{"id":994,"date":"2025-12-11T14:48:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T13:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/?p=994"},"modified":"2025-12-11T14:48:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T13:48:30","slug":"hands-off-free-speech-mass-protests-in-lithuania","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/2025\/12\/11\/hands-off-free-speech-mass-protests-in-lithuania\/","title":{"rendered":"Hands off Free Speech! Mass protests in Lithuania"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>&#8220;The protest will last no more than an hour (from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.). <strong>You can express your civic engagement during your lunch break<\/strong>&#8220;. An unusual invitation, one that we, as Italians, are certainly not used to. <strong>An invitation that called on the entire citizenry to express support for the protest<\/strong> organized by journalists from <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lrt.lt\/en\/news-in-english\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">the Lithuanian national broadcaster LRT<\/a><\/strong>, with the support of the cultural community. <strong>Over ten thousand people<\/strong> (according to police data) responded and on December 9th, <strong>they showed up at 12:00 p.m. in Independence Square in Vilnius<\/strong>, right next to the Lithuanian Parliament. An immense human wave, composed and <strong>determined to defend the principles and values \u200b\u200bof a young Republic <\/strong>that regained independence in 1990, after nearly fifty years of Soviet occupation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">WATCH OUR REPORTING<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Hands Off Free Speech! Mass protests in Lithuania\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LV9-6rr21WU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Mass protest in Vilnius to support freedom and free speech.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A crowd of aware citizens<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Following the attack on the cultural community<\/strong> with the appointment of a Minister of Culture from <strong>the populist, anti-Semitic, pro-Russian, and homophobic Nemunas Au\u0161ra party<\/strong> (<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/2025\/10\/07\/protests-in-lithuania-all-united-for-a-free-culture\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">read the full story<\/a><\/strong>), the same party has presented <strong>a series of proposals intended to legitimize the dismissal of the director<\/strong> of the public broadcaster LRT <strong>without any real justification<\/strong> and with a lower number of voters in favor than under current rules: from 8 to 6 out of a total of 12 members of the LRT Council. Furthermore, <strong>Nemunas Au\u0161ra has called for a significant budget cut for the broadcaster<\/strong>, which journalists and experts say would create management difficulties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These proposals, according to journalists and experts, <strong>risk undermining the right to information and freedom of expression<\/strong> in a democratic state. The concern is that <strong>politicians are aiming to seize control of public radio and television<\/strong>. They want to silence freedom of speech, starting with LRT and then <strong>extending their control to all media outlets<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This is what has happened in other countries.<\/strong> In Poland and Slovakia, but also in Georgia (Sakartvelo). The Polish Journalists&#8217; Society has sent its support to the Lithuanian demonstration. Slovak and Georgian representatives have expressed concern about what is happening in Lithuania. <strong>&#8220;It started like this in our country too&#8221;<\/strong>, they say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cWe fought for freedom, we will not back down\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Thirty-five years have passed since March 1990<\/strong>, when Lithuania declared its independence and began <strong>a long process of rebuilding its democratic state<\/strong>. From that date until August 1993, when the last Soviet soldiers still on Lithuanian soil departed, <strong>the country had to resist attacks from the Soviet Union<\/strong>, which had no intention of recognizing the Baltic country&#8217;s independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/2020\/01\/22\/vilnius-remember-events-january-1991\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">In January 1991,<\/a><\/strong> Gorbachev, then <strong>leader of the USSR, sent special forces and tanks to restore Soviet &#8220;order&#8221;.<\/strong> On January 13th, <strong>the attack on the television tower <\/strong>and the national broadcaster: LRT, yesterday as today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Citizens organized a peaceful defense of the television tower and Parliament<\/strong>. Unarmed citizens against tanks. <strong>The attack resulted in fourteen deaths and numerous injuries.<\/strong> But the Lithuanians did not surrender (read the full story) and defended Parliament to the end. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/2022\/01\/16\/freedom-defenders-day-2022-our-report-from-vilnius\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">The desire for freedom and independence<\/a><\/strong> after decades of <strong>brutal occupation and deportations<\/strong> to the gulags was too strong against a Soviet Union now on the brink of collapse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Citizens of yesterday and new generations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At the mass rally held in Vilnius, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reel\/387257707148082\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">many people experienced the tragic moments of 1991<\/a><\/strong>. They were joined by many young people born in independent Lithuania who had never lived under occupation, but knew <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/2025\/08\/10\/lives-in-the-darkest-hour-of-soviet-occupation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">the stories of their grandparents and great-grandparents.<\/a><\/strong> Many of them were deported to Siberia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One protester held a sign that read: <strong>&#8220;We stood against tanks in 1991, now we stand against control over media\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The protest was directed not only at the leader of the Nemunas Au\u0161ra<\/strong> party, <strong>Remigijus \u017demaitaitis<\/strong>, but <strong>also at President Gitanas Naus\u0117da<\/strong>, whom many consider too <strong>weak to defend the attacks on freedom and the values \u200b\u200bof the Constitution<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Much criticism was also directed at the Social Democratic Party<\/strong>, the coalition&#8217;s majority party, which, according to many citizens and political experts, <strong>is showing a serious lack of leadership<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Journalists and singers took turns on the stage, including <strong>Andrius Mamontovas<\/strong>, who with the song &#8220;Wake Up&#8221; <strong>urged the President to &#8220;wake up&#8221; and stand up to defend freedom<\/strong> of expression and the freedom of the media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"607\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Egle-Bucelyte-Journalist-LRT-1-1024x607.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-997\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Egle-Bucelyte-Journalist-LRT-1-1024x607.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Egle-Bucelyte-Journalist-LRT-1-300x178.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Egle-Bucelyte-Journalist-LRT-1-768x455.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Egle-Bucelyte-Journalist-LRT-1-640x379.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Egle-Bucelyte-Journalist-LRT-1.jpg 1417w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Egl\u0117 Buc\u0117lyt\u0117, journalist of LRT. A historic frame from January 1991 when Soviet special forces stormed the television studios, interrupting broadcasts<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The crowd was filled with emotion when Egl\u0117 Buc\u0117lyt\u0117<\/strong>, a journalist with nearly forty years of experience for LRT, took the stage. <strong>In January 1991, she remained on air until the last second.<\/strong> Until Soviet special forces broke down the door of the television studio where she and other colleagues had barricaded themselves, and shut down the broadcast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A shared protest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The rally was the culmination of a series of protests<\/strong> organized by LRT employees during television programs. Minutes of silence, real lessons in democracy given by professors and historians, and programs recounting <strong>what happened in countries where a free press has been silenced by politicians.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The large crowd that participated in the protest is <strong>a powerful testimony to a vigilant civil society aware that freedom cannot be taken for granted.<\/strong> Now the government has its say. <strong>Will it listen to the citizens&#8217; voices?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, in Brussels, <strong>European Union representatives have expressed concern about what is happening in Lithuania.<\/strong> As a member of the EU, Lithuania has signed up to the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/commission.europa.eu\/strategy-and-policy\/priorities-2019-2024\/new-push-european-democracy\/protecting-democracy\/european-media-freedom-act_en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">European Media Freedom Act<\/a><\/strong>. A few days ago, the partner organizations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) stated: &#8220;&#8230;The proposed changes to the law governing the Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT risk weakening its editorial independence and disrupting its sustainable funding&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>CEE public broadcasters have addressed an open letter to the Lithuanian parliament<\/strong>, warning that \u201csuch changes contradict <strong>the safeguards established under the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA),<\/strong> which requires that appointment and dismissal procedures for public service media leadership <strong>guarantee independence and include clear protections against undue influence\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">WATCH OUR REPORTING<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Hands Off Free Speech! Mass protests in Lithuania\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LV9-6rr21WU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Mass Protest in Vilnius to support freedom and free speech<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;The protest will last no more than an hour (from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.). You can express your civic engagement during your lunch break&#8220;. An unusual invitation, one that we, as Italians, are certainly not used to. An invitation that<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,1],"tags":[224,225,84,29,11,26,223,219,216,41],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/994"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=994"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":999,"href":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/994\/revisions\/999"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}