ABOVE: Lithuanian MP Tomas Vytautas Raskevičius. (Photo courtesy of Raskevičius)
A gay man who is a member of Lithuania’s Parliament last week said his country could be Russia’s next target.
“Historically after independence in the early 90s, Lithuania was very critical and fearful of its attitudes towards its neighbors,” MP Tomas Vytautas Raskevičius told the Washington Blade on April 28 during a telephone interview from Vilnius, the country’s capital, in reference to Russia. “The current events in Ukraine simply prove that we were right.”
“We have to understand very clearly that Russia is using not only military force, not only its gas and oil, but it is also using its soft powers,” added Raskevičius. “These soft powers are certain, specific world views which Russia tries to impose to its neighboring countries and those ideas are usually anti-human rights and anti-liberal democracy, so they are portraying human rights and liberal democracy as a threat, rather as a benefit to the society.”
Raskevičius further stressed that LGBTQ rights are “part of this Russia propaganda campaign.”
“They’re portraying the West as being rotten, plagued with abominations,” he said.
Lithuania borders the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, Latvia, Belarus, Poland and the Baltic Sea. The country declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1990, a year before it dissolved.
Raskevičius, 33, is a member of the liberal Freedom Party.
He worked for what is now called the Brooklyn Community Pride Center in New York and the Lithuanian Gay League, among other NGOs, before his election to the Vilnius City Council in 2019. Raskevičius in 2020 won a seat in the Lithuanian Parliament, which is known as the Seimas.
Raskevičius noted he is the second openly gay person elected to the Seimas, but the “first one” with a “pro-LGBT human rights agenda.” Raskevičius currently chairs the Seimas’ Human Rights Committee.
Russian, Belarusian LGBTQ groups relocate to Lithuania
Raskevičius said more than 50,000 Ukrainians have sought refuge in Lithuania since Russia invaded their country in February.
He told the Blade he knows of “isolated incidents” of LGBTQ Ukrainians in the country, noting that “LGBT people went to more open or progressive places than Lithuania.” Raskevičius said LGBTQ organizations are among the NGOs from Russia and Belarus that have relocated to Lithuania after their governments cracked down on them.
“Our local community demonstrates quite a high level of solidarity,” he said. “This is what the struggle for freedom is all about. It’s not only about physical security, but also security from Russian propaganda or soft power.”
Raskevičius also called for continued military cooperation and more economic sanctions against Russia.
“What is really important is not to get used to the war,” he said. “It has already been more than 60 days and you know people are getting used to seeing the terrible things on their TV and it becomes routine … we should be very mindful that we push harder because if Ukraine doesn’t win, we become the next one in the line.”
Raskevičius added Lithuania places “a lot of trust in our security partners, including the United States and NATO.”
“I wouldn’t say there is panic or any kind of that stuff, but it’s very close,” he said. “(Ukraine is) less than 1,000 km (621 miles) away and we have quite a nasty history with the Soviet Union and Russia, so we know what it’s all about it.”
Raskevičius sponsor of civil partnerships bill
Lithuania bans discrimination based on sexual orientation
The country on Sunday officially lifted restrictions for male blood donors who have sex with men, but opposition to LGBTQ rights remains strong. Raskevičius noted Lithuania is one of only six European Union member states that do not legally recognize same-sex couples.
He has introduced a bill that would allow same-sex couples to enter into civil partnerships.
LGBTQ rights opponents who Raskevičius said have “documented ties” to Russia in 2021 launched a petition to remove him as chair of the Seimas’ Human Rights Committee “because apparently a person who is gay cannot chair the committee who is in charge of all human rights.” Recall supporters claimed more than 300,000 people signed the petition, but Raskevičius noted journalists discovered the vast majority of them were fake.
Raskevičius told the Blade that opposition to the civil partnership bill was the “pretext” behind the petition. He acknowledged the ongoing debate over whether lawmakers should consider the measure “with war in our neighborhood,” but he stressed “it’s the best time to do so.”
“We have to choose whether we want to belong to the sphere of influence coming from the East, or we want to move into the West,” said Raskevičius.
Raskevičius’ son is 2 1/2. He told the Blade that fatherhood has shaped his work in support of LGBTQ rights and human rights.
“For a very long time LGBT people were not visible in Lithuania,” said Raskevičius. “LGBT parents was another level of invisibility. These people exist, but they don’t publicly share their experiences because they are concerned about the well-being of their kids.”
“Me and other parents involved in my child’s upbringing made the conscious decision to talk about our experiences publicly,” he added. “We want to encourage people they are not alone.”
The European Court of Human Rights last month heard a challenge to Lithuania’s so-called “gay propaganda law” that specifically bans the distribution of information to minors that “expresses contempt for family values, encourages the concept of entry into a marriage and creation of a family other than stipulated in the Constitution of the republic of Lithuania and the Civil Code of the republic of Lithuania.”
Author Neringa Dangvydė Macatė in 2019 filed a lawsuit against the law after Lithuanian authorities censured her children’s book that featured two same-sex couples. Bob Gilchrist, the openly gay U.S. ambassador to Lithuania, is among those who have publicly criticized the statute.
“Our law is also framed in terms of protecting minors from the detrimental kinds of public information and defines information about LGBT relationships as potentially detrimental,” noted Raskevičius. “Based on that legislation, public authorities could censor public information.”
Raskevičius during the interview also praised the U.S. Embassy and Gilchrist himself for their support of LGBTQ rights in Lithuania.
“The current ambassador demonstrates not only the embassy’s leadership, but he’s demonstrating personal leadership,” said Raskevičius. “He’s very open about who he is and he’s not afraid to speak his mind.”
Raskevičius noted Gilchrist attends public events and speaks about LGBTQ rights on Lithuanian television.
“It’s a very powerful message because we see the United States as a strategic ally,” said Raskevičius. “They would not only defend our territory, but also defend the same values and regarding that, anti homophobic sentiments should have no place.”
Amb. Gilchrist: Proud to speak at today’s conference at Lithuania’s Ministry of Justice with @LGLLithuania and stand up for LGBTQI+ rights. Equal treatment and dignity are American values. pic.twitter.com/SggA2leSOb
— U.S. Embassy Vilnius (@USEmbVilnius) September 29, 2021
https://twitter.com/USEmbVilnius/status/1434133428438503426
Amb. Gilchrist was happy to meet the representatives of Lithuania’s Diversity Charter for a lunch discussion on how to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the public and private sector in Lithuania and how the Embassy could help support such initiatives. pic.twitter.com/4RxpkoeDIG
— U.S. Embassy Vilnius (@USEmbVilnius) June 23, 2021
