THE VOICE OF INTERNATIONAL LITHUANIA
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Archive for July, 2012
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The passenger traffic at Vilnius International Airport (VIA) has shown a steady upward trend since the previous year, and the result of June this year was the best throughout all years of the airport’s operation.
In June 2012, the airport handled 228.6 thousand passengers, which surpassed the result of June 2011 by 23%. Until now, the best monthly result was achieved in August 2008, when the number of passengers soared to 224.6 thousand. 2,775 flights were operated in the first summer month, showing a 7% growth.
The growth in regular flights accounted for 25%, while charter flights witnessed a 15% increase. The most popular June destinations were London, Frankfurt, Riga, Antalya, Copenhagen and Moscow.
971 thousand passengers were handled in six months this year, showing a 36% growth in passenger numbers compared to the same period in 2011.
“The successful results of the first half of the year reached the peak on 15 June, when Vilnius Airport beat the record of the passengers handled in one day: 4,498 passengers departed from Vilnius Airport and 4,530 passengers arrived at Vilnius Airport, totalling 9,028 passengers handled by the airport,” Tomas Vaišvila, VIA Managing Director, commented the results. “Most passengers arrived from Riga – 371, while the number of departing passengers was the highest on London route – 490. A large part of passengers – 1834 – travelled to holiday destinations – Sicily, Cyprus, Turkey, and Greece.”
Until now, the highest number of passengers handled in one day was 8,682 passengers on 17 August 2008.
In 2007 Vilnius Airport handled 1,717 million passengers, 2,048 million in 2008, 1,308 million in 2009, 1,373 million in 2010, and 1,715 million in 2011. It is expected to reach a 25% growth in passenger traffic in 2012. 20 airlines operate regular flights from Vilnius Airport on as many as 39 direct routes.
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Šokių Šventė
Boston, USA, 1 July 2012
I have just returned from Sokiu Svente and it was an incredibly beautiful and exhilarating experience which reinforced my pride as a Lithuanian. The dances, songs, costumes, art, all of it validates the creative spirit that keeps generations connected and inspired. And kudos to the Boston for putting together an incredibly smooth and successful event.
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We may be “just” American Lithuanians, but our ancestors have entrusted us with a heritage which we cherish with every ounce of our being
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May our spirit and energy and LOVE for Lietuva make its way in a POSITIVE direction to the streets, farms, dunes of Lietuva. We may be "just" American Lithuanians, but our ancestors have entrusted us with a heritage which we cherish with every ounce of our being. "I SVEIKATA!":)
Jenifer C. Dillis
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Is Lithuanian mafia regaining strength?
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Andy Hernandez after the mafia attack last Friday.
My friend, Filipino Andy Hernandez, a veteran Newsweek war photographer who now lives in Lithuania, where he, among other things, makes his living by owning and operating a handful of restaurants, was brutally beaten in one of his own restaurants last Friday.
The attack on Andy and his wife appears to be racially motivated, and unfortunately, racism is a very, very serious problem in present day Lithuania.
It seems, also, as if the recession has provided various mafia groups more room and more power. Smuggling and production of drugs, human trafficking, prostitution and other things with a basis in Lithuanian mafia groups is an increasingly serious problem for Europe.
The assault on Andy and his wife is only the tip of an iceberg that is growing ever greater.
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Is Lithuanian mafia regaining strength?
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Andy Hernandez after the mafia attack last Friday.
My friend, Filipino Andy Hernandez, a veteran Newsweek war photographer who now lives in Lithuania, where he, among other things, makes his living by owning and operating a handful of restaurants, was brutally beaten in one of his own restaurants last Friday.
The attack on Andy and his wife appears to be racially motivated, and unfortunately, racism is a very, very serious problem in present day Lithuania.
It seems, also, as if the recession has provided various mafia groups more room and more power. Smuggling and production of drugs, human trafficking, prostitution and other things with a basis in Lithuanian mafia groups is an increasingly serious problem for Europe.
The assault on Andy and his wife is only the tip of an iceberg that is growing ever greater.
After the attack, Andy told the Philippine website Rappler via email that it was a mafia boss who had harassed him and his wife after insisting to be served despite arriving past closing time.
Andy uploaded two videos of the exchange between him and "Mafia boss Stanislovą Narkevičių, a.k.a. Narkuša," and before he and his wife were beaten up by seven men who later arrived after they were called in.
His camera phone stopped recording when it hit the floor.
The first video shows Narkuša -- in white linen pants, alligator shoes, with gold watch and bracelet -- calling his henchmen to come to Hernandez's cafe located in the centre of the historic resort town of Trakai.
Andy said Narkuša started cursing him when told that the restaurant was already closed at 9 pm. Narkuša arrived at 9:30 pm.
"He started calling me derogatory remarks in Russian…'Hoy' means prick. He called me monkey, black ass, and black face -- all racist remarks," Andy recounted.
"He threatened me and Monika (his wife) bodily harm and [that] he will destroy the cafe. I told Monika to call the police when he started raising his voice and the insults [became worse].
In the second video, Monika is shown getting in between the seven "tough looking men" and Andy before the phone hit the floor and stopped recording.
Andy said he was hit twice in the face. "I felt one of my tooth -- an upper incisor -- flying out."
He was punched in the ribs while Monika, who tried to intervene again, was also punched in the face and stomach. When she started shouting and howling, a crowd gathered around. Andy said that, after breaking the restaurant's glass door using the metal wine cooler, Narkuša and the seven decided to leave.
"The police came after 30 minutes even though the station is 5 minutes away on foot," the Filipino said.
"We come to the police station to report the incident and we are told to go to the hospital to know our physical damage. On Monday, we are to return to the police station to give our testimony," he said, adding that none of the people who saw the incident wanted to be part of the investigation considering the reputation of Narkuša as a "criminal."
Andy's photos and videos posted on social media generated concern among his friends and relatives.
"Racially motivated attack I guess...Economic crisis always blames the outsider," he added when someone asked if the gang beat him up to get a monthly cut.
Instinct
He said his instincts urged him to use his phone to record the incident.
Andy was a photojournalist for Newsweek magazine for 18 years, covering historic events and wars, including the Aquino assasination, the Marcos ouster, the Tiananmen Square massacre, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the first Gulf War, and the Rwandan civil war.
He has settled in this Baltic country where he has been living for about a decade now with his family. He came to Lithuania on assignment as a war photographer to capture the independence movement. Monika is Lithuanian.
He currently owns 3 cafes in Vilnius and one in Trakai where the incident happened. The Mojo Cafe serves Asian dishes, such as Tom Yum soup, Sambal Spinach, Nasi Goreng and Vietnamese salad.
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Local mafia boss arrested for the assault
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A Vilnius court on Tuesday sanctioned arrest of Stanislovas Narkevičius,
who is suspected of having assaulted a Filipino businessman in the town
of Trakai, 30 km from Vilnius. The man was arrested for two weeks.
"15 Minutes" photo. / Stanislav Narkevicius
Airinė Šerelytė, the court spokeswoman, confirmed to Baltic News Service (BNS) that the court had sanctioned arrest of Stanislovas Narkevičius, aka Narkuša.
Prosecutors had asked the court to arrest Narkevičius for three months.
On Monday, prosecutors launched an investigation into the assault of Andy Hernandez, 54, and his wife, 39. Hernandez owns a café in Trakai and his wife works as director there.
The incident took place at around 9:30 PM on Friday. A group of men entered the café and assaulted Hernandez and his wife. They were later both taken to hospital.
Narkevičius was detained for affray on Sunday. He faces up to two years in prison.
Žana Sokolovska, a prosecutor in charge of the investigation, told BNS there might be more suspects in this case.
Hernandez filmed the assault with his mobile phone and the video was published online. It shows one of the assailants cursing the café's staff.
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17 years since execution of Vilnius mafia boss
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Boris Dekanidze, head of the "Vilnius Brigade", the last person executed by
Lithuania prior to its abolition of the death penalty in 1998.
Boris Dekanidze was the head of the "Vilnius Brigade" organized crime gang in Lithuania. In 1994, he was convicted of ordering the murder of a journalist and was executed. Dekanidze was the last person executed by Lithuania prior to its abolition of the death penalty in 1998.
Dekanidze was born in Lithuania to Georgian Jewish immigrants. He was a stateless person, not having been granted citizenship in Lithuania or Georgia. In Vilnius, he was a leader of the Vilnius Brigade mafia group.
In 1993, after receiving a number of death threats, Vitas Lingys, one of the founders and publishers of the newspaper Respublika, was shot at point-blank range near his home in Vilnius. Dekanidze was arrested and charged with ordering the murder, which police said was carried out by another mafia guy, Igor Akhremov.
In a 1994 trial, Dekanidze was convicted of deliberate murder by a three-judge panel. Dakanidze claimed he was innocent, and the evidence against him was primarily the testimony of Akhremov, who claimed to have carryied out the killing on Dekanidze's orders. On 10 November 1994, Dekanidze was sentenced to death and Akhremov was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Lithuanian authorities shut down the Ignalina nuclear power plant after a terrorist threat was made against it the day after the convictions were handed down. Dekanidze appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, but it ruled in February 1995 that there were no grounds for reviewing the death sentence. His appeal for clemency to President Algirdas Brazauskas was also refused.
Dekanidze was executed on 12 July 1995 in Vilnius by a single shot to the back of his head. The execution has been criticised at being carried out even as the Lithuanian parliament was debating abolition of the death penalty.
No one has been executed by Lithuania since Dekanidze's death. Lithuania abolished the death penalty for all crimes in 1998 after the Lithuanian Constitutional Court ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional.
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Mafia hitman set free
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Igor Akhremov.
Igor Akhremov, a member of the criminal gang Vilnius Brigade who killed journalist Vitas Lingys in 1994 was released on parole in April this year.
Vilnius Regional Court overturned the ruling of Vilnius Third District Court and upheld Akhremov's appeal. On 2 March Vilnius Third District Court had rejected the offer of Vilnius Correction House to release Akhremov on parole. The Court said that upon his release the principle of justice would not be achieved as he serves for three extremely dangerous activities.
While Vilnius Regional Court satisfied the appeal describing him as a friendly and polite person, known for good behaviour in prison. Akhremov was assigned to the lowest risk group. The ruling of Vilnius Regional Court is final, not subject to appeal and comes into force immediately. In 1994, Akhremov was convicted for murdering journalist Lingys of the daily Respublika on 12 October 1993.
Boris Dekanidze, the then leader of the criminal gang Vilnius Brigade, who ordered the murder, was sentenced to capital punishment. At first, the court sentenced Akhremov to life imprisonment, but later the Supreme Court reduced the sentence to 25 years of imprisonment. His term of punishment was to expire in autumn 2018.
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Lithuania‘s economic growth in 2013 will be the highest in the region – 3,5 percent, according to the World Bank’s latest EU11 Regular Economic Report. Average economic growth in the EU11 countries is estimated to reach 2,5 percent.
The best performances are expected from Lithuania, Poland (3,2 percent), Slovakia (3,1 percent) and Estonia (3 percent). Latvia is projected to rank fifth with GDP growth of 2,9 percent.
The World Bank is expecting economic stagnation or a downturn in most of the 11 countries of Central Europe. GDP will shrink by 0,4 – 1,2 percent in Hungary, Slovenia, and Croatia, which aims to become an EU member.
Managing Director of “Invest Lithuania” Milda Darguzaite emphasizes the strong impact of successful fiscal reforms on growth. “Lithuania’s GDP growth is driven primarily by increasing domestic demand. Growing exports and investment, mainly into real estate, machinery and other equipment, is another accelerator of economic growth,” Darguzaite said.
According to the World Bank, Poland’s GDP will increase by 2,9 percent in 2012, the highest in the region. In Latvia and Lithuania, heavily affected by the economic crisis, GDP will rise by 2,3 percent. The World Bank forecasts 1,5 percent growth for the EU11 this year.
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The global economy will expand 2.5% in 2012, according to the World Bank. It has significantly revised down its previous 3.6% outlook. Similarly, the global GDP growth outlook for 2013 has been reduced as well – from 3.6% to 3.1%.
GDPs in developing countries are expected to grow 5.4%, instead of 6.2% as projected earlier. Emerging economies will in turn expand only 2.4%.
It is expected that in 2012 world trade will grow 4.7%, not 6.6% as forecast before, World Bank says in its official statement.
The Bank points at the eurozone crisis and the global financial system’s vulnerability as the major risks the world will face this year.
Ref: 102.105.105.834
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OPINIONS
Have your say. Send to:
editor@VilNews.com
Ph. D., Chicago
A wave of unity sweeps the international Lithuanian community on March 11th every year as Lithuanians celebrated the anniversary of the Lithuanian Parliament's declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. However, the sense of national unity engendered by the celebration could be short-lived.
Human beings have a strong tendency to overgeneralize and succumb to stereotypical us-them distinctions that can shatter even the strongest bonds. We need only search the internet to find examples of divisive thinking at work:
- "Those who fled Lithuania during World II were cowards -- and now they come back, flaunt their wealth, and tell us 'true Lithuanians' how to live."
- "Lithuanians who work abroad have abandoned their homeland and should be deprived of their Lithuanian citizenship."
In Lithuania Christmas Eve is a family event and the New Year's Eve a great party with friends!
Lithuanian say "Kaip sutiksi naujus metus, taip juos ir praleisi" (the way you'll meet the new year is the way you will spend it). So everyone is trying to spend New Year's Eve with friend and have as much fun as possible.
Lithuanian New Year's traditions are very similar to those in other countries, and actually were similar since many years ago. Also, the traditional Lithuanian New Years Eve party was very similar to other big celebrations throughout the year.
The New Year's Eve table is quite similar to the Christmas Eve table, but without straws under the tablecloth, and now including meat dishes. A tradition that definitely hasn't changes is that everybody is trying not to fell asleep before midnight. It was said that if you oversleep the midnight point you will be lazy all the upcoming year. People were also trying to get up early on the first day of the new year, because waking up late also meant a very lazy and unfortunate year.
During the New Year celebration people were dancing, singing, playing games and doing magic to guess the future. People didn't drink much of alcohol, especially was that the case for women.
Here are some advices from elders:
- During the New Year, be very nice and listen to relatives - what you are during New Year Eve, you will be throughout the year.
- During to the New Year Eve, try not to fall, because if this happens, next year you will be unhappy.
- If in the start of the New Year, the first news are good - then the year will be successful. If not - the year will be problematic.
* If New Year's night is cold and starry - look forward to a good summer!
* If the during New Year Eve trees are covered with frost - then it will be a good year. If it is wet weather on New Year's Eve, one can expect a year where many will die and dangerous epidemics occur.
* If the first day of the new year is snowy - the upcoming year will see many young people die. If the night is snowy - mostly old people will die.
* If the New Year time is cold - then Easter will be warm.
* If during New Year there are a lot of birds in your homestead - then all year around there will be many guests and the year will be fun.
Christmas greetings
from Vilnius
and epic battle for the
future
Philosopher, political theorist, historian of
ideas, social analyst, and political
commentator
Ukraine was and continues to be perceived by the EU political class as a sort of grey zone with its immense potential and possibilities for the future, yet deeply embedded and trapped in No Man's Land with all of its troubled past, post-Soviet traumas, ambiguities, insecurities, corruption, social divisions, and despair. Why worry for what has yet to emerge as a new actor of world history in terms of nation-building, European identity, and deeper commitments to transparency and free market economy?
Right? Wrong. No matter how troubled Ukraine's economic and political reality could be, the country has already passed the point of no return. Even if Vladimir Putin retains his leverage of power to blackmail Ukraine and the West in terms of Ukraine's zero chances to accede to NATO due to the problems of territorial integrity, occupation and annexation of Crimea, and mayhem or a frozen conflict in the Donbas region, Ukraine will never return to Russia's zone of influence. It could be deprived of the chances to join NATO or the EU in the coming years or decades, yet there are no forces on earth to make present Ukraine part of the Eurasia project fostered by Putin.
want to learn about the
new, scary propaganda
war between Russia,
The West and the
Baltic States!
believe their government
is corrupt
students say no to
bribes for doctors
During Soviet times, government was administered for the people in control, not for the local population, court decisions were decreed, they were not the administration of justice, and academia was the domain of ideologues. 25 years of freedom and openness should have put those bad experiences behind Lithuania, but that is not so.
Today, it is a matter of expectation that court pronouncements will be governed by ideological dictates. Few, if any Lithuanians expect real justice to be effected. For foreign companies, doing business in Lithuania is almost impossible in a situation where business people do not expect rule of law, so, surely Government would be a refuge of competence?
Lithuanian Government has not emerged from Soviet styles. In an attempt to devolve power, Lithuania has created a myriad of fiefdoms of power, each speaking in the name of the Government, each its own centralized power base of ideology.
Chepstow, Wales
Doesn't that sound suspiciously like Lithuania? Ah, but I didn't mention the mountains of Snowdonia, which would give the game away.
I'm talking about Wales, that part of the UK which Lithuanians used to call "Valija", but later named "Velsas" (why?). Wales, the nation which has welcomed two Lithuanian heads of state to its shores - firstly Professor Vytautas Landsbergis, who has paid several visits and, more recently, President Dalia Grybauskaitė who attended the 2014 NATO summit which was held in Newport, South Wales.
ENGLISH VERSION OF THE
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF VYTAUTAS LANDSBERGIS.
Although Lithuanian activities have thinned over the decades as that postwar generation died out, the Lithuanian Martyrs' parish hall is crowded with many, many hundreds of visitors who come to the Lithuanian cemetery for All Souls' Day. Similarly, the Franciscan parish has standing room only for Christmas Eve mass.
Although I am firmly embedded in the literary culture of Canada, my themes are usually Lithuanian, and I'll be in Kaunas and Vilnius in mid-November 2015 to give talks about the Lithuanian translations of my novels and short stories, which I write in English.
If you have the Lithuanian language, come by to one of the talks listed in the links below. And if you don't, you can read more about my work at
www.anatanassileika.com
http://www.vdu.lt/lt/rasytojas-antanas-sileika-pristatys-savo-kuryba/ https://leu.lt/lt/lf/lf_naujienos/kvieciame-i-rasytojo-59hc.html
"My love and best wishes to all. As long as VilNews exists, there is hope for the future,"" she writes.
Irena Veisaite means very much for our publication, and we do hereby thank her for the support and wise commitment she always shows.
You can read our interview with her
Facing a new reality
Dear readers of VilNews,
For a number of years, the EU and Russia had assumed the existence of a strategic partnership, based on the convergence of values, economic integration and increasingly open markets and a modernisation agenda for society.
Our agenda was positive and ambitious. We looked at Russia as a country ready to converge with "European values", a country likely to embrace both the basic principles of democratic government and a liberal concept of the world order. It was believed this would bring our relations to a new level, covering the whole spectrum of the EU's strategic relationship with Russia.
The likelihood of Putin
invading Lithuania
.jpg "lithuania today")
Founding Director at Summer Literary Seminars
Are all Lithuanian energy
problems now resolved?
Lithuania as a country does not have significant energy resources. Energy consuming infrastructure after WWII was small and totally supported by energy imports from Russia.
First nuclear reactor begins power generation at Ignalina in 1983, the second reactor in 1987. Iganlina generates enough electricity to cover Lithuania's needs and about 50%.for export. As, prerequisite for membership in EU, Ignalina ceases all nuclear power generation in 2009
The Klaipėda Sea terminal begins Russia's oil export operations in 1959 and imports in 1994.
Mazeikiu Nafta (current ORLEAN Lietuva) begins operation of oil refinery in 1980.
Have Lithuanian ties across
the Baltic Sea become
stronger in recent years?
The two decades that have passed since regaining Lithuania's independence can be described as a "building boom". From the wreckage of a captive Soviet republic, a generation of Lithuanians have built a modern European state, and are now helping construct a Nordic-Baltic community replete with institutions intended to promote political coordination and foster a trans-Baltic regional identity. Indeed, a "Nordic-Baltic community" - I will explain later in my text the meaning of this catch-phrase.
Since the restoration of Lithuania's independence 25 years ago, we have continuously felt a strong support from Nordic countries. Nordics in particular were among the countries supporting Lithuania's and Baltic States' striving towards independence. Take example of Iceland, country which recognized Lithuania in February of 1991, well in advance of other countries. Yet another example - Swedish Ambassador was the first ambassador accredited to Lithuania in 1991. The other countries followed suit. When we restored our statehood, Nordic Countries became champions in promoting Baltic integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions. To large degree thanks Nordic Countries, massive transformations occurred in Lithuania since then, Lithuania became fully-fledged member of the EU and NATO, and we joined the Eurozone on 1 January 2015.
Have you heard about the
South African "Pencil Test"?
But that is exactly what happened to me when I came back from South Africa. I will tell you how.
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