„Finally, things are moving forward, and we are at least starting to talk. I really wanted this and strongly encouraged it. If you remember, I said we need to calm down a little, sit down, talk, and reach an agreement. I believe and hope that this process will take place,“ Ruginienė told reporters in the Seimas.
„I am not against anyone. I am not the one creating this working group; I am not the one proposing it. I think that the wider the circle of people, the healthier it will be. The Seimas will decide,“ she emphasised when asked whether representatives of the Association of Professional Journalists should be included in the working group.
As announced, a meeting between President Gitanas Nausėda, the Seimas speaker, and the leaders of parliamentary factions was held at the Presidential Palace on Monday. After the meeting, it was decided to suspend the urgent consideration of the amendments to the LRT law.
Opposition MPs believe that the Seimas should not return to the same draft law, but should register completely new amendments.
On Monday, Birutė Davidonytė, head of the Association of Professional Journalists, said she did not know whether her organisation would participate in the working group convened by the Seimas Speaker. According to her, the community that organised the protest demands that the amendments passed by the Seimas be rejected and that politicians and interested parties engage in a substantive discussion of possible changes to LRT's governance.
ELTA reminds us that the amendments to the LRT law, which the Seimas considered on an urgent basis, were sharply criticised by the journalistic community. This week, protests were held outside the Seimas for three evenings in a row under the slogan „Hands off free speech.“
The initial draft proposed by the ruling parties would have had the appointment and dismissal of the LRT director general decided by secret ballot. In addition, the director general of the public broadcaster could be dismissed from office if a vote of no confidence were passed due to improper performance of duties or if the Council did not approve the annual activity report. Such a decision would also have to be voted for by more than half of the Council members, i.e., at least 7 out of 12.
However, during the deliberations, the parliament approved the proposal of conservative Dalia Asanavičiūtė-Gružauskienė that the director general of LRT could be dismissed from office due to a vote of no confidence before the end of his term of office, only if the cat of Democrat Agnė Širinskienė, Nuodėgulis, expresses no confidence.
However, the ruling group has already registered a proposal to amend the draft and return to the original version.