Gorbachev Warns Lithuanians : Says Own Fate Relies on Reply

Mikhail S. Gorbachev flew to Lithuania today and urged its restive people to remain within the Soviet Union, warning that their drive for independence could lead to national tragedy and that his personal fate hinges on their choice.

The Soviet leader addressed a crowd of several hundred in Vilnius as at least 200,000 people began massing for a demonstration in the Lithuanian capital to demand the restoration of the Baltic republic’s prewar independence.

His comments were aimed at cooling pro-independence passions as he embarked on a crucial mission to persuade Lithuanian Communists to reverse a decision to split from the federal Communist Party.

“We have been tied together for these 50 years, whether we like it or not,” Gorbachev said, walking through a crowd of several hundred after laying a wreath at a monument to V. I. Lenin. “And all the more so, we have not lived in a federation. We have lived in a unitary state with its own realities.”

One person called out to Gorbachev: “People must decide their own fate!”

“Nothing will be decided without you,” Gorbachev responded as he slowly made his way back to his limousine. “We will decide everything together.”

But he added: “Remember, if someone succeeds in pitting us against each other in a clash, there will be a tragedy. We should not allow this.”

Josef Stalin absorbed Lithuania along with the two other Baltic states, Latvia and Estonia, in 1940 under a secret agreement with Nazi Germany.

Harry Subacius, a spokesman for the Sajudis political movement pressing for Lithuanian independence, said in a telephone interview to Moscow that several hundred thousand people gathered in Cathedral Square for an evening rally.

The gathering began with 15 minutes of silence. Many people held candles, red, green and gold Lithuanian flags, and the red-and-white banner of neighboring Latvia, Subacius said.

After 1 hour and 15 minutes, bells in the Roman Catholic Cathedral and elsewhere began ringing through the city of 544,000.

Vytautus Landsbergis, head of Sajudis, referred to Gorbachev as “head of a great neighbor state,” emphasizing the view that Lithuania is an independent land, Subacius said.

As the rally was going on, Gorbachev was meeting elsewhere with Communist Party members, according to an unofficial schedule.

As never before in his nearly five years in power, Gorbachev put his personal prestige on the line in coming to Lithuania, exposing himself to a population that openly disagrees with him. At times, he adopted a pleading tone as he spoke to the people earlier in the day.

“We have embarked on this path and I am the one who chose it,” he said. “My personal fate is linked to this choice.”

If Gorbachev fails to bring the Lithuanians back to the fold, Communist Parties in the 14 other republics could feel encouraged to break with Moscow.

The Soviet leader said the rights of all minorities in the Soviet Union must be respected, or it could endanger the unity of the country’s more than 100 ethnic groups.