Lithuania’s opposition wants NSGK to investigate govt recording case

“We are clearly unsatisfied with the rulings’ position over such a blind defense and freedom of speech restrictions. After consulting members of other opposition political groups and non-attached members, we believe that we need to maintain focus on these restrictions, and, therefore, there’s a proposal to turn to NSGK so that we could get also classified information which they try to hide,” social democrat Juozas Olekas told journalists after a meeting of representatives of opposition political groups.

In his words, “the head of government would be invited to a sitting to answer questions on who violated the regulation, how technology is installed to delete information which is important for the people of Lithuania.”

Gabrielius Landsbergis, leader of the opposition conservative Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats, says the prime minister still has the opportunity to resolve this situation by ordering to restore the deleted recording and let the public to get acquainted with it.

The prime minister came under fire after the recording of a government meeting, when the issue of giving the media free access to registry data was discussed, was deleted. The opposition later summoned the prime minister to explain the circumstances around this incident. But unhappy with the answers, it invited the prime minister to a sitting of political groups. The prime minister, however, failed to come.

Then an extraordinary parliamentary sitting was held on Tuesday at the opposition’s initiative, and a draft resolution accusing Skvernelis of freedom of speech restrictions was submitted. But the resolution was rejected with the ruling parties’ votes.