Vilnius rally cancelled

VILNIUS- After the Vilnius municipality refused to sanction the non-parliamentary Front Party rally outside the parliament building on Feb. 3, the party decided to recall the protest.

The party's leaders said they would not be responsible if people decide to gather and the meeting turned into unrest.

"I believe it is unprecedented case in Lithuania and the rest of Europe when the administration fears communication with people thus violating the article of the Constitution on the right to peaceful gatherings. They are attempting to avoid the unavoidable, I mean the wave of social protests across Lithuania," the leader of the Front Party Algirdas Paleckis told reporters at a news conference on Jan. 30.

He did not rule out that people may still crowd outside the parliament building on Tuesday.

Paleckis and another party member Audrius Butkevicius, said they would appear outside the Seimas around noon on Feb. 3 to see what happens.

State Security Department chief Povilas Malakauskas and Police Commissioner General Vizgirdas Telycenas noted that the parliament territory could be fenced in under a police request to the capital city's municipality.

"The police force is preparing for taking measures against an unsanctioned protest rally, if one should take place," said Telycenas.

A rally on Jan. 16 called near the Seimas building in Vilnius ended in riots, which left civilians and officers injured, parliament building windows broken and surrounding buildings damaged.