Correspondents' Correspondence

...Correspondents' Correspondence BRIEF TAKEOUTS OF MORE THAN PERSONAL INTEREST FROM LETTERS AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED BY THE EDITORS In Belgrade's Shadow Munich-when the conference to assess compliance with the Helsinki accords convenes early next month in Belgrade, international attention will understandably focus on the plight of prominent Russian and Jewish dissidents in cities such as Moscow and Leningrad But an equally intense struggle for human rights is being waged by small national and religious minorities in more remote areas of the USSR, too One example is the situation in Aiz-pute (population 6,000) whose relatively large number of Catholics and other Christian denominations make it one of the most religious localities in the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic Since last spring, a campaign of official harassment and intimidation has been under way there against the 140-member Baptist congregation The troubles center around Viesturs Kalnins, a 23-year-old factory worker elected secretary of the Baptists in the summer of 1976 The authorities refused to recognize his election, declaring the congregation's procedures lmpropci, and rejected live subsequent votes held in less than a year when the results did not change Meanwhile, the Baptists were warned that the lack of proper officers would result in the revocation of their permit to exist as a religious society The drive against Kalnins intensified in early March He was summoned by a man named Sedols, vice-chairman of the executive committee of the Liepaja region, which includes Aizpute, and told he had been denied the secretary's position because of political activity " Asked to be more specific, Sedols answered that Kalnins had complained to other Baptists that the Soviet authorities would not accept elected officers of the Aizpute congregation The young worker pointed out that he could have said this only once he was already turned down for the post, therefore his alleged complaints could not be grounds for the rejection Shortly thereafter, the attempt to brand Kalnins a political troublemaker took a new tack On March 28, he was called to the local KGB ottice and accused of distributing subversive leaflets the previous week al the metal furniture factory where he worked KGB investigators claimed the leaflets were found in the factory toilet and demanded that Kalnins amount for all his visits to the bathroom on the day of the alleged incident Kalnins denied any knowledge of the leaflets The KGB then took scattershot actions against other Baptists in the area Preacher Jams Balodis, 32, and his brother Peteris, 38, were detained and questioned The KGB men told the brothers that the Aizpute Baptists were suspected of political leafleting In the port city of Ventspils, one of the local Baptists was fined 50 rubles-substantial share of a month's wages-for allowing minors to sing in the church choir A Lutheran minister, Augstkalns, who preaches to Baptists in the tiny coastal village of Jurmalciems, was interrogated on suspicion of having ties with "underground" Baptist groups These believers, unlike the Aizpute Baptists, reject any ties or cooperation with the government and are considered outlaws The KGB again turned its attention to Kalnins on April 7, claiming to have more evidence that he was involved with antigovernment leafleting in Aizpute and Grobina, a nearby small town (Also picked up-illegedly for singing a song about the shortage of meat-was an llth-grade high schooler, Vizma Fisers ) During the questioning, it developed that leaflets had apparently appeared not merely in western Latvia, but also in the capital city of Riga and in Jurmala, a Baltic seaside resort famed throughout the Soviet Union Young Kalnins said he had nothing to do with the matter, and repeated his denial when detained once more on April 15 Linking the Baptists to subversive actions that purportedly undermine Soviet society would, of course, obscure their demand for religious freedom But what particulary irks authorities is that the Aizpute congregation has repeatedly chosen a young worker as one of its leaders Young proletarians who practice religion are embarrassing to the regime's claim that Souet youth, raised and educated under scientific Socialism is atheistic The Parts line on churches is that they operate with complete freedom and tolerance, but are fading away, and are now simply anachronistic refuges for the aged and irrational Moreover, the Aizpute Baptists have a history of "troublemaking " Their former minister, Jams Smits, a man in his mid-30s with 12 children, waged a long and determined campaign to emigrate to the West after the authorities revoked his permit to be pastor to the congregation Smits and his family were finally allowed to depart for West Germany in May 1976, and currently live in Canada His was a rare case of a non-Jew fighting for and obtaining permission to leave Russia A deeply religious man, Smits attributes his success to God's help Friends now living in West Germany, however, speculate that he was given his visa because he set a dangerous example of uncompromising struggle for freedom of belief Viesturs Kalnins, they add, may have aroused the same fear among the bureaucracy Nonetheless, the Party is taking a gamble by trying to intimidate the youthful Baptist Given Kalnins' simple faith that God will be with him whatever happens, the Latvian KGB may find itself helplessly running into an immovable object There has been no further word of trouble from Aizpute this past summer Perhaps the authorities have shied away from taking dramatic action against a small band of Latvian Baptists to avoid possible attention at the Helsinki follow-up conference Reached in 1975, the Helsinki agreement expressed the understanding that all signatories would respect basic human rights—among them the freedom of belief —Juris Kaza...