LRT English Newsletter – October 20, 2023.
Schools and institutions (including us) received hundreds – and later thousands – of bomb threats over the past week. Most of them were written in Russian and arrived via email, sending classrooms and offices packing. Despite institutions insisting everything was taken care of, parents of children in affected schools were reaching out to LRT, alleging chaos and fear was spreading among kids and teachers alike.
One of the reasons for the fear, many said, was the identical attack in Ukraine just before the full-scale invasion. Similar hoax bomb threats are now being reported in Moldova, as well as in Estonia and Latvia.
After the initial shock, it seems the police and authorities are developing a system for absorbing the flood of bomb threats. Without a doubt, the danger remains that at least one of the warnings may not be a hoax.
In the end, not a single explosive was found.
LOSING VILNIUS?
The surprise Hamas attack in Israel, alongside the flow of bomb threats, helped rekindle a debate – could Lithuania withstand a shock assault? If you recall, these discussions were really front and centre when the mercenaries of the Wagner private military company moved to Belarus, days after the group’s abortive mutiny in Russia.
Basically, Lithuania has an almost 700-kilometre-long border with Belarus and another one with Russia’s Kaliningrad. Needless to say, guarding every metre of the border is impossible, but the country’s authorities assure they are preparing for scenarios other than a full-scale invasion.
But what if things really hit the fan? According to a Lithuanian military instructor in Ukraine, it would take weeks for NATO to get its act together, meaning the country needs to be ready to defend itself from the get-go. “Vilnius is 30 kilometres from the border, and we will lose half the city [by the time help arrives],” said Andrejus Šildiajevas. Another military expert criticised Lithuania’s slow preparations for a society-wide defence, which kicked into gear after Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine. Read the full article here.
In other defence news, Lithuania has started repairing German-made tanks damaged in Ukraine, while more details have emerged about Berlin’s brigade due to be stationed in the country. Meanwhile, the decades-old idea to build a metro system in Vilnius got a boost following war fears. Developers (quite clearly trying to avoid building bomb shelters in every new apartment block) say a metro system would be more effective – as seen in Ukraine. Some politicians agree.
‘INHUMANE CONDITIONS’
A case against Lithuania continues at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over the treatment of an Iraqi national. Now, a Seimas ombudsperson told the Strasbourg court that the conditions at the Kybertai detention facility “amounted to inhumane and degrading treatment”. Read more here.
AMBASSADOR RECALLED
Lithuania’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Eitvydas Bajarūnas, was recalled to Vilnius for consultations. We wrote more about the situation in a previous newsletter (here), but to recap – the allegations levelled against him include abuse of office and mobbing. In turn, Bajarūnas says he is suffering from psychological abuse and has asked for an independent investigation into the whole situation. Lithuania’s president has also criticised the Foreign Ministry’s handling of the issue.
EDITOR’S PICKS
– Elections have wrapped up in Poland, but do they signal “winds of change”? Daniel Gleichgewicht, an editor at our partner publication, New Eastern Europe, looks into it.
– Brussels will examine Lithuania’s bank levy. Meanwhile, banks in the country recorded another 2.5-fold increase in profits.
– Oren Ziv was among the first to photograph dead bodies piled up on Israeli streets. “We saw bodies around as you see in Ukraine,” he recalled. Despite the shock, fear, and anger, many families don’t want their pain to be used by politicians to call for revenge, he added. Read the interview here.
– Three years after Belarus’s democratic uprising, Belarusians in Europe are met with increasing suspicion, but now more than ever, European leaders should guarantee enduring support to Belarusian exiles. Pavel Slunkin and Gabrielė Valodskaitė argue for the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank.
– I Made Sutama, whom friends call Oka, came to Lithuania as a wood carver eight years ago. Now, wood has largely been replaced by a more ephemeral material – ice. Read the story about a Balinese man finding a new home in Vilnius here.
– Poverty in Lithuania is due to fall. But to help address those in urgent need, the Red Cross has opened a helpline.
– Lithuania’s government has prepared a primer about the dual-citizenship referendum, dispelling some myths and misconceptions.
– Apparently, Lithuania is great for remote workers.
– Your houses are finally getting warm, thanks to central heating. Speaking of which – you still have a chance to catch an interesting exhibition, we hear, at the National Museum about the Soviet occupation, Trapped (with Central Heating). It finishes later this month.
– And LRT tapes are back. This time it’s rocket ships.
Would you like to contribute to LRT English? Please send your suggestions, submissions, and pitches to english@lrt.lt
Written by Benas Gerdžiūnas
Edited by Ieva Žvinakytė
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