Lietuva in brief - 2004-04-15

Ten Lithuanians serving in Iraq survived an insurgents' ambush on April 9 in an administrational building they were guarding near the city of Basra in the southern part of the country.

According to the Defense Ministry, the soldiers, who belong to the Grand Duke Algirdas Battalion, returned fire but did not pursue their attackers.

Officials from the Foreign and Defense Ministries announced their intention to continue Lithuania's peacekeeping operations in Iraq. According to the ministries, the 120 troops serving in Iraq will remain in the country for the foreseeable future in spite of the recent spate of insurgent attacks there and announcements by other coalition partner nations that they may be pulling out.

According to Police Commis-sioner General Vytautas Grigaravicius (photo), organized crime rings have increased activity in the western city of Siauliai since the arrival of some 100 NATO troops at nearby Zokniai Airport in early April. Grigaravicius reported an increase in prostitution in Siauliai, where the troops stay, with prostitutes offering their services to foreign military personnel at three times the normal domestic price.

Grigaravicius garnered the highest approval rating among all national officials in a poll published in the daily Lietuvos rytas on April 10. The police chief, of whom 64.8 percent of respondents approved, edged out acting Parliamentary Chairman Ceslovas Jursenas for the top spot, with former President Rolandas Paksas receiving only 27.4 percent.

Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas stated his conditional support for pushing back parliamentary elections from this autumn to next spring. According to Brazauskas, the postponement would allow Parliament to finish its work according to the budget it had approved. Acting President Arturas Paulauskas, who is also former parliamentary chairman, must decide on an election date by April 19.

Brazauskas discussed the replacement of State Security Department Chief Mecys Laurinkus (photo) with acting Parliamentary Chairman Ceslovas Jursenas on April 9. Laurinkus, who was set to become Lithuania's ambassador to Spain last autumn, released compromising information on former President Rolandas Paksas weeks before his scheduled departure, after which he remained in his post.

Valentinas Junokas, head of the Special Investigation Service, hinted after a meeting with acting President Arturas Paulauskas that he may resign from his post. Junokas was criticized by the media during the presidential crisis for his alleged ties to Paksas and for supposedly instigating a spat this winter over parliamentarians' land purchases.