Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Lithuanians turning to former Communists Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 17:03:26 EST Message-ID: \SE A;WORLD \SS (WS) \HD Lithuanians turning to former Communists \BY ASSOCIATED PRESS \DT VILNIUS, Lithuania VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) - The first republic to break away from the Soviet Union appeared yesterday to be on the verge of returning former Communists to power in a bitterly contested parliamentary election. Lithuanian voters angered by factory shutdowns, soaring prices and lack of hot water said as they left the polls that they were ready to give the former Communists a chance to restore economic order. Leaders of the former Lithuanian Communist Party, now called the Democratic Labor Party, promised that if they won, they would safeguard Lithuania's independence and continue to build a Western-style market economy. But they also said they would improve trade relations with Russia and demand better terms from the International Monetary Fund, which has forced Lithuania to freeze government wages and hold down public spending in return for Western loans. "We will never give up our statehood. That is not even a subject for discussion," said Algirdas Brazauskas, the leader of the former Communists. "But we must seek compromises," he said, referring to difficulties in obtaining Russian energy supplies. "What are we going to do, freeze all winter?" Of the first 10 districts to report results, seven went to former Communists, according to preliminary figures. Sajudis, the anti-Communist party that led Lithuania to independence in 1990, has "done very little in the past two years," Andrei Kobzar, 30, said as he cast his ballot at a high school in downtown Vilnius. "Actually, they've done a lot - to make our life impossible," said his wife, Valentina, an unemployed waitress. "Everything is bad now. We live in a such a hole, with two kids. I have no job, no welfare payments." More economic bad news appeared on the eve of the election when the daily newspaper Tiesa reported that industrial production has tumbled 48.5 percent this year. According to other recent reports, one-third of all factorieshave closed or sharply cut back employment. Consumer prices have jumped 2,200 percent since 1990, and fuel is in such short supply that central heating plants shut off hot water to most homes just as winter set in. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM