On Thursday, 21 November, a second demonstration is planned near parliament to demand that the Social Democratic Party (LSDP) and Democrats For Lithuania would terminate their coalition agreement with the Nemunas Dawn, whose leader Remigijus Žemaitaitis is accused of antisemitism.
"As we were not heard the first time, we will gather again. Democratically elected politicians have to work for all the people of Lithuania and should not simply ignore those who criticise them," the organisers of the rally wrote in a message on social network Facebook.
According to them, the decision of the LSDP and Democrats For Lithuania to create a coalition with the Nemunas Dawn has caused damage to Lithuania’s reputation as suggested by numerous reports about Žemaitaitis in foreign media. They believe that terminating the coalition deal with the Nemunas Dawn might help avoid further damage.
This time, President Gitanas Nausėda is also asked to use his authority among voters in an attempt to make changes in the ruling coalition.
The first rally titled Ten Minutes of Silence (Dešimt tylos minučių) was held last week in Vilnius, Kaunas and Tauragė. However, Social Democratic prime minister-designate Gintautas Paluckas did not meet with protesters near parliament, claiming that the coalition was a done deal and discontent should have been voiced before the coalition agreement was signed.
New Parliament Speaker Saulius Skvernelis, leader of Democrats For Lithuania, did not meet with demonstrators either.
Whereas MP Žemaitaitis claimed that he treated the protest against him as "a sign of respect".