A guest speaker at Lithuania’s independence day ceremony in the parliament caused controversy with comments about the “homosexualisation of Lithuania”, forcing several politicians and guests to leave in protest.
The speaker, Zita Šličytė, was delegated by the Club of the Signatories of the Act of March 11. In the speech, she criticised the government for initiatives to advance the rights of LGBTQ+ people, saying “Lithuania is ruled by parties sitting in the dock”.
“It is a pity that the Freedom Party [the liberal member of the ruling coalition], which promotes a loose lifestyle, is now dictating the fashion of politics,” Šličytė said.
In her words, the media “has shed a lot of sweat” to convince the public that “the homosexual parade in Kaunas was a fiesta of beauty and goodness, while the rally of the Family Movement is a gathering of some dark, backward people”.
“Such cynical and brazen homosexualization of Lithuania has already had, and will undoubtedly have in the future, negative consequences on the unity and agreement within the society,” Šličytė said.
A number of politicians and guests at the independence day ceremony walked out during Šličytė’s speech. These included MPs of the ruling Homeland Union (TS-LKD) party and the Social Democratic Party, as well as the prime minister, the ministers of foreign affairs and health, and Faina Kukliansky, chair of the Lithuanian Jewish Community.
“Spreading hatred on a day like this when we all need to unite, and Ukraine is asking for the European direction.... In Europe, such speeches are unthinkable – neither in the Bundestag, nor in Paris, nor in the European Parliament. This is incredible spread of hatred,” conservative MP Emanuel Zinger, one of the signatories of the Act of March 11, told BNS on Friday.
“Today is a day of unity, and this woman claims to represent a small group of radicals who do not represent the views of Lithuania,” Zingeris added.
Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė said she left the room because she could not listen to a speech that was unacceptable to her.
“I just found what was said unacceptable and I walked out,” she told reporters.
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