THE VOICE OF INTERNATIONAL LITHUANIA
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On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am delighted to congratulate the people of Lithuania as you celebrate the 94th anniversary of your independence this February 16
Despite years of war and Soviet occupation, the people of Lithuania have demonstrated what democracy can deliver to its people. On my two trips to Vilnius last year, I saw firsthand the progress that has been made. The United States and Lithuania share a long history as partners and friends, and today our countries are dedicated to promoting the ideals of democracy, human rights and rule of law, and we are working hard to create a safer future for all our people. We look forward to continuing to work with Lithuania as we tackle some of the world’s most challenging issues together.
The United States joins all citizens of Lithuania as you celebrate Lithuania’s independence and the inspiration it provides to countries around the world. Know that the United States stands with you as a dedicated ally and a friend as we work towards a more peaceful and prosperous world.
* * *
As Lithuanian national holidays – February 16 and March 11 – are approaching, Lithuanian Foreign Minister urges the participants of the planned patriotic march "to overcome radicalism and rally around the tricolor"
Lithuania 2011:
A neo-Nazi leader shouts menacing slogans in a megaphone next to police cordons at Baltic Pride. Although it is illegal to display a swastika in Lithuania, the police would not take away the group’s flags.
Photo: http://www.lgbt-ep.eu
As Lithuanian national holidays – February 16 and March 11 – are approaching, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Azubalis urges the participants of the planned patriotic march "to overcome radicalism and rally around the tricolour", reported BC the MFA.
"During the national holidays, let us emphasize not our differences and ambitions, but public spirit and maturity in freedom. Public spirit, as you know, is determined not by the length of the hair, exclusive attitude or ethnic background. It is the outer manifestation of respect of Lithuania and its people," Azubalis said.
Participants of the march must make it clear and understandable that the love of one's fatherland has nothing to do with neo-Nazism or xenophobia. – One should not confuse the love of homeland with specific personal desires," the minister says.
He stresses that public holidays are for all Lithuanian citizens regardless of their background or attitude. "There should be no outcasts. On those days we must not forget the colours that are most important and we should not discard it for the interest of some group," Azubalis said.
The minister believes that the Lithuanian society "has always been and will be a dynamic, sustainable, and patchy fabric". Therefore, the patriotic march must demonstrate that there are more uniting threads than dividing ones in our society.
"Let us not give reason to defame Lithuania under the pretext of racism, xenophobia and Nazism. We have to express the love of our country responsibly and evaluate the impact of personal emotions," the minister says.
Read more...
* * *
Thousands of Lithuanian teachers lose perks and even their jobs
Rimantas Uzumeckas, principal of Upyna Secondary School of Silale.
By Linas Jegelevicius
TAURAGE, Lithuania | As a secondary school teacher, Lina Baltiene used to earn almost $800 a month, the average national wage, and she received another $100 to cover bus fare for the 30-kilometer (19-mile) ride to her school in the countryside.
What a difference a few years makes.
Now working part time, she‘s lucky if she makes one-third of her old salary. Gone is the perk of bus fare, though she still has to make the same daily trek, without a car of her own.
In some ways, Baltiene is a symbol of a shakeup in Lithuanian education spurred by the financial crisis and dramatically shifting demographics.
As in many countries, local governments in Lithuania used to offer incentives to teachers to work in rural communities. Those who commuted were reimbursed for transportation expenses; those who moved close to their schools received more generous benefits.
“Before the crisis, we would rent out apartments and even houses, and pay the rent for the teachers from town,” said Rimantas Uzumeckas, principal of Upyna Secondary School in the western district of Silale. Other benefits included free firewood and cut-rate school meals.
“Even villagers would treat them really well. Some local dairy farmers would provide the newcomers with milk,” Uzumeckas said.
“Now, forget it.”
Read more…
* * * EMIGRATION:
“Good life does not come easily in Lithuania”
At the airport in Vilnius.
In a time of crisis with high unemployment, young Lithuanians are following in the footsteps of their emigrant ancestors. Tens of thousands have left the country in search of a better life, mainly in the British Isles and Scandinavia. The weekly Veidas reports.
Read more...
* * * 
Dialogue of the deaf between Vilnius and Warsaw
OUTSIDERS find the Polish-Lithuanian spat the most incomprehensible in Europe. How come two countries with so much common history and so many common interests get on so badly? Is it just the appalling personal chemistry between some senior officials? Or is it, absurdly, about spelling? Poles in Lithuania want to spell their names using letters like ł and ę in official documents. (We can't use them, or most other diacritics, in the print edition of the Economist because our typeface doesn't have those characters).
I have not met any Lithuanian, even on the nationalist fringe, who believes that the authorities in Vilnius have handled this issue absolutely perfectly from the very beginning. Lithuanian politicians have habitually promised more than their parliamentarians are willing to vote for, or their officials are able to implement. It is easy to see why Poles feel cross about that.
Read more...
* * * 
A planned gas pipeline between Poland and Lithuania may cost 471 million euros ($625 million), the Baltic News Service reported today, citing Slawomir Sliwinsky, board member of Poland’s Gaz-Systems.
The 562-kilometer pipeline is projected to be completed in 2018, which would supply the Baltic region with 2.3 billion cubic meters of gas a year, the newswire said. Gaz-Systems and Lithuania’s gas utility Lietuvos Dujos AB (LDJ1L) plan to receive financing for the project from the European Commission, it said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Milda Seputyte in Vilnius at mseputyte@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net
Read more...
Despite years of war and Soviet occupation, the people of Lithuania have demonstrated what democracy can deliver to its people. On my two trips to Vilnius last year, I saw firsthand the progress that has been made. The United States and Lithuania share a long history as partners and friends, and today our countries are dedicated to promoting the ideals of democracy, human rights and rule of law, and we are working hard to create a safer future for all our people. We look forward to continuing to work with Lithuania as we tackle some of the world’s most challenging issues together.
The United States joins all citizens of Lithuania as you celebrate Lithuania’s independence and the inspiration it provides to countries around the world. Know that the United States stands with you as a dedicated ally and a friend as we work towards a more peaceful and prosperous world.
Lithuania 2011:
A neo-Nazi leader shouts menacing slogans in a megaphone next to police cordons at Baltic Pride. Although it is illegal to display a swastika in Lithuania, the police would not take away the group’s flags.
Photo: http://www.lgbt-ep.eu
As Lithuanian national holidays – February 16 and March 11 – are approaching, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Azubalis urges the participants of the planned patriotic march "to overcome radicalism and rally around the tricolour", reported BC the MFA.
"During the national holidays, let us emphasize not our differences and ambitions, but public spirit and maturity in freedom. Public spirit, as you know, is determined not by the length of the hair, exclusive attitude or ethnic background. It is the outer manifestation of respect of Lithuania and its people," Azubalis said.
Participants of the march must make it clear and understandable that the love of one's fatherland has nothing to do with neo-Nazism or xenophobia. – One should not confuse the love of homeland with specific personal desires," the minister says.
He stresses that public holidays are for all Lithuanian citizens regardless of their background or attitude. "There should be no outcasts. On those days we must not forget the colours that are most important and we should not discard it for the interest of some group," Azubalis said.
The minister believes that the Lithuanian society "has always been and will be a dynamic, sustainable, and patchy fabric". Therefore, the patriotic march must demonstrate that there are more uniting threads than dividing ones in our society.
"Let us not give reason to defame Lithuania under the pretext of racism, xenophobia and Nazism. We have to express the love of our country responsibly and evaluate the impact of personal emotions," the minister says.
Read more...
Rimantas Uzumeckas, principal of Upyna Secondary School of Silale.
By Linas Jegelevicius
TAURAGE, Lithuania | As a secondary school teacher, Lina Baltiene used to earn almost $800 a month, the average national wage, and she received another $100 to cover bus fare for the 30-kilometer (19-mile) ride to her school in the countryside.
What a difference a few years makes.
Now working part time, she‘s lucky if she makes one-third of her old salary. Gone is the perk of bus fare, though she still has to make the same daily trek, without a car of her own.
In some ways, Baltiene is a symbol of a shakeup in Lithuanian education spurred by the financial crisis and dramatically shifting demographics.
As in many countries, local governments in Lithuania used to offer incentives to teachers to work in rural communities. Those who commuted were reimbursed for transportation expenses; those who moved close to their schools received more generous benefits.
“Before the crisis, we would rent out apartments and even houses, and pay the rent for the teachers from town,” said Rimantas Uzumeckas, principal of Upyna Secondary School in the western district of Silale. Other benefits included free firewood and cut-rate school meals.
“Even villagers would treat them really well. Some local dairy farmers would provide the newcomers with milk,” Uzumeckas said.
“Now, forget it.”
Read more…
“Good life does not come easily in Lithuania”
At the airport in Vilnius.
In a time of crisis with high unemployment, young Lithuanians are following in the footsteps of their emigrant ancestors. Tens of thousands have left the country in search of a better life, mainly in the British Isles and Scandinavia. The weekly Veidas reports.
Read more...
Dialogue of the deaf between Vilnius and Warsaw
OUTSIDERS find the Polish-Lithuanian spat the most incomprehensible in Europe. How come two countries with so much common history and so many common interests get on so badly? Is it just the appalling personal chemistry between some senior officials? Or is it, absurdly, about spelling? Poles in Lithuania want to spell their names using letters like ł and ę in official documents. (We can't use them, or most other diacritics, in the print edition of the Economist because our typeface doesn't have those characters).
I have not met any Lithuanian, even on the nationalist fringe, who believes that the authorities in Vilnius have handled this issue absolutely perfectly from the very beginning. Lithuanian politicians have habitually promised more than their parliamentarians are willing to vote for, or their officials are able to implement. It is easy to see why Poles feel cross about that.
Read more...
A planned gas pipeline between Poland and Lithuania may cost 471 million euros ($625 million), the Baltic News Service reported today, citing Slawomir Sliwinsky, board member of Poland’s Gaz-Systems.
The 562-kilometer pipeline is projected to be completed in 2018, which would supply the Baltic region with 2.3 billion cubic meters of gas a year, the newswire said. Gaz-Systems and Lithuania’s gas utility Lietuvos Dujos AB (LDJ1L) plan to receive financing for the project from the European Commission, it said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Milda Seputyte in Vilnius at mseputyte@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net
Read more...
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