Increasing Lithuanian-Belarusian tension

Mar 27, 2008
In cooperation with BNS

VILNIUS- Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas views the Belarusian forceful actions against peaceful demonstrators as a fear of losing authority.

"All regimes fear opposition, losing authority, and thus behave this way. There's little wonder", Kirkilas said in a radio interview.

He expressed regrets that Lithuania's neighboring state "lives about 30 years back" as its people cannot commemorate historical dates.

The prime minister deemed the actions taken by Belarusian police as "absolutely not in congruence with norms of the European Union and Europe altogether".

"We demanded an explanation. Moreover so, because these were not illegal journalists, they had accreditations", Kirkilas spoke.

"We have to maintain a dialogue with the neighbor state as there are economic dealings, including nuclear energy, as Ignalina (nuclear power plant) is on the same lake, it borders with both countries, and there are other links as well. However Lithuania also maintains relations with the opposition. Political parties have connections, the EuropeanHumanitiesUniversity operates in Lithuania, there are many projects under implementation with other countries", Kirkilas said.

On Tuesday, the unsanctioned Belarusian opposition demonstration in Minsk, attended by hundreds of people, ended in clashes with the police and the detention, according to different reports, of 80 to over 100 protesters. A crew of the Lithuanian national television was among the detained.

The demonstration was held to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the declaration of the restoration of Belarusian Independence.