VILNIUS - An ethics committee has found that the head of the Vilnius City Migration Service, Gintaras Baguzis, breached the police officers' ethics code with controversial comments about immigrants being potential terrorists.
"We think that some of the comments said by Baguzis go against the code of officer's ethics," the head of the Vilnius Police Commission, Sigitas Mecelica, said.
The officer ethics code delineates what behavior is appropriate for police officers to display.
It has not yet been decided what punishment is in store for Baguzis, but after his comments during the television press conference, superior Regimantas Ciupaila from the Ministry of the Interior slammed him and said he would be investigated.
Baguzis' comments were made after his return from a conference in Amsterdam, where he noticed a large population of people from non-European states. He pondered whether Lithuanians would appreciate the same cultural mix in their country.
"Some 50, 70 or 80 percent of people in the streets [in Amsterdam] are foreigners. The same situation is in all European capitals. Do we think that 80 percent Turks and Chinese among people in Vilnius' streets would be good?" he asked rhetorically.
His speech ostensibly tackled the issue of illegal workers in Lithuania. "The problems have started when Lithuania joined the EU. They cause social and criminal problems. Lithuania is not ready to solve these problems. A person from a third country [non-EU country] is a person of different culture and religion. He is automatically causing problems for the state," Baguzis said.
Asked if they are potential terrorists, he answered, "Why not?"
