Lithuanian security report focuses on media groups voicing pro-Moscow ideas

“Please note that the critical opinions of Lithuania’s foreign policies and political administration published by the media of the Respublikos Leidiniai and balsas.lt groups often echoed the ideas propagated by Moscow,” the department said in a report.

According to the document, “the media aimed to question the Lithuanian membership in the European Union (EU), NATO and other Euro-Atlantic organizations, consistently formed an opinion that our country’s membership in the organizations implied political and financial harm”.

The department said that “anti-Western and pro-Russian ideas were actively disseminated by the organization Mūsų Gretos of signatory Rolandas Paulauskas. In 2014, it launched live broadcasts of the show Naktigonė Kitaip on Youtube, publishing its documentaries and other coverage on sauksmas.lt website.”

Diana Veleckienė, director of Respublikos Leidiniai, said that the report did not provide any concrete examples and reflected “the biased opinion of the person behind the report, which should also be respected”.

“A democratic society cannot discard a critical discussion, doubts or questions, as it would no longer be a democratic society then. This would be a direct path to dictatorship. The mission of the media is to protect citizens from the government’s unfair, loss-making and simply silly decisions and intentions, particularly, if the decisions are made in a narrow circle and are imposed upon all citizens,” Veleckienė said in comment of the report.

Paulauskas, signatory of the 1991 Independence Act, said he was astonished to be listed in the report, maintaining he was a “pro-Lithuanian” who actively speaks about the problems Western Europe is faced with.

According to data provided by the State Center of Registers, the sole shareholder of Balsas.lt is the company Balsas.lt Leidiniai (Balsas.lt Publications), and the company’s only shareholder since April of 2013 is London-based Paul Leonard Steyne. Bankruptcy proceedings were started against both companies last year.