Nationalism

Members of the Lithuanian national minority living in Poland say they are observing the increasingly radical sentiments of the Polish ruling parties on national minorities, adding they are not certain about their future.

A misunderstanding over proposed amendments that would have equated "Lithuanian nationalism" to a totalitarian regime has been sorted out in the Polish parliament, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius said on Thursday.

Lithuanian politicians describe as "a slap in the face" a proposed legal amendment in Poland that would equate "Lithuanian nationalism" to a totalitarian regime, saying that if it is adopted, Lithuania-related monuments may start to be demolished in the neighboring country.

The Polish parliament will not discuss on Thursday amendments that would equate "Lithuanian nationalism" to a totalitarian regime as the item has been removed from the agenda.

Lithuanian diplomats are concerned about draft amendments being debated by the Polish parliament that would equate "Lithuanian nationalism" to a totalitarian regime, the daily Lietuvos Rytas reported on Thursday.

Radical parties on the left and the right of the political spectrum are rising in popularity across the EU with some in an increasingly strong position to take power in European countries from France and the Netherlands to Sweden, but the same trend is not apparent in Lithuania.

EU Health and Food Safety Commissioner Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis said there was little difference between the nationalist outlook of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Hungarian leader Viktor Orban and Lithuania’s first post-independent leader, Vytautas Landsbergis.

There is much discussion about the conflict between Ukraine's nationalist movement the Right Sector and the government. In Lithuania, the situation is seen as playing into the hands of Russia: the Right Sector is the "weak link" that the Kremlin is exploiting for its own ends.

Around one thousand people attended the nationalist march in central Vilnius on Wednesday, an event that usually sparks controversy over chants "Lithuania for Lithuanians".

On 11 March, when Lithuania is celebrating its Independence Day, the Lithuanian Nationalist Youth Union and the Lithuanian Nationalist Centre will hold a march along Vilnius central street from the Cathedral to the parliament building.

TLT/DELFI.lt spoke to Gedinimas Kirkilas, Deputy Speaker of the Seimas and Chairman of the Seimas Committee on European Affairs, about one possible outcome of the failed referendum on land sale to foreigners; there is a possibility, says Kirkilas, of a European-style far right political party emergi...