“A typical nonsense. Apparently not the first time, and not the last. Sounds like some kind of populist escalation, additional sensitization of society,” the leader of the Social Democrats told BNS on Wednesday. “It seems to have little to do with common sense.”
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On May 22, R. Žemaitaitis stated on the “OpTV” show that he believes “we will see an internal coup in our state” in September–October. The leader of “Aušriečiai” claimed that the coup would be “brutal” and that “physical reprisals” would be taken.
BNS wrote that the prosecutor’s office has tasked the police with evaluating these statements.
M. Sinkevičius believes that R. Žemaitaitis expresses such thoughts deliberately, thinking about possible law enforcement actions in the future.
“Maybe he feels that some actions will be taken against him or his party. Because there has been a lot here: law enforcement investigations and the like. Maybe some investigations will be completed or new ones started. Maybe we don’t know something yet and he is just announcing to the public what awaits, so that later he can say: ‘Well, see, I told you so.’ In that sense, he is trying to justify himself somehow,” the chairman of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party speculated.
As BNS wrote, the police have already started a pre-trial investigation regarding R. Žemaitaitis’s statements on the same channel’s show on March 10, when the parliamentarian called March 11 a coup and the signatories of the Act of Independence participants in an uprising.
The pre-trial investigation is being conducted under an article that provides for liability for public approval of international crimes, as well as crimes of the USSR or Nazi Germany, their denial or gross belittlement.
Law enforcement is also investigating possible fraud to determine whether a crime was committed when R. Žemaitaitis and another member of “Nemuno aušra,” Daiva Petkevičienė, rented their cars to “Nemuno aušra” and used them themselves.
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The chairman of “Nemuno aušra” was already found guilty in a first-instance court last December for inciting hatred and denying the Holocaust. This verdict has been appealed, and the case is nearing conclusion in the Court of Appeal.
The criminal case against the parliamentarian was brought because of his posts about Jews published several years ago on the social network “Facebook,” and public statements. Among other things, Israel was called animals, and it was claimed that Jews contributed to the destruction of the Lithuanian nation.
An impeachment was also initiated against the politician because of these posts. The Constitutional Court recognized in April two years ago that he broke his oath and grossly violated the Constitution. After this decision, R. Žemaitaitis resigned his parliamentary mandate to be able to run for president and members of the Seimas.
According to M. Sinkevičius, R. Žemaitaitis’s statement about an alleged planned coup is “another aspect that certainly will not go unnoticed” when deciding on the future of the coalition.
The LSDP council plans to make this decision on the first weekend of June.
After the 2024 Seimas elections, the Social Democrats formed the ruling coalition with “Nemuno aušra” and the Democrats, but last autumn they reshuffled the majority, inviting the parliamentary faction of the Lithuanian Farmers, Greens and Christian Families Union instead of the Democrats.
Discussions about a possible coalition change have recently been prompted by the votes of “Nemuno aušra” representatives against the establishment of the Kapčiamiestis training ground at the submission stage in the Seimas.
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