Lithuania In the capital, Vilnius, near the Seimas, several thousand people gathered on Tuesday to protest against the government’s plans to impose strict restrictions on the unvaccinated, the sick and those unable to show negative tests due to the Covid-19 pandemic. On the evening of the same day, hundreds of people surrounded and blocked all exits from the parliament building and attacked law enforcement officers at an illegal protest site.
The unrest followed police efforts to dispel an unannounced protest, in which members expressed an open threat to journalists present and present in the Seimas building. Police officers were stabbed with bottles and other objects, and ombudsmen used tear gas to stop the riots. Evening statistics – 26 people were detained and more than ten law enforcement officers were injured, as well as eight cars were damaged.
Large-scale protests and unrest in neighboring countries are taking place at a politically sensitive time: Lithuania is still trying to cope with the influx of refugees from dictator Alexander Lukashenko. Belarus, and the potentially forthcoming new wave of Covid-19 poses new challenges. Maxim Milt, a researcher and political scientist at the Center for Eastern European Studies (EESC), called for an explanation of what happened in Delfi in Lithuania.
This week, we saw a protest involving around five thousand people. They protested against the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic and later surrounded the Seimas building and attacked the police. Is such a violent protest in Lithuania unprecedented, or is it something that happens from time to time?
I will start with the joke that Lithuanians are northern Italians – we are Catholics, moreover, more expressive than Latvians or Estonians. Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged that this is an unprecedented case. The last time, although not exactly the same, something similar happened in January 2009. At the time, the protest also took place near the Seimas building, due to the problems caused by the global financial crisis, especially the austerity policy, which meant raising taxes while reducing public spending. At that time, aggression mainly manifested itself by throwing stones at the windows of the Seimas building.
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