LITHUANIA: Ordeal by Fire

For the past three months a series of grisly suicides has ignited mass protest demonstrations in Lithuania, thus illuminating the long-smoldering grievances held by citizens of this remote corner of the Soviet Union.

The trouble began in May, when Roman Kalanta, 19, a member of the Young Communist League, sat down in a park in Kaunas, Lithuania's second largest city, and set fire to a gallon of gasoline he had poured on himself. On the day of Kalanta's burial, thousands of young mourners flooded the streets of Kaunas shouting "Freedom for Lithuania!" A young girl lay down in the street...

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