Pie Lithuania About five thousand people gathered in the Seimas buildings in Vilnius on Tuesday to protest the government’s plans to impose severe restrictions on people who have not been vaccinated or tested against Covid-19, but in the evening several hundred people blocked all exits and gates to the inner courtyard. cars.
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The Seimas convened an extraordinary session on Tuesday to address completely different issues related to the illegal migration crisis. Some deputies managed to leave the building immediately after the sitting, others remained inside, still others are trying to negotiate with protesters.
Myths meanwhile dispel insults against both politicians and journalists, and police call them through loudspeakers. On Tuesday evening, Lithuanian police used tear gas against protesters. The most aggressive participants of the rally attacked the law enforcement officers with sticks, one policeman was injured, the portal Delfi.lt reports. Protesters also stoned the police.
Police have been assisted by the Public Security Service. Most protesters were excluded from the building.
Police Commissioner-General Renat Požel has told reporters that a pre-trial investigation into the organization of the riots has been launched. According to him, one police officer was injured during the operation, his eye was injured.
Požela also pointed out that the police have recorded what is happening during the day and will start identifying possible violators on Wednesday, who can be called to both administrative and criminal liability.
As the Commissioner-General explained, the protest on Tuesday could be divided into two parts – it had been allowed until 5 pm, but some people had not dispersed after that and started working actively to block the movement of people and cars, so it was decided to start a police operation, but it will take time to bring additional police forces to the Seimas, as the police “currently have many different functions to perform”.
To discuss further action, the leaders of the Seimas factions met for a meeting with Speaker Viktorija Čmilīte-Nilsen and met with the Commissioner General of Police Renata Poželis.
According to Algird Siss, the leader of the Social Democratic Group, after the meeting, the police in Vilnius currently lack the strength to disperse the protesters, as many police officers have been sent to the regions to guard the recently detained illegal migrants.
“Those who planned the campaign are well aware that there are not so many police officers in Vilnius at the moment, most of them have been dragged elsewhere, so they can do whatever they want,” the deputy told reporters, adding that the rally was only at 6 pm, therefore the further protest action is considered unauthorized.
Andrjus Navicks, a member of the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrat faction, said protesters had expressed a desire to talk to politicians and listen to arguments, but were clearly provocative, divided the deputies into “their own and strangers” and responded to attempts to talk with cues and violence.
The MP, whose car was besieged by protesters and tried to open the door, was rescued by police, and is now taking refuge in parliamentary security. “They say – catch this, this one must be surrounded. (..) I understand – they need adrenaline,” Navicks said.
President Gitan Nauseda has called on rallies to allow deputies to “leave the building civilized.”
“Democracy does not mean anarchy. Yes, citizens have the right to protest and express their views. Yes, politicians should not hang up with citizens, but justify and explain their decisions, even if it takes a lot of time and energy and can sometimes seem hopeless. But democracy is not. “Freedom of expression does not mean freedom to offend, and freedom of protest does not mean freedom of violence,” the president wrote on the social network Facebook on Tuesday night, noting that at a time when Lithuania is facing huge problems, division is weakening the country.
During the day, protesters had built improvised gallows near the parliament building with the inscription “Place for Lithuanian traitors”. Some of the rallies had dressed in David’s stars, reminiscent of Nazi concentration camp prisoners, and chanted “Unvaccinated Ghetto – No!”, To which Lithuanian Jews had already expressed strong opposition.
Prime Minister Ingrīda Šimonīte apologizes for the actions of such protesters.
“It is unacceptable to devalue the concepts that signify the terrible tragedies of humanity,” the head of government emphasized. “The current inconveniences of real and imagined life are not comparable to the exile, genocide, Holocaust or other horrific tragedies that survivors and their loved ones still live with scars in heart and soul. I can only regret that such comparisons are used on the 80th anniversary of the Holocaust and Soviet repression. which offends the memory of the people who stood on the side of the pit before the shooting or froze by the Laptev Sea. “
The Lithuanian government plans to impose strict restrictions on unvaccinated and untested people from mid-September, which means, among other things, that they may lose access to free treatment in the event of illness.
The Prime Minister emphasized that the quarantine restrictions were set precisely to protect human life and health.
The 14-day cumulative number of infections per 100,000 population in Lithuania has reportedly exceeded 200, and the number of Covid-19 foci in the country is growing for the third week in a row. A further 517 people were confirmed infected with the new coronavir last day, and 323 Covid-19 patients are currently being treated in hospitals.
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