Lithuania’s Culture Ministry will seek to replace the World Day of Culture, to be marked on Saturday, with World Art Day due to the former’s links with Russia.
“Russia was one of the initiators of the World Day of Culture and has made this date part of its propaganda,” Culture Minister Simonas Kairys wrote on Facebook on Friday.
“The Banner of Peace, traditionally hoisted on the World Day of Culture, has unfortunately also been flown in the Donetsk war zone, confirming Russia’s imperialist goals,” he added.
The close links between the World Day of Culture and Russia call for a reassessment of this tradition, according to the minister.
“We, therefore, invite the public to celebrate World Art Day on April 15 from now on, as encouraged by UNESCO, and to hoist the flag of Ukraine instead of the Banner of Peace. We will ask the Seimas Committee on Culture to amend the Law on Commemorative Days to remove the World Day of Culture and to declare April 15 World Art Day in Lithuania,” Kairys said.
The World Day of Culture can be traced back to the so-called Roerich Pact.
In 1935, US President Franklin Roosevelt and representatives of 20 Central and South American countries signed a treaty on the preservation of art and science institutions and historical monuments in what was the first international agreement to protect cultural valuables.
“However, the idea of the Peace Pact was forgotten during WWII, and many cultural heritage sites were reduced to rubble, and the Banner of Peace was eventually used by pro-Kremlin activists,” the Culture Ministry said in its statement on Friday, noting that the World Day of Culture has been celebrated in Lithuania on April 15 since 2006.
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