International Baltic Academy v. the government

International Baltic Academy(TBA) in Vilnius warns that it will turn to court if Lithuanian Government decides to close it - BTV reported(25Mar.2005)

Lithuania's Ministry of Education and Science has suggested to the government to close the higher education school which belongs to Baltic Russian Institute founded in Latvia. The suggestion was based on the fact that, according to the ministry, TBA has constantly been disobeying laws and regulations set by Lithuanian government and has inadequately organized the studies. The management of the Baltic Academy believe that this is just foul schemes of the local state higher education institutions. They claim that since Lithuania is "5-7 years behind Latvia and Estonia in the level of private school development", the state universities are afraid to lose potential students.

TBA leadership claims that Ministry of Education never met neither the students nor the leaders of the school and never cared about their opinion. According to BTV, Minister of Education Remigijus Motuzas denied it, saying that Education and Studies' Department workers visited the school many times. TBA management was addressed a number of times and was asked to confirm whether all programs are accredited and all licenses obtained. However, they failed to answer and provided insufficient documentation. Meanwhile, the rector of International Baltic Academy stated that they have all necessary accreditations and licenses and that they will turn to court if government decides to close the school.

Adoption through abduction

On Monday a 24-year old woman abducted an almost 2 year-old boy from and orphanage in Vilnius.(LNK reported on 22Mar.2005) The woman came to the institution in the evening with a fake chit of request for adoption. She claimed she wanted to adopt a baby, but she would like to know him first. Thus when she asked for some time with the child, a possibility to play and try on the clothes she had brought for the baby, no one saw any danger in leaving her alone with the boy. According to the orphanage workers she looked neat and trustful.
As soon as it was noticed that both - the woman nad the baby are gone, police was called. The 24-year-old Kaunas resident herself brought the baby back the following day. She claimed that she loves kids and that she doesn't have any of her own. Thus she wanted to adopt some baby. According to TV3 news, the woman claims that the idea to take the baby away came spontaneously. However when the next day she learned that she is wanted by the police, she got scared and brought the 21-month old boy back.
After signing a warrant and having her passport taken away by the police, the young woman was released from the custody.

Seimas v. President

"President was slapped on the face by the Seimas" LNK news announced last week (15Mar.2005) after the Seimas of Lithuanian Republic (Lithuania's parliament) rejected President Valdas Adamkus's nominated appointment of Toma Birmontiene to the Judges of Lithuania's Constitutional Court.

President V.Adamkus, who at that time was visiting Israel (14th-17 March), was surprised to hear that. So was his advisor T.Birmontiene who, according to LNK, during the meetings with factions before did not receive any criticism.

The criticism voiced by the Liberal Democrats in the Seimas on the day of the secret vote, however, was quite strong - Birmontiene was called a "faithful servant of the Soviet ideology". These accusations were connected Toma Birmontiene's dissertation "The founding of Soviet militia in Lithuania" at the Lomonosov
Moscow State University in 1989. The members of parliament also remembered that the candidate's father used to belong to NKVD.

The opposition who supported Birmontiene's nomination believes that the rejection of her candidacy was Liberal Democrats' revenge for her criticism towards former president Rolandas Paksas during his impeachment process. They also believe that this is also a way for the coalition in power to requite President Valdas Adamkus for not going to Moscow's 9th of May celebrations. Meanwhile parliament's vice-chairman Ceslovas Jursenas claims no one is trying to get square with anyone here.

President V.Adamkus has no doubt that T.Birmontiene is suitable for the position, but according to LNK news (22Mar.2005)he hasn't yet decided whether to suggest her candidacy again. He has asked Chair of the Seimas Arturas Paulauskas to find out what the Seimas's vote would be if he did. Paulauskas said he still has no good news for the President. Meanwhile Toma Birmontiene herself does not show much enthusiasm about it any more.
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For more information about Lithuania's court system please check Lithuanian Constitution.

Lietuva- tai ne Rusija!

Jau daugiau nei pusantro mėnesio BBC World “Living Heritage” laida rodo filmą apie Lietuvos medžio drožybos tradicijas. Šis filmas pribloškė ne vieną mažosios valstybės pilietį – dėl Latvijos TV gamybos firmos, vienas žymiausių šalies dievadirbių Adolfas Teresius priverstas pasauliui kalbėti rusiškai. (Dalia Gudavišiūtė, Lietuvos Rytas , Kovo 7, 2005)
Nors rusų kalba yra viena iš šešių oficialių UNESCO kalbų, Lietuvos ambasadorė UNESCO Ina Marčiulionytė kreipėsi į šią organizaciją bandydama juos įtikinti kaip svarbu, turint galvoje mūsų istoriją, yra pranešti pasauliui jog Lietuva turi savo kalbą.
Latvijos kūrybinė grupė , atsiųsta BBC, nesiteikė atsivežti net vertėjo. Nors Teresius siūlė kalbėti Lietuviškai ar bent Žemaitiškai, filmavimo komanda prieštaravo, teigdami jog tai techniškai neįmanoma ir jie galį bendrauti tik rusiškai. Pasak Lietuvos Ryto, A. Teresius tikina, kad Latviai žadėjo jog meistro kalba nesigirdės ir viską užgoš komentarai anglų kalba.
Lietuvos Ambasadorė UNESCO paprašė organizacijos perfilmuoti filmą, kad būtų ištaisyta klaida. Tačiau jai buvo pranešta jog to padaryti nebegalima. Tuo tarpu, pamačius filmą per BBC, Živilė Gelumbauskaitė, Geologijos ir Geografijos Instituto mokslininkė, nusiuntė BBC World elektroninį laišką, prašydama daugiau jo neberodyti ar bent netransliuoti jo Vasario 16-ąją. BBC atsakė padėka už tai, jog Ž.Gelumbauskaitė žiūri jų programą, ir pažadu, jog bus pranešta atsakingiems asmenims.
Tuo tarpu A.Teresius vis dar kalba rusiškai apie Lietuvos tradicijas milijonams pasaulio žiūrovų, kurių daugelis vis dar mano jog Lietuva tėra Rusijos dalis...

Lithuania is NOT Russia!

For more than two and a half months BBC World "Living Heritage" program has been broadcasting a film on Lithuania's wood carving traditions. The film has stunned many citizens of this little country - due to the Latvian production company one of the most famous country's craftsmen Adolfas Teresius is forced to speak to the world in Russian.(Dalia Gudaviciute, Lietuvos Rytas,7.Mar.2005)
Although Russian is one of the six official UNESCO languages, Lithuania's ambassador to UNESCO Ina Marciulionyte has addressed the organization trying to make them understand how important, considering our historic background, it is to tell the world that we Lithuania has its own language.
Latvian creative team, sent by BBC, did not bother to bring a translator. Although Teresius offered to speak Lithuanian or at least Samogitian (West Lithuania's regional language, similar to Latvian), the team objected saying that it is technically impossible and they can only speak Russian. According to Lietuvos Rytas, A.Teresius claims that the Latvians promised the craftsman's speech would not be heard - everything would be dubbed in English.
Lithuania's Ambassador to UNESCO asked the organization to re-shoot the film in order to correct the mistake but was told that it's impossible.
Meanwhile, after seeing the clip on BBC Zivile Gelumbauskaite, a Geology and Geography Institute scientist, e-mailed BBC World asking not to show it any more or , at least, not to show it on the 16th of February, Lithuania's Independence Day. BBC answered by thanking her for watching their program and promised to inform responsible people.
However, A.Teresius still keeps talking in Russian about old Lithuanian traditions to millions of viewers around the world, many of who still think that the little country is just a part of Russia...

Kindergarten or a Boot Camp?

Monday night(15Mar.2005) the public was shocked by the local TV reports of an unprecedented violence in a kindergarten in Lithuania.
Several parents have withdrawn their children from a kindergarten in Juodkrante (West Lithuania)as the kindergartners are accused of drinking, harassing and torturing four-year-olds. According to the parents, the children were forced to kneel on the floor and hold stools over their heads and even to eat vomit... According to LNK report, parents claim that children who did not sing when asked to, had their heads dipped in water closets, those who failed to sleep were lined naked on cold bathroom floor, and pinched so severely that their little bodies were marked with bruises...
Municipality officials tried to settle the issue with a mere disciplinary notice to the accused two kindergartners for atrocious behavior. Therefore parents of the children turned to the inspector of Child Protection.
According TV3 report,The kindergarten workers say they were only playing and deny all the accusation, still enjoying the privilege of working with youngsters.
The positions of the two kindergartners are now in question since the Child Protection organization is involved. According to the CP inspector, the accusation are more than credible considering the fact that one of the teachers already has a record of violence towards children. More than ten years ago she was fired from a school as a result of similar incidents.
It is still difficult to believe that such things can happen even in an institution like kindergarten...

Standing Up On Our Dignity...

Last Monday(7Mar.2005)Lithuania's President Valdas Adamkus ,together with Estonia's President Arnold Rüütel, officially declined Russia's leader Vladimir Putin's invitation to the 60th Victory Day jubilee in Moscow in May.
Russia's victory against the Nazi Germany on the 9th May,1945, in Lithuania is mostly associated with the start of 50-year-long Soviet occupation. Nevertheless , today Russia is the country's strong and influential economic partner. Therefore Adamkus's decision to "stay in Lithuania, with the people" caused mixed emotions among fellow-countrymen.The discussions whether or not to accept the invitation from Moscow had been already taking place for a couple of months. The greatest instigation of President Adamkus's decision were V.Putin's recent statements during his visit to Slovakia where Russia's leader justified the occupation of the Baltic states and claimed that the Ribbentrop - Molotov Pact was only the means to secure Soviet Union's western border.
According to LNK report(13Mar.2005),Lithuania's decision not to send any representative to the Victory Day celebration in Moscow, remained almost unnoticed in the West, whereas the irritation of Russia is directed towards their officials in Lithuania, namely the Ambassador of Russian Federation to the Republic of Lithuania Mr. Boris Cepov. According to the Lithuania's biggest daily Lietuvos Rytas, sources in Russia's foreign affairs ministry claim that Lithuanian leader's statement was contradictory to what they had expected. Their report to the Kremlin had been mainly based on Mr. Cepov's personal guarantees that Adamkus would surely attend the ceremony in May. In Moscow Cepov's actions have been assessed as a "risky and unjustified attempt to create an image of a proficient in Lithuanian politics" (Lietuvos Rytas). His further career as the Ambassador of Russia to Lithuania is now in jeopardy.

Vis dar ieškoma Nepriklausomybės

Nepriklausomybės Deklaracija ( Vasario16,1918) buvo pirmasis ir svarbiausias žingsnis link demokratinės Lietuvos valstybės. Tačiau dokumento originalo buvimo vieta - vis dar paslaptyje.
Šio valstybingumo simbolio paieška atvedė valstybės pareigūnus prie vieno namo slenksčio Kėdainiuose. Nuo tada jie atlieka ten kratas, gręžioja sienas, ardo slenksčius ir planuoja nuardyti dalį stogo, kad tik surastų vertingąjį dokumentą.
Visa tai prasidėjo, kai buvęs namo šeimininkas, jau beveik aštuoniasdešimties metų žmogus, staiga pareiškė jog neryškiai prisimena paslėpęs Nepriklausomybės Deklaraciją kažkur name, kai jį statė.
Bet kaskart jis nurodo vis kitą vietą, ir, pasak TV3 žinių pranešimo (Kovo10,2005),dabartinis namo šeimininkas nėra patenkintas tokiu jo turto gadinimu ir tiki jog tai – jo žmogaus teisių pažeidinėjimas.

Still searching for the Independence

The Declaration of Independence (16Feb.1918) was the first and most significant step towards the democratic state of Lithuania. However the whereabouts of the original documents is still a mystery.
The search for this symbol of statehood has brought state officials to the doorstep of one house in the town of Kedainiai. Ever since, they've been conducting searches, drilling walls, ripping apart doorsteps and planning to remove part of the roof of the family's home in order to find the precious document.
All this was triggered when the former owner of the house, now almost an 80 year old man, suddenly declared that he faintly remembered to have hidden the Declaration of Independence somewhere in the house while building it.
However, he indicates a different place every time and , according to TV3 news report (10 Mar.2005), the current owner of the house is displeased with this tearing apart of his property and believes it's the infringement of his individual rights.

Wellcome to Lithuania

The beginning of the Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic's official visit to Lithuania just once again showed that we cannot get everything into the right place at the right time even when it is really important.
The Welcoming ceremony in the yard of the Presidential House in Vilnius on the 28th of January was a mess.
Firstly, 2/3 of the Guard of Honor Company did not turn up at the President's residence to salute Ivan Gasparovic that day because of unexpected problems with transportation. In addition because of the cold members of the military orchestra were unable to play their instruments... Well, where there's a will there's a way - it was decided to substitute the orchestra with records of the marches. The only problem was that for some reason the records also didn't start on time... The protocol was not broken according to the army commander V. Tutkus. Well, no broken protocol, but what a shame!

The Day of Kindness

On the 5th of March, for already third spring, one of the most popular Lithuanian TV channel LNK (Free and Independent Channel) invited everyone to witness a charitable music and publicist TV marathon "The Day of Kindness" and to help children to fight cancer.
During the 5 hour live broadcast people called in and donated little sums of money that would be used in curing little cancer patients of Lithuania. The project organizers were hoping from the beginning that this year the half-a-million-litas sum (a little less than 150 000 EUR) , collected last year would be topped this first Saturday of spring. However these hopes proved to be too humble. Last years sum was exceeded already in the 3rd hour of the broadcast and at the end of the marathon ended in well over 1 million litas(300 000 EUR).
1 point to the benefit of LNK and , of course 1 million points for the children who await their long and painful treatment... And this year, hopefully, all the money will go to the right place...