Minister quits following death crash

VILNIUS 's- Lithuanian Interior Minister Raimondas Sukys handed in his resignation Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas on 12 November.

Kirkilas' spokeswoman Nemira Pumprickaite confirmed to BNS that Sukys made the move in the wake of a car crash that claimed the lives of three children.

On Nov. 7, a car being driven by a police officer ploughed into a group of children returning home from school. Two ten-year-old boys were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash and third died of his injuries in hospital.

Sukys had hinted last week that he might consider resigning. Though he was not directly involved in the tragic incident, Interior Minister Sukys is ultimately responsible for the conduct of the police.

The minister himself demanded the resignation of the police's Commissioner General Vytautas Grigaravicius, and said that if Grigaravicius refused to go, he would himself stand down.

In a meeting with PM Kirkilas on Nov. 10, Sukys said that the tragic event in Skuodas revealed that serious problems within the police force have been accumulating over a seven-year period and illustrated that the force is in crisis - both in terms of management and morale.

For his part, Grigaravicius told BNS that he even though he assumes responsibility for the tragedy, he will leave his post only if a "political decision" is made. At the time of the incident he was attending a function in Morocco, but after a meeting with President Valdas Adamkus on Nov. 12, he did announce his resignation.

Prime Minister Kirkilas divided the responsibility equally between the district's police department, the police Commissioner General, the minister and himself.

"How many more victims will the war on the roads claim before politicians, state officials see and start to address the traffic issues?" asked President Valdas Adamkus, speaking via a spokesperson.

The president talked about the tragedy in the district of Skuodas with Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas over the phone on Thursday.

In the aftermath of the crash, Sukys was forthright in his appraisal of the situation. "There can be no excuses. The chief of the Police Department must bear personal responsibility for this horrible incident - all the more as it is not the first time that instead of curbing traffic violators, police officers become culprits."

The officer responsible for the crash is reported to have fled the scene. He was escorted to the police station the next day by his older brother 's also a police officer.