The court of the Lithuanian city of Klaipeda dismissed a case about administrative offence brought in relation to four townsmen came in February to the meeting with swastika images. Judges came to conclusion that swastika is a historical heritage of Lithuania.
Trial on that case began after a group of young men came on February, 16th on celebratory meeting in Day of Independence Restoration of Lithuania with posters where swastika images were used. Then people called for police which detained those four people.
- It's not Nazi attributes but valuable symbols of Balts's culture - ancient signs on our ancestors which were later stolen and perfidiously used by other people. They symbolized not fascism but Universe system, - explained inhabitant of Vilnius Milvidas Jushkauskas acted as defense witness.
Information references from the ministry of culture showing ancient rings, brooches and bracelets found in Lithuania with swastika engraved on them were presented to the court. As a result the court aligned itself with the accused.
- Having recognized that it starts its statehood from fascist, allied to Hitler bourgeois Lithuania, modern Lithuanian Republic has simply doomed itself to eternal drift to a heritage of Fuhrer, - editor-in-chief of FORUM.msk Anatoly Baranov considers. - It concerns, of course, not only Lithuania but also other Baltic states and also, probably, some other East Europe countries. If you deny the Soviet past, you will inevitably be identified with anti-Soviet forces of former epoch. Well, let's think why young men went with swastika exactly the day of "independence restoration"? Probably to show that "independent" Lithuania was fascist. It's clear to what extend it was independent at Nazis - because of the lack of own army Lithuanians served in SS. Finns, Romanians, Hungarians, Spaniards, Italians - yes, they were at war on the part of Germany but in own armies and nobody accused them in crimes against humanity. Only valorous former "Baltic brothers" served in Vaffen-SS and not on appeal but voluntary. I will not say anything about the Jews almost totally exterminated in Baltic at hands of local "patriots". I will also keep silent about children's camp Salaspils. What statehood it was that Nazis even didn't consider as statehood, they treated it more like the European colony. Here you are now - all attributes of the colonial past became suddenly symbol of extraordinary "patriotism". Bourgeois Lithuania became fascist purely voluntary, for natural reasons. Incident in Klaipeda shows that nothing changed a lot for half a century. You don't like communism? Then you will have fascism. There's no other variant. Decision of the court is clear - after all runes are also real historical attributes of ancient Germen. But all perfectly well understand what they symbolise today. The court, in general, formulated correctly: "swastika is a historical heritage of the modern Lithuania".
