Kestutis J. Eidukonis about Lithuania year 2012
Not all civil servants
are crooks or fools

By Kestutis J. Eidukonis, CEO VilNews
kestutis.eidukonis@VilNews.com

I have been coming and observing life in Lithuania for almost 20 years and would like to offer some observations and comments on life in Lithuania according to Lithuanians. These are little gems I have picked up talking to Lithuanian friends and relatives and my observations on these so called "TRUTHS". I don't vouch for the accuracy of these claims they may or may not be true, but perceptions are often just as corrosive as reality.

Truth according to Lithuanians:
1. It doesn't matter who is in power - nothing will change. Voting is useless - I have no one to vote for anymore. Everyone I voted for in the past has disappointed me.
Apathy is a useful tool for enemies of the country. This is a sure sign of defeat.

2. All politicians are crooks. They only go into parliament to steal money - Very common feeling. When asked to explain - most Lithuanians are able to point out which parties are financed by whom or what. Strangely enough, they will always point out one or two politicians whom the believe are honest and would do a good job "if the parties and the "real rulers" would only let them.
I don't believe ALL members of parliament are fools there are some good ones.

3. There are no honest news sources.
With the exception of LRT (Lithuanian Radio & Television - run by the government) radio PUKAS run by a reform minded patriot, ( I would like to include VilNews) most of the other media has been bought by - name a country... In reality it is hard to find anything positive about any government official in any news media. LRT at least doesn't smear people or ridicule them. Strangely enough some obviously corrupt and foreign influenced politicians are given a pass. This leads people to tune out and discount most things they hear or read. It is also believed that politicians are able to "buy" either favorable or at least neutral coverage. The Lithuanian news media is not held in high regard by most citizens.

4. The government offices are full of useless friends and relatives of politicians who do nothing but put up obstacles for "honest" citizens trying to make a living. The Lithuanian golden rule applies. In the rest of world "he who has the gold makes the rules". In Lithuania "he who makes the rules gets the gold".
My observation - not all civil servants are crooks or fools. I have met and know some good people who are dedicated and do a good job under trying circumstances.

5. The government offices are filled with ex KGB officers.
Lot of truth to this one. Why don't we just fire them?

6. The government, especially the prosecutors and judiciary is corrupt to the core. There is no justice in Lithuania. We constantly see people "getting away with it" in the news. This reinforces the "there is nothing good, there is no justice" inLithuania, school.
There has got to be some honest ones.

7. Things were better in the Soviet times. We had jobs and things got done properly.
When pressed everyone agrees that - yeah we had money but there was nothing to buy - ah but vacations were free etc. What happened to the feeling and spirit of 1989-91?

8. People are leaving Lithuanian not necessarily for economic reasons - but because they do not see a possibility of changing Lithuania for the better.
This one is very true.

As a former military "propaganda" analyst, I recognize that for propaganda to be effective the lies must be hidden by a cloak of truth. Wildly inaccurate propaganda or "disinformacija" cannot succeed, but I must admit that whoever has been conducting this campaign has succeeded beyond all expectations. They have turned the words "some" into "all" as in all politicians are corrupt.

I would like to offer some unsolicited solutions

As usual in any of my articles I also would like to offer some unsolicited solutions. My Lithuanian friends also believe that us US Lithuanians don't know or understand anything but here goes - Start with a citizens movement. Lithuanian Patriots need to come together on a number of fronts. Don't go start any more parties. The referendum process can work very well in this country but we need thousands of involved dedicated citizens to work together. Not just complain, but do something. The internet is a powerful tool.

1. Size of the Seimas needs to be cut. There was a referendum called for on this - but thanks to a lack of support it failed to garner the required signatures. It needs to be resurrected. The size of the Seimas needs to be cut and their salaries cut. The Seimas needs people who are their to do good for their country - this means sacrifice - not to enrich themselves or their friends and family. Paralysis through analysis. Remember what the Liberum Veto did to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Distraction through corruption and scandal. I do admit that the Seimas has also done a lot of good, but its reputation is not good.

2. Voting for political party tickets need to be abolished. Vote for individuals not parties. Now I have to elect the trash along with the "few good" candidates. Candidates can still belong to parties, but let the voter chose which individual will do a good job and if a party has good candidates they will be elected. Presently the election is used to reward friends relatives and other useful idiots. We just have to look at who is there now. We have some very good people and a lot of people who do not have what it takes. The same goes for our ministers. Some of them are in over their heads.

3. Lets expose who runs which news media. I have no problems with their opinions - but let us know who is backing them. I think some are definitely run by hostile intelligence services.

4. Government size needs to be cut. Let us use a zero based start. Every department has to justify its existence and its budget. Let us eliminate all political appointments, ex KGB officials and anyone who has been involved in any form of corruption. Lithuanian cannot support the size of the government it has now - this problem will be even worse once the EU is forced to tighten its belt.

5. Let us start a school for prosecutors preferably run by a person who is seen as totally trustworthy by society. Staff this school with the most honest teachers, staff it with the brightest, bravest and best youth we have. After graduation replace ineffective and corrupt prosecutors without mercy. The same goes for the Judiciary. Judges should come from the best and bravest prosecutors.

6. Let us also examine our Intelligence services. What do they know about who or what has infiltrated Lithuanian society. They may have legitimate reasons for not exposing these people, I would be curious to know what those reasons are. According to one very reliable source there are over 200 known "foreign agents of influence" working in Lithuania are any of them working in the Lithuanian Intelligence Service? Do our intelligence services know who they are? These people are very well financed and have gotten imbedded in the highest levels of society and government. There are forces at work who want to destroy Lithuania. These forces are well funded and brilliantly led. They have co-opted people in the media and non-governmental organizations to willingly or unwillingly do their bidding. Lithuanians deserve better, but they need to get awake and see what has happened to their country. Is this the country the Lithuanian partisans fought and died for? Is this the country people went to Siberia for? Is this the country we want for our children and grand children?