Neo-Nazis marching in Vilnius during
Lithuania’s Independence Day, 11 March 2011.
Photo: http://holocaustinthebaltics.com

Intolerance, racism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia and homophobia. These are words and terms we unfortunately have heard and seen far too often in Lithuanian media in recent years.

This country that for hundreds of years was a thriving cradle for co-existence between people from many nations, cultures and religions. Or, as the British historian Norman Davies puts it: “Lithuania was a haven of tolerance”. Davies was not the only one who took notice of this. Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466 – 1536) is quoted as stating; “I congratulate this nation [Lithuania] which now, in sciences, jurisprudence, morals, and religion, and in all that separates us from barbarism, is so flourishing that it can rival the first and most glorious of nations.”

But no longer so. Today’s Lithuania faces several forms and manifestations of intolerance. According to B.O. Dittrich (2007), Lithuania is the most homophobic of all the EU countries. In 2000 a survey conducted by European Value Study Group showed that the level of xenophobia in Lithuania is one of the highest in Europe. For example, as much as 23% of Lithuanians would not like to be neighbours with Jews (with Russians – 14, Estonians – 11.2%, Latvians – 5.2%, Germans – 5.2%, Swedes – 2.1%).

Attitude towards immigrants is as bad – 22.7% of Lithuanians would not like to be neighbours with immigrants, 94.2% believe that they should get a job before the immigrants, 55.2% do not think that our country should accept refugees, and as much as 58% of Lithuanians do not trust foreign companies.

During the spring of this year we have seen neo-Nazis marching through Vilnius on Lithuania’s Independence Day, we have seen the neo-Nazis hoisting swastika flags on the nation’s official flag poles, and we have seen lawmakers in the country’s Committee on Legal Affairs vote to make even more stringent censorship legislation for homosexuals, saying that they should be able to fine people for the "propagation of homosexual relations" in public.

This has earned condemnation from EU groups, but the European commission scarcely dares to take action when member states disregard with what West Europe consider fundamental rights for its people. For example, when the law that bans the “promotion of homosexuality”, little was heard from the EU.

Reactions from Lithuanian leaders against this worrisome trend has unfortunately also been relatively vague, although there are signs that some finally begin to wake up. But there are still some politicians who seem to breed homophobia and racism in this country.

VilNews will for some time focus on the problem of intolerance, and we do hereby open up for serious posts, interviews and articles on this theme. We begin today with an interview with Professor Irena Veisaite (below) and we urge you, dear readers, to write to us with your own thoughts and reflections.

Maybe one day we will again be able call Lithuania ‘A Haven of Tolerance’…