Azubalis condemns Nazi activity

VILNIUS - Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis has condemned a wave of neo-nazi activity in the country.

“Such acts are considered as attacks against the Lithuanian state and the entire civil society, they incite hatred for the Lithuanian Jewish community and should be qualified as a provocation against Lithuania and its multiple efforts in the field of promoting tolerance,“ the minister said in a press release. 

"These efforts are particularly intensive during the current Year of Remembrance for the Victims of the Holocaust in Lithuania and during the Lithuanian OSCE Chairmanship," he said.

Numerous Nazi flags were found in Vilnius and anti-semetic remarks spray-painted around Kaunas last week as extremists marked Hitler's birthday. The incidents come on the heels of a slew of anti-semetic attacks in which Jewish graves were defaced with swastikas.

“We hope that the law enforcement authorities will immediately identify the offenders and their actions will be properly assessed in accordance with the Lithuanian legislation,“ he said.

Lithuanian parliamentary speaker Irene Degutiene has also condemned the activity and pledged that the perpetrators would be caught and punished.