Stasys Jakeliūnas, candidate for mayor of the city of Vilnius, "Valstiečių", shared his reasoning about the war caused by Russia in Ukraine with pro-Russian activist Lauryns Ragelskis, who came under the scrutiny of law enforcement for inciting hatred. In the conversation lasting more than half an hour, S. Jakeliūnas criticizes Lithuanian politicians for the position taken in relation to the war caused by Russia in Ukraine, jokes that Vilnius city municipality could offer to go to the Hague Tribunal not only to Putin, but also JAV to the President of the United States, George W. Bush. Finally, the "peasant" candidate for mayors notes that the questions of who owns Crimea are out of place and even reminiscent of fascist methods.
L. Ragelskis, who is known to the police due to the provocations he prepares and is mentioned in the State Security Department's (VSD) public assessment of threats to national security, says that he has offered to speak with him to almost all the candidates for mayor of the city of Vilnius. Such an invitation, the pro-Russian activist claims, was accepted by only a few politicians: Petras Gražulis, Rasa Budbergytė and S. Jakeliūnas. Social Democratic mayoral candidate R. Budbergytė admits that she initially agreed with the offer, but as she told Elta, she withdrew from the idea of participating in L. Ragelskis' show as soon as she found more information about him.
Meanwhile, S. Jakeliūnas had no questions about L. Ragelskis. Speaking with a pro-Russian activist, S. Jakeliūnas continued his reasoning about the situation in Ukraine. According to him, there is no diversity of opinions on this issue in Lithuania and this, the politician emphasized, brings Lithuania closer to authoritarian regimes.
"If we are a free state, we must also be free, critical thinking people. Otherwise, willy-nilly, we will turn into some kind of Lukashenka or Putin regime, and I see such tendencies, unfortunately. This militarization and the dominance of one truth or the striving for it to dominate, at least in the matter of the war in Ukraine, is very dangerous," said the MEP.
In the politician's opinion, the discourses currently prevailing in Lithuania on the subject of Russian aggression in Ukraine may provoke Kremlin aggression or terrorist attacks.
"It is possible to provoke some sort of aggression by the Russian government, the probability of terrorist acts increases," he said.
In an interview with L. Ragelski, S. Jakeliūnas said that he understood that his position on the issue of Ukraine stands out from the general context. However, the politician nominated for mayor by the "peasants" assured, his opinion is based on "deep sources".
Criticized the Vilnius municipality for wishing V. Putin to be in The Hague: "let's add Bush there too"
During the interview, S. Jakeliūnas did not defend his previous considerations that on Vilnius city municipalities the poster hanging in the building with an "invitation" to V. Putin to The Hague is a kind of provocation. On the contrary, the politician defended his idea and even jokingly raised the question: why a similar proposal was not addressed to US President George W. Bush, who gave a historic speech in Vilnius.
"In the case of Vilnius, the inscription on the same municipality that says 'Putin, The Hague is waiting for you' is already a geopolitical slogan and position. Do all Vilnius residents agree with this position? Maybe, I don't know, but whether they were consulted about openly expressing such a position. And since it is in English, I would say: why not Russian or Lithuanian? You can joke here (…) So I jokingly say: let's add Bush there as well. Who initiated the occupation of Iraq, the fiasco in Afghanistan, it's a hopeless matter," said the candidate for Vilnius city mayor.
Criticized the position of the rulers of Lithuania regarding the war: Ukraine may turn into Afghanistan
In general, the politician continued, Lithuanian politicians must appreciate that Ukraine can "turn into Afghanistan in Europe", therefore, S. Jakeliūnas made it clear, the attitude taken by the rulers regarding the war in Ukraine should be critically assessed. S. Jakeliūnas argued that the latter "are inclined to go to war with Russia until the last Ukrainian".
"The risk is that Ukraine can turn into Afghanistan in Europe. And when we work on this military front and consider not only sending weapons, but also sending people to fight there, we are actually participating in a war with Russia. Some Lithuanian politicians, the same Landsbergis... Both Landsbergis, in fact, and their colleagues, are probably inclined to war with Russia to the last Ukrainian and to the last, maybe even to the last Lithuanian", - S. Jakeliūnas added considerations close to the narratives spread by L. Ragelskis .
They say that the question "who owns Crimea" is out of place: it reminds me of fascist times
Finally, the "peasant" candidate for mayor of the capital wondered why journalists were asking for opinions on Crimea during the debates taking place in recent weeks. During the debate of the "I know what I'm choosing" candidates for mayors of Silute held last Saturday, "peasant" candidate for mayor Robertas Kuncaitis, when asked who owns the Crimean peninsula, answered that "de facto to Russia". Because of such an answer, the party that delegated him not only distanced himself from the politician, R. Kuncaitis was removed from the ranks of the "peasants".
According to S. Jakeliūnas, such questions are out of place both for politicians during debates and for Russian citizens who want residence permits in Lithuania or national visas.
"This is a very serious topic and, I think, the questions of who owns Crimea are sometimes misplaced. Maybe that journalist, or whoever asked that question, could ask a Russian trying to escape from Putin's regime on the border whose Crimea is. And bearing in mind that maybe the rest of his family, parents, grandparents or something else lives in Russia. These are the interrogation methods that remind me of fascist and Stalinist times. I myself was born in exile. What should my mother, who is now 99 years old, answer if she were asked, while she was in exile, whose Lithuania is? Lithuania itself as a state or the Soviet Union. (…) You can ask such questions, but you need to imagine what the context is and what times we resemble with such questions, and such a mentality, and the declaration of one truth," said the politician.
Summarizing his deliberations on the topic of the war in Ukraine, S. Jakeliūnas emphasized that negotiations with Russia are necessary and that the prevailing discourses in Lithuania are dangerous.
"The same ill-fated war must be looked at from different perspectives. Because if we block ourselves, then we will make unreasonable decisions. We will make society hostile towards those who think differently. We may end up going to war. We really got into a war. Yes, humanitarian aid is inevitable... War is terrible, it's Putin's fault with his aggression, but to expect military means... NATO officials told me bluntly, and not only NATO officials, American generals are starting to talk that it is necessary to start talking with Putin, negotiations are necessary (…) but no, that war continues to develop (…) Inertia is in the minds of the military industry, politicians, then society is created with inertia and militancy mentalities. Those processes are very difficult to stop. And if that war is not stopped this year, I am afraid that we will have very serious problems", said S. Jakeliūnas.
ELTA reminds that MEP S. Jakeliūnas, who is running for the position of mayor of Vilnius, received a lot of criticism for his interview with the LRT portal. The politician said that although it was started by Russia war in Ukraine and is illegal, but he said he was provoked.
"I call this war like this - an illegal aggressive intervention, the war in Ukraine is illegal, but partly provoked. Russia was provoked. (…) In 2008, Putin told Bush, then president, that "if Ukraine continues to be actively invited to NATO, eventually moves towards NATO, we will take over Crimea." 2008 year. That happened six years later," said S. Jakeliūnas in an interview given to the LRT portal.
Ben Brunal (ELTA)
Miglė Valonytė (ELTA)
ELTA (ELTA)
