Lithuanian-Polish initiative calls for embassy-in-exile for Belarus opposition
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The white-red-white flag associated with the Belarusian opposition (associative image). / E. Blaževič/LRT
Around 100 members of European Parliament have proposed establishing an embassy-in-exile in Brussels for the Belarusian democratic opposition.
The list of 95 signatories was gathered by Poland’s MEP Andrzej Halicki and Lithuania’s Andrius Kubilius, according to Politico reporters in Brussels.
“Based on Lithuania’s experience [.] in the early 90s, an information bureau [.] in Washington and later in Brussels was very important for our work before we established [official] embassies,” Kubilius told LRT English.
“They were strong lobbying centres” for Lithuania after the country declared independence from the Soviet Union in March 1990, according to Kubilius.
How could Vilnius become a centre for Baltics and Eastern Europe?
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Vilnius, Lithuania / J. Stacevičius/LRT
Vilnius should free itself from the grips of domestic politics and strengthen partnerships with other countries, especially Belarus and Poland, according to speakers of the yearly Vilnius Identity Conference.
Vilnius Identity Conference organised by the Vilnius Club looked at the future of the Lithuanian capital during a panel discussions, Vilnius – in between Minsk and Warsaw . If the political will existed, Lithuania would return to reality [.] and not shed tears over ephemeral and, frankly, often non-existent Baltic solidarity, said Albinas Januška, a former secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There should be a return to investigating and aligning the real interests of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
LRT English Newsletter: Quarantine too light?
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Quarantine in Vilnius / E. Blaževič/LRT
LRT English Newsletter – December 11, 2020
This week, Lithuania’s daily coronavirus numbers have crossed into the 3,000+ territory and the pandemic has claimed its youngest victim so far – a 27-year-old man without any previously reported health issues.
A statistical analysis by a group of medics suggests there could be 3,000 excess deaths in Lithuania this year, possibly indicating the true scale of the pandemic.
The outgoing government introduced a slate of new restrictions on Wednesday, including some of that provoked a little head-scratching, like the rule for supermarkets to keep their parking lots 80-percent empty.