H U M A N   R I G H T S   /   L G B T   R I G H T S

by Lithuanian LGBT Rights Organization / LGL

Reposted from the LGL site with permission

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A Latvian journalist has felt the wrath of the Lithuanian president after asking several questions that “have not been agreed upon.” The president insistently, and rather gracelessly, refused to answer questions about LGBT* rights in Lithuania.

In the run-up to the Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga, journalist Gundars Reders of Latvia’s LTV channel interviewed President Dalia Grybauskaitė in Vilnius. The 30-minute interview mostly focused on foreign policies and EU affairs. However, things went south once the Lithuanian president was asked a few questions that, apparently, had not been pre-arranged.

Reders asked President Grybauskaitė to comment on LGBT rights in Lithuania, reminding that Estonia had recently legalized same-sex partnership. “There is no large discussion about it in Lithuania,” Grybauskaitė responded, adding that it was not a topical issue for her country.

In fact, a bill has recently been submitted in the Lithuanian parliament, Seimas, that, if passed, would introduce partnership for both same-sex and opposite-sex couples.

When Reders tried to follow up on the question, he was interrupted by President Grybauskaitė, who said she would not discuss the questions that had not been agreed upon in advance.

The full interview is available here.