As Lithuania is commemorating the 31st anniversary of the January 1991 Soviet crackdown, police in Vilnius are deploying more forces to official events due to protests against the government's pandemic measures.
Protesters were booing and heckling during the official Freedom Defenders' Day event outside the parliament building at noon.
Speeches by Parliament Speaker Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen and Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė were accompanied by shouts “shame”. The protesters carried posters saying “No to Covid dictatorship” and “The nation is rising”.
“If you don't respect the people here, at least show some respect to the memory of those killed [in January 1991],” Gintaras Mikalauskas, the host of the event, told the protesters at one point.
President Gitanas Nausėda's speech was met with less shouting and occasional applause, however.
Vilnius County Policy spokeswoman Julija Samorokovskaja has told BNS that around 2,500 people gathered in the square by the parliament building, though not all of them are protesters. She later said about 750 stayed after the commemoration event ended.
Raimondas Grinevičius, head of the NGO Lithuanian Family Movement, which was behind several anti-vaxx rallies last year, said the protesters came to Vilnius to express their opposition to “mandatory vaccination of workers” and Covid certificates. They also demand the resignation of the current government, he said.
“We are coming to the January 13 commemoration and after it is over, people may gather at a tent where we have a permit for a long-lasting protest action,” he is quoted by BNS.
Call to protest on social media
Earlier this week, activists opposing vaccination, Covid certificates and other pandemic restrictions were urging supporters on social media to come to Vilnius on Thursday.
According to Vilnius authorities, there was no specific application for a rally outside the parliament building. However, the NGO Lithuanian Family Movement has received permits for daily rallies until January 16 for up to 1,000 people.
On the eve of the January 13 events, the police said they were taking additional safety measures, such as fencing off parts of the parliament environs, checking bus convoys arriving in Vilnius, and conducting random checks of people at the events.
However, there will be no restrictions on access to the Independence Square near the parliament, police chief Renatas Požėla said.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
