VILNIUS - A Russian news program aired on channel ORT on Aug. 31 questioned the historical grounds of Lithuania's independence, causing uproar among both politicians and the populace.
Indignant with the TV show 's "The Secrets of the Century" 's Minister of Foreign Affairs Antanas Valionis addressed the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania requesting that rapid actions be taken in deciding whether it is advisable to broadcast the Latvia-based First Baltic Channel, which includes ORT programs, on Lithuanian territory.
In his proclamation the minister stated that "Secrets of the Century," which many feel has become a propaganda tool against the Baltics, distorted historical facts about the Molotov-Ribentrop pact and its consequences.
The program's authors were accused of slanting historical facts about the pact and failing to provide a full picture of the situation, limiting content to Soviet biased information. The program asserted that the Soviet Union had lawfully overtaken the Baltic states while defending them from the aggression of Hitler's Germany.
In effect, "The Secrets of the Century" denied the Baltic states' Soviet occupation.
Lithuania, specifically, was accused of collaborating with the Nazi regime by the program's authors.
"It is possible to understand that the show essentially defends the occupation of Lithuania 's it questions the sovereignty and independence of the Republic of Lithuania and the legal grounds of its territorial integrity. This harms the dignity of Lithuanian people and might stir national enmity," Valionis said.
The State Security Department and Institute of International Relations and Political Science at Vilnius University also addressed the commission with concerns about the Russian program and even requested that retransmission of the channel's programs be banned.
The State Security Department concluded that the TV show's ideas possibly violated the law and could threaten national security. Nevertheless, the department did not confirm an actual violation of law.
"We recommended forbidding the channel in Lithuania because it was aiming to persuade its viewers that Lithuania does not have historical grounds for independence and is worthless as a state," said Lauras Bielinis, a professor at Vilnius University who also signed the recommendation letter to the radio and television commission.
"With an open text, the authors of the program were implying that Lithuanian borders could be changed at any time because the Vilnius and Klaipeda regions do not historically belong to Lithuania," said Bielinis. "This was another provocative program aiming to raise discontent about Lithuania's independence and to create international tension."
However, the grave concern among politicians and state security officials was not yet enough to shut off retransmission of the ORT program in Lithuania. The Radio and Television Commission defended itself by stating that it had tried to avoid an emotional judgment and obey the laws 's therefore, it did not ban the channel.
"A lot of people on the street kept asking us to close down the channel, but this would have surpassed our duties," said Nerijus Maliukevicius, an executive director of the Radio and Television Commission.
As The Baltic Times went to press, the commission was sending an official inquiry to the National Broadcasting Council of Latvia with a request to decide upon the future of the First Baltic Channel, which retransmits ORT's programs. The former is the only institution that has a right to cancel the existence of the First Baltic Channel.
ORT is the largest Russian broadcast channel in terms of coverage, and it is known to be under the direct control of the Kremlin's administration. During the last years of former President Boris Yeltsin's rule, tycoon Boris Berezovsky controlled the channel, but it was wrested from his control not long after Vladimir Putin became president in 2000. Subsequently, other major TV channels in Russia were also subjected to the Kremlin's control.
