unarmed civilians were killed, more than a thousand were injured.
Lithuania has already sent a request to conduct acts of procedure in respect of General Uskhopchik, but the Belarusian authorities took this rather negatively. Moreover, Uskhopchik was appointed deputy minister of defence of Belarus causing a shock of Lithuania.
