Thank you for challenging readers of VilNews again and again. In your latest issue you invite readers to come up with ideas that would really mean a difference to Lithuania and people living here, whether Lithuanian or not. As we are about to celebrate a 20 year anniversary being a free nation perhaps it is time to put old animosities behind us and take advantage of what a rich history has taught us: being a small country you have to be pragmatic and benefit from the circumstances others put you in. To Lithuania this might be interpreted as taking advantage of a long-term destiny of being the country in the sandwich between east and west. On many occasions you have highlighted one of the great achievements of Lithuania: to be a tolerant society. So why not use the status as a tolerant society with a history equally divided between east and west to become the bridge between east and west. So many people in this country have got a good understanding of eastern and western mentalities and ways of thinking, that it would almost be a crime to local society if this is not used to the benefit of people living here. I would therefore urge readers to put aside old animosities and be constructive in developing a prosperous future for east and west through closer relationships. This could only be to the benefit of Lithuanians!
Hans Peter Hansen, Vilnius