Frankfurter Rundschau:
”Lukaschenko, der gnadenlose Barbar”

Lukashenko, the
ruthless barbarian

Photo/motto: http://president.gov.by/en/

German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau calls Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko a ruthless barbarian after the execution of two young men convicted of a bomb attack at Minsk subway’s most crowded station on April 11, 2011

"The question of whether the guilty of the convicted has been proven is not decisive. The president, who believes that the death of people can be repaid by the death of others, makes a killer of himself. Disregard for human life makes them indistinguishable,” writes the newspaper.

“In addition,” says the newspaper, “the method of the execution in Minsk - a shot in the head - is a symbol of terror in itself. For example, that was the way of killing of thousands of Stalin's victims by monstrous hangman Vasili Blokhin. The memory of this is embodied in the collective consciousness in the former Soviet space deeper than it’s portrayed in the West."

Last November, Dmitry Konovalov and Vladislav Kovalyov were convicted of a bomb attack at Minsk subway’s most crowded station on April 11, 2011, which killed 15 people and wounded hundreds of others. Last Friday they were both executed, shot in their necks.

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Impacts of the new
Putin presidency on
U.S.-Russia relations?

U.S. ties with Russia have been strained since Prime Minister Vladimir Putin began his re-election campaign for president. This has made it more difficult for Washington and Moscow to make progress on policy toward Syria and Iran, and we are in many fields now experiencing that the relatively warm contact between President Obama and President Medvedev is in the process of being replaced by a colder tone. Putin apparently prefers the role of counterweight more than being a world stage partner together with U.S.A.

This month marks three years since the U.S.- Russia “reset” was introduced. In March 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva. They agreed that it was time to turn the page in relations between the two countries and start a constructive dialogue with a clean slate.

President Barack Obama has made better relations with Russia a cornerstone of his foreign policy . The so-called “reset” in relations with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev brought about a major arms-control agreement and increased cooperation on such issues as Afghanistan, Iran and Libya.

Analysts say there is currently a chill in relations between Washington and Moscow, not least due to Russia joining China in vetoing a U.N. resolution calling for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to step aside. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the vote “a travesty.”

Georgetown University Russia expert Angela Stent says Vladimir Putin has been employing an old, familiar tool during his recent presidential campaign, blaming the United States for a lot of Russia’s problems..

“He has really resorted to a tactic that, of course, has been used since he became president in 2000 - and that is to invoke the United States [as the] enemy, to blame the United States for a lot of Russian problems," said Stent. "And as you saw, in the Duma elections, he then blamed Hillary Clinton, Secretary Clinton for supporting the opposition and for trying to undermine Russian stability.”

Russia expert Robert Legvold cites another example.

“When the new [U.S.] ambassador, Michael McFaul, hosted opposition figures, even though it was a quiet meeting, the authorities knew about it, had camera people there to film it," said Legvold. "And then that led the media, certainly at Putin’s behest, or media knowing what Putin would want, to sharply attack McFaul for doing this kind of thing, interfering and then accusing the opposition party of, through that channel, receiving funding from the United States.”

Mikhail Leontyev, a commentator on Russian state TV, said McFaul was close to U.S. intelligence services. Others have said McFaul has been sent to Moscow to foment an Orange Revolution in Russia.

The accusation that opposition leaders are working at the behest of the U.S. state department to generate an Orange-style revolution is an insult frequently levelled by Kremlin supporters.

"The thing is that McFaul is not a Russia specialist, but a specialist in a very specific kind of democracy promotion," Mr Leontyev said on Channel One's prime-time news programme.

Putin’s latest article, “Russia and the changing world ↑ ,” in Moskovskiye Novosti depicts the U.S. as a destabilizing and dangerous force on the world stage, which needs to be countered. Putin writes: “It seems that NATO members, especially the United States, have developed a peculiar interpretation of security that is different from ours. The Americans have become obsessed with the idea of becoming absolutely invulnerable….[this] is the root of the problem.”

In that article he rails against U.S. and NATO, alluding to the Arab Spring and support for the opposition in Syria, writing that justifications for military intervention in third-party states with the need to defend human rights is “not a noble cause,” but “elementary demagoguery.”

Given this anti-American rhetoric, questions are being raised as to what impact the new Putin presidency will have on U.S.- Russia relations.

U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul: Introduction video

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The date 11 March will forever remain very
significant for both Japan and Lithuania
Japan mourning
2011 tsunami, Lithuania
marking 1990 freedom

A devastating earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011 made Japan shake to its core. Thousands of people perished. In addition to massive property damage, the Fukushima nuclear power station sustained critical damage to its reactors which, in turn, caused reactor melt downs and uncontrolled releases of radiation/radioactive materials.

11 March is a date that will forever remain significant in both Japan and Lithuania. It was on this date in 1990 that the members of the Lithuanian Parliament signed the Act of Independence, which was the first major step towards the country's liberation from the Soviet Union after 50 years of living under occupation.

And it was on this date in 2011 that a large earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit northern Japan in a most dramatic, damaging way. One of Japan's nuclear power plants was hit hard, with the result that radiation devastated a large area and many people’s lives.

Only two of Japan's 54 reactors are now running while those shut down for regular inspections undergo special tests to check their ability to withstand similar disasters.

In the midst of all this, Japan and Lithuania have signed an agreement on nuclear cooperation, as the industrial giant Hitachi has been selected to build a brand new nuclear power plant in Lithuania, expected ready by 2020. While the meltdown crisis in Fukushima has raised awareness around the world of the dangers of nuclear power, Lithuania, with its limited natural resources, appears to have little choice but to rely on atomic energy to reduce its heavy reliance on natural gas from Russia.

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Gedimino pr. Sunday 11 March at 16.00:
Let’s meet to celebrate
freedom & tolerance!

Sunday 11th of March it is 22 years since the members of the Lithuanian Parliament signed the State of Lithuania's independence declaration. At the risk of their own lives, these brave men and women put their signatures on a paper that clearly stated that they and the Lithuanian people would no longer accept to live under occupation and oppression.

Lithuania became a free and democratic country as a result of these signatures, and even if the country’s development since then has not been perfect, it is still reason to celebrate the freedom and clearly demonstrate that we value living in a free Lithuania where the concepts of tolerance, democracy, openness, respect and compassion are the ideals.

So bring your family and friends to Gedmino Avenue in Vilnius on Sunday 11 March at 16:00 and let us together celebrate unity, equality, openness and friendship. Only this kind of patriotism provides for the existence of a democratic state and civil society. Independence Day is what unites us, so let’s celebrate it together. Free, friendly and fearless!

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International Women’s Day in Lithuania:
Valentine’s Day instead of fighting for equality…

President Dalia Grybauskaitė

8th of March is International Women's Day, a day marked by women groups around the world. The day is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men. The idea of an International Women's Day first arose at the very beginning of the 1900s.

But in Lithuania the 8th of March is not at all characterized by women's struggle for emancipation and equality, or any sort of fighting against violence and abuse. Believe it or not, but here you will experience no single parade, no placates with demanding lines for equal rights, or any stirring speeches from women's rights activists.

The Soviet leaders were probably very anxious that the Women's Day could turn into a demonstration against the system and the many elderly, grey haired men at the top of the Kremlin. These men's smart move was to instead make the 8th of March a feast day, something in between Mother's Day and St. Valentine’s Day.

So, even today, two decades after the Soviet collapse, the 8th of March in Lithuania is the day when women receive presents, flowers, poems, text messages and lots of kind words and wishes from their men or lovers. While the 8th of March over the rest of the world makes the important point that this is a day for equality and justice between the genders, this is in Lithuania a day of romance and sweet music – a day when people celebrate more the difference than the equality between the genders.

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Illustration: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Eastern European criminals were responsible for more than 11,000 crimes in London last year. Nationals of Poland, Romania and Lithuania were most likely of all foreigners to be prosecuted by the police, an investigation has revealed, according to Mail Online.

Overall, foreigners are accused of one in four of all crimes committed in London.
Astonishingly, they make up nine out of ten drug suspects and are responsible for more than one in three sex offences.

One in four of the East European assailants were Lithuanians, while criminals from Poland
accounted for around 50%. But the percentage in proportion to population shows that Lithuania towers on top with a huge margin. In relation to population there were committed 6.5 times more crimes by Lithuanians than by Poles!

Terrible statistics for a small country that so desperately needs good forces in the recovery and new prosperity after all the years of Soviet oppression.

A report published by Associate Professor Aurelijus Gutauskas at Mykolas Romeris University's Law Faculty gives a very interesting insight into how the economic downturn has led to increased social disparities, crime, fraud and widespread shadow economy in Lithuania, ref https://vilnews.com/?p=6312#idc-container

EU homicide rate per 100 000 population,
average per year, 2007-2009

Homicide is a type of violent crime, and is defined as the intentional killing of a person, including murder, manslaughter, euthanasia and infanticide. It excludes death by dangerous driving, abortion and help with suicide. The national figures indicatethat Lithuania and Estonia have by far the highest incidence of homicides (over 8 and 5 victims respectively per 100 000 population).

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Why dignity matters
for Lithuania

Jonas Basanavičius (23 November 1851 – 16 February 1927) was an activist and proponent of Lithuania's National Revival and founder of the first Lithuanian language newspaper Aušra. He was a signatory of the Act of Independence of Lithuania on 16 February 1918 Basanavičius is often given the unique informal honorific title of the "Patriarch of the Nation" for his contributions and help in re-establishing the Lithuanian state.

By Aage Myhre, Editor-in-Chief
aage.myhre@VilNews.com

“A man's country is not a certain area of land, of
mountains, rivers, and woods, but it is a principle;
and patriotism is loyalty to that principle.”
- George William Curtis

It is 16 February 2012. It is today exactly 94 years since a group of brave men wrote the Lithuanian declaration of independence after the country had been under Tsarist Russia's iron heel through more than 100 years. These men represented a generation that certainly felt an overwhelming sense of pride at the dawn of renewed independence. The Act of February 16 was signed by all 20 representatives of the Council of Lithuania, proclaiming the restoration of an independent State of Lithuania, governed by democratic principles. The meeting and signing procedures were chaired by Jonas Basanavičius, the man often given the unique informal honorific title of the "Patriarch of the Nation" for his contributions and help in re-establishing the Lithuanian state.

What these men presented from the balcony of a house in Pilies street here in Vilnius Old Town was not much more than a piece of paper. But it was a paper that symbolized a nation willing to throw off the yoke. A nation that had won back its self respect and dignity in spite of the injustice and oppression that had been going on since the Russian occupation started in 1795.

We salute these men for their courage and foresight. We salute them because they, in faith, hope and dignity clearly showed that Lithuania wanted to live up to its proud history as a nation of greatness.

Great nations are founded on self-belief!

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Text: Aage Myhre

A reader who responded to one of our VilNews issues last year argued that our publication had begun to go in the footsteps of local Lithuanian media in describing Lithuania in a rather negative way. I can well understand such a reaction, but it must also be said that unfortunately there has been a relatively large number of cases and circumstances in this country that deserve to be described in quite critical terms.

The bad

• The Lithuanian people, especially the weakest groups, are very hard hit by the economic crisis that continues to affect much of the world. The country's pensioners and other disadvantaged groups continue to live under very miserable conditions, and one must be allowed to make critical remarks on how this country's authorities have acted in the handling of the crisis. It seems to me that Lithuania's government has been more concerned with finding their own solutions, trying to ‘reinvent the wheel' rather than to learn from what other nations have made with regard to stimulus packages, lowered interest rates, etc. in these times of crisis, which in my view unnecessarily sets Lithuania several years back in time compared to many other countries. Fortunately, it appears that the immediate panic that came to characterize both the government and the banks in 2008-2010, was slowly taken over by more mature attitudes in 2011.

• There has still been far too little done for increased foreign investments in Lithuania, even if there were some good efforts made during 2010 and 2011. Also the country's own industry has largely had to fend for themselves without the kind of facilitation and support one sees taking place in countries frequently compared with Lithuania.

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The pride of
being Lithuanian

Illustration from: http://www.cafepress.com

Text: Aage Myhre
aage.myhre@VilNews.com

I've been asked why VilNews puts relatively much emphasis on articles with historical content. I've also been asked whether our journey around Europe in January should be presented in a publication that otherwise focuses on Lithuania.

My response is as follows:

Sooner or later the history knocks
at the door of the present
Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis recently said this about the still latent conflict between Armenia and Turkey on the mass killing that took place during the First World War. He is of course right, and the statement is valid for us all, also Lithuania.

The Lithuanian people have for 200 years largely been deprived of the opportunity to know their own nation's history presented in an objective and outspoken way. Those who published historical documentation here were often people who deliberately swept some parts of Lithuania's history under the carpet, exaggerated on other aspects and deliberately misinformed the people. During the years when Lithuania was under Tsarist Russia, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, truth and authentic information was often forbidden or falsified. Today it is no longer so, but I still feel that the knowledge about own history among the people here is not very deep or comprehensive in many cases.

Lithuania is a country that more than many others should be seen and understood in the light of historical perspectives...

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