General as bargaining chip

Belarusian prosecutors have interrogated General Uladzimir Uskhopchyk. His extradition to Lithuania is not discussed yet.

Lithuanian mass media have happily reported that the news had been communicated to Lithuanian President. And we remind that Dalia Grybauskaitė promised to invite Alyaksandr Lukashenka to celebration of Lithuanian independence in Vilnius “in case a turnaround would take place in the case of January 13, in which Belarus refuses to extradite suspected General Uskhopchyk”.

It looks as if the turnaround has taken place.”A constructive political dialogue taking effect, and the fact that Uskhopchyk was interrogated, and the prerequisites to re-determine the nature of the crime so that the period of the statute of limitations is not applied to it is good news for the 20th anniversary celebration on March 11,” the position of the president was explained by spokesperson Linas Balsys. As said by him, the president hopes that “the Lithuanian Prosecutor’s office would finally receive a chance to finish this case”. And the decision to invite Lukashenka to celebration in Vilnius “is to be adopted in the near future”.

Lithuanians want to see Uladzimir Uskhopchyk in connection with the events which came before Lithuania’s breaking away from the USSR. At that time he was a commander of the 107th motorized rifle division and commander of Vilnius garrison. Uskhopchyk is a suspect in several grave crimes committed in Lithuania (including “participation in activities of anti-state organisations”). However, his participation in events of early January 1991 is the most well-known episode.

On January 7, 1991 Lithuanian government decided to agree for a rather painful price hike, which caused an upsurge of popular protest. Meetings are held in font of the building of the Supreme Soviet. Beside demands for the government to resign, and return to the previous prices, representatives of Sąjūdis with slogans “Freedom to Lithuania” are taking part in the protests as well. On January 10 Mikhail Gorbachov, President of the Soviet Union, addressed the Lithuanian nation. He asked them to keep quiets. At the same time troops of Pskov division were entering Vilnius. On January 10 an army consultations were held in Northern military town with participation of Deputy Defence Minister of the Soviet Union Achalov. Then, as Lithuanian law-enforcing agencies believe, the operation for seizure of the TV centre and local State TV and Radio was planed.

On January 11, 1991 the head of the Ideological Division of the Communist party of Lithuania Jermalavičius announced the creation of the "National Salvation Committee of Lithuanian SSR. On January 12 at 11 p.m. the committee ordered to take control over the TV Tower. Witnesses of the following events were millions of TV viewers: Vilnius TV workers placed TV cameras in the corridors expecting the combat assault.

13 persons were killed on January 13 in the night, dozens were injured. In the order of Vilnius Garrison commander Uskhopchyk of January 15 it was said: “On January 13, 1991 extremists provoked fights near the TV Tower. Moreover, combatants used firing arms, gas, metal lances and other objects against military servicemen. Fire from the houses near the TV Centre was opened on military servicemen and the crowd. Personnel of military units didn’t have service ammunition, they were doing blank shots… Units of the garrison, supported by worker’s militia, acted in a right way, confidently, and they deserve full approval and were supported by progressive forces of the nation”.

However Lithuanian authorities started their own investigation that hasn’t confirmed facts about “armed insurgents”. Probably expecting nothing good for him from investigative actions, before the collapse of the Soviet Union in summer 1991, Uskhopchyk asked to be transferred to Belarus as a commander of the 50th motorized rifle division in Brest. From 1992 to 2000 he was a commander of the 5th Guard corps in Babrujsk. In May 200 he was appointed a deputy Defence Minister of Belarus, but finally sent to pension.

Starting from 1992 Lithuanian representatives of the prosecutor’s office of Lithuania regularly demanded Belarusian authorities to extradite Uskhopchyk. The only (except the present one) interrogation of Uskhopchyk was held on June 3, 1992 in Brest by a Belarusian investigator. As a witness (a criminal case against him was opened in Lithuania later) he told: “At present I refuse to answer questions about the events in Vilnius in the period from January 7 to 10, 1991 and in the next days, as investigation of the Prosecutor’s office of the Soviet Union had been held in these facts, and I testified then… Actions of military forces have always been a continuation of the policy of certain political structures in response to reaction of the structures opposing them. In this connection I believe that representatives of political structures are to bear responsibility for the events in Vilnius on January 7-13 and in the following days, and not the army which was executing orders”.

Uskhopchyk was left alone after that. Belarus proudly explained that its ruler does not trade in generals. However during the last year’s visit to Vilnius Alyaksandr Lukashenka stated: “Such a question cannot be ignored. If Lithuanian prosecutor requests information, we will answer”. And the case of Uskhopchyk saw a new turn. And it was a surprising U-turn! The Prosecutor’s office of Lithuania states that information received during the recent interrogation of Uskhopchyk “create legal conditions for changing the nature of the crime according to the rules of crimes against humanity and military crimes,” and in such a case the period of the statute of limitations is not applied to the crimes for which the 20-year period of limitation expires next year.

Many thousands strong meeting near the Parliament after Soviet troops seized Vilnius TV Tower on January 14 1991. 13 civilians were killed during the operation on January 13-14 1991.