LRT English Newsletter – December 30, 2022.
One story reverberated across Lithuania this week – a 2-year-old girl was seriously injured during Christmas. Her 19-year-old mother and her 22-year-old boyfriend have been arrested. What was shocking is that the prosecutors suspected the girl was beaten. Her twin sister has been taken in by child services.
And this wasn’t an isolated incident. Lithuanian authorities received 150 separate reports of “possible violations of children’s rights, 60 of which were urgent, and we responded to them with the police”, according to the State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service. Almost all cases were related to alcohol consumption and some to domestic violence.
According to the service, around 2,500 children in Lithuania suffer from neglect, physical violence, as well as psychological and sexual abuse every year. The number has been growing.
The rising number of reports shows that people are more likely to “help the child next door”, Alina Žilinaitė, a representative of the service, told the news agency ELTA. On the other hand, “we are observing worrying data”, she added.
RUSSIA EXIT
Russia has expelled a Lithuanian diplomat, saying it was a response to an “unjustified” expulsion of a Russian embassy worker from Vilnius earlier in December. The latter was sent out due to undertaking “activities incompatible with the status of a diplomat”, ie intelligence work.
In related news, the husband of Sergei Shoigu’s ex-girlfriend was denied entry to Lithuania after his citizenship was revoked. If you’re wondering why the husband of the Russian Defence Minister’s ex-girlfriend has a Lithuanian passport in the first place, read the LRT investigation here.
Also, the Lithuanian Orthodox Church has condemned the war in Ukraine and has decided to speed up its split from the Moscow Patriarchate.
GERMAN BRIGADE, LITHUANIAN DIVISION
We will not recount the whole German brigade saga, but the Lithuanian president has made another statement on the issue, saying “we have shot ourselves in the foot”. Nausėda also called on “some politicians” to stop “making noise about nothing” and instead focus on building the infrastructure needed to host NATO troops.
The infrastructure is also a sensitive topic for the Lithuanian Armed Forces. Basically, the military has been complaining (mostly in private) that it is running short on space because much of its infrastructure ends up being used by NATO troops. Hence, the country needs to have more training facilities, both for allied troops and Lithuanian forces. The appetite will probably only grow, as Lithuania is mulling establishing a division in the future. The largest unit, currently, is a brigade.
NO CONSENT ON CONSENT
There seems to be no consensus on new laws on sexual consent. You may remember a few months back, the controversy exploded in the public when law amendments made their way into the parliament, which called for “explicit and free” consent to be clearly communicated before all sexual relations. The initiators said it would help victims of sexual violence. Those opposed (or misunderstanding the concept) ridiculed the “need” to visit lawyers before sexual relations, which NGOs and human rights advocates decried as nonsense.
Now, a poll has revealed that the battle lines are still there – some 56.6 percent of the respondents said the existing laws were sufficient. Another 12.5 percent backed the amendments, while 30.9 percent had no opinion.
Unsurprisingly, women were more likely to support the changes.
EDITOR’S PICKS:
– According to preliminary estimates by Statistics Lithuania, prices in December were 20 percent up compared to a year ago.
– Žygimantas Matekonis is one of the few Lithuanians fighting in Ukraine. After enduring a month at Kherson's frontlines, he was wounded. In an exclusive interview with LRT.lt, Matekonis talks about the fighting in southern Ukraine and his own warpath.
– “I remember there was silence for the first several days. It was the most horrible feeling. Is it 1933 again? Are you going to be silent? Are you leaving us alone? Free world, please, say something!” Ukrainian historian Tetiana Boriak recalls the feeling on the first days of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
– Lithuanian soldiers train Ukrainian mechanics to repair artillery guns – a dispatch from Rukla.
– Some 77.88 million euros and 9.46 million US dollars (8.9 million euros) in Russian and Belarusian companies’ funds have been frozen in Lithuania so far.
– Do you like fancy wine labels? Well, you may soon be disappointed to find them different.
– A prominent Lithuanian stylist and influencer Agnė Jagelavičiūtė has died aged 42, the country’s media reported on Wednesday.
– The story of a Moroccan doctor in Lithuania: “I tell my colleagues: You gave me a chance, you believed in me, so now, you won’t get rid of me.”
– Here are some of the things you shouldn’t miss on Vilnius’ anniversary.
– And a guy in Lithuania has built himself a private church.
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Written by Benas Gerdžiūnas
Edited by Ieva Žvinakytė
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