A hybrid attack against ourselves
As tensions escalate, Nausėda warned that the catfight unfolding in the parliament was beginning to resemble a self-inflicted hybrid attack.
“Frankly, there is no need to send balloons [from Belarus] into Lithuania, because Lithuanians — Lithuania itself — are organizing a hybrid attack against themselves,” he said.
“Our little boat in the geopolitical ocean is small enough already,” he added, warning lawmakers not to “rock it further.”
The president has suggested that the broadcaster’s governing council resign, and a new council be formed, a move backed by Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė, who told reporters at a press briefing in Vilnius that the situation in parliament “is absolutely unacceptable to me.”
In a petition presented to the LRT Council on Tuesday, more than 400 employees — around two-thirds of the workforce — called on the Council to step down, a move that would also lead to the director-general’s departure.
Meanwhile, public anger has spilled onto the streets. Several thousand people protested outside parliament on Dec. 16, and a crowd of more than 10,000 gathered on Dec. 17. More protests are planned.
Over 140,000 people have signed a petition against the reforms, making it the most widely supported online petition ever in a country of fewer than 3 million people.