Freedom Award Winner – State Crossing: Court decides to vacate a building owned and owned by society

A. Kentra is well known for his long-term efforts to make sense of those who died for the freedom of Lithuania after the restoration of Lithuanian independence. To this end, he founded the Lithuanian Society for the Fight for Freedom “Forest Brothers” and, as the long-term leader of this society, according to his lawyer Saulius Dambrauskas, he has taken care of the Living Freedom Memorial, that is, the Archive of the Fight for Freedom. and Museum, for almost 30 years.

The winner of the Freedom Prize has also accumulated an archive of the history of the liberation and the struggles for the freedom of Lithuania, which, according to the lawyer, is a unique cultural phenomenon, the value of which is officially recognized by the specialists of the archives. state of the country.

However, such merits to the state are not enough to prevent A. Kentra and his society from being evicted from the Totorių st building. 9 / Labdarių st. 10 in Vilnius. According to S. Dambrauskas, in 1992. The Government of the Republic of Lithuania handed over the building to Totorių st. 9 / Labdarių st. 10 ruins in Vilnius, of which in 1919. volunteers went out to defend Lithuania.

“On the basis of the Government’s resolution, the society registered and managed the ruins as its property: it cleaned the territory of the ruins with talc, prepared a project for the reconstruction of the building, was in charge of attracting Lithuanian foreign funds and government support. . In fact, the society built (but did not install) a new building in Totorių st. 9 / Labdarių st. 10 in Vilnius, the building of the Forest Freedom Brothers Society of Lithuania ”, assured S. Dambrauskas.

He also added that in 2008 When awarding the language prize to Albinas Kentrai, the Lithuanian Seimas named him: “for the restoration of the Vilnius ruins, Labdarių str. 10/9, building in which in 1919. the assembled volunteers came out to defend the independence of Lithuania; The result of the activities of the initiative lasting more than 15 years is the object of the Lithuanian heritage, adapted to historical and cultural activities ”.

“However, when the building was rebuilt, legal proceedings were initiated regarding the ownership of the building. Finally, the court recognized that the ruins of the building had been transferred to the society not for its ownership but for its loan, thus the building’s registration was revoked on behalf of the society. The building, which was resurrected from the ruins thanks to the efforts of A. Kentra, was registered by the Government on behalf of the Republic of Lithuania, and Albinas Kentra received an eviction action ”.

S. Dambrauskas said that for two decades A. Kentra has been litigating in court regarding this building and according to expert data established by the courts, the Forest Brothers Society has recently created about 80 percent. part of the building and only 20%. This building is an old property that the state transferred to the company in 1992.

Last year, on the solemn commemoration of A. Centra’s 90th anniversary at Vilnius University, another Freedom Prize winner, Vytautas Landsbergis, called the courts, which had lasted many years, for a “review of the restored state.” due to the Society building. As already mentioned, the Vilnius City District Court decided to evict A. Kentras and the Society of Forest Brothers founded by him from the Totorių st building. 9 / Labdarių st. 10 in Vilnius, and rejected the counterclaim of the Forest Brothers, requesting that the company be recognized as a constructor of part of the building and that the part of the building recently built by the company be allowed to register in its name. In its ruling, the court especially emphasized the importance of the sanctity of property to protect state property, ”explained the lawyer.

According to S. Dambrauskas, this case illustrates the fall of justice in Lithuania and confirmed that an appeal will be filed, but also believes that in order to preserve the honor and dignity of the State, both the President, the Seimas and the Government could achieve justice through wise political decisions.

Property bank: we will meet with representatives of society and try to find solutions

Tomas Bagdonas, Head of Communications at Turto Bankas Delfi, commented that it is regrettable that similar disputes have to be resolved in court.

“Both the Property Bank representing the Republic of Lithuania and the Forest Freedom Brothers Association of Lithuania are forced to mention the thresholds of the courts and provide evidence of historical circumstances in which decisions were not clearly formalized legally , so the expectations that arise from this uncertainty have to be interpreted in court.

To understand the substance of the dispute, one must turn to 1992, when the Government provided the Company with buildings for activities located in Totorių st. 9 and Labdarių st. 10. In essence, the premises were provided free of charge, but not formalized by contract, which means that the association could use them, but the property remained in the Republic of Lithuania, which was later recognized by a court (twice in 2003 and 2011).,), Having canceled the registration of the building as property of the Company, “said the representative in the written response.

According to him, the loan means that the facilities can be used, but they do not belong to you: the property has remained in the Republic of Lithuania.

“As these buildings were abandoned and required major repairs and reconstruction, the Government provided funds. The reconstruction works were organized by representatives of the society for state money; about two-thirds of the facilities were created and restored in both buildings An analogue can be used here, if you repair the apartment you are using with the owner’s money, it still does not mean that it belongs to you after the repair.

2012 February 29 The government transferred the buildings to the State Property Fund, which was later absorbed by the Property Bank. While we deal with state property, we discovered the situation. As a result, in 2017, we approached the Company in good faith, offering to legalize the de facto situation by signing a free loan agreement. Depending on the nature of the activity, the association could apply for state aid for real estate, that is, stay on the premises for free, only after completing the legal procedures. The Company rejected the offer presented by Turto bankas “.

According to T. Bagdon, as there was no legal basis to stay on the state-owned premises, Turto bankas applied to the court for the eviction of Forest Brothers Society and the Vilnius City District Court, after hearing from both parties, the January 29 this year. satisfied Turto bankas’ request to evict the Society from the buildings.

“The Company has the right to appeal the decision of the Vilnius City District Court to a higher court within 30 days. If the decision is not appealed, it will go into effect. We understand that the situation in which society finds itself is ambiguous.

The Society plays an important mission in society by preserving historical memory, so we will meet with their representatives and try to find ways in which the Society can continue its activities. We are also working with our shareholder, the Ministry of Finance, to find a way out of the situation and we hope to find a mutually acceptable solution. “

Politicians also responded

Lithuanian politicians also reacted to the dispute between A. Kentra and Turto bankas when the LRT made this situation public. Radvilė Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnaitė, a member of the Lithuanian Christian Democrat-National Union (LKD-TS) party, stated on his Facebook account that “we will definitely find ways to solve this problem.”

“It just came to our notice then. However, the fact is that the Forest Brothers house has been rebuilt with Lithuanian American victims, the people have put a lot of heart into this initiative, so you must live. The proposed solution now it may be legal, but it is certainly wrong. “

Finance Minister Gintarė Skaistė also reacted by assuring that “after information appeared in the public sphere that a judicial decision had been taken to evict the Freedom Prize winner Albinas Kentras and the Forest Brothers Society founded by him, I promise that together with the team, under the Ministry of Finance we will try to find a solution for the public institution “Turto bankas” so that the activities of the company can continue “.

He also said that he understands the public’s concerns about the activities of the Forest Brothers and that efforts will be made to find a solution that ensures the continuity of the partnership.

“We thank A. Kentras, participant in the Freedom Struggles, Knight of the Order of the Vytis Cross and Freedom Prize laureate, for his lifelong work, so we will seek a solution immediately.”

However, the current concern of politicians for lawyer S. Dambrauskas raises a somewhat ironic smile, because before the delivery of the A. Centras Libertad Award, all the members of the Seimas, including all the government representatives, received a letter S. Dambrauskas staff.

“It just came to our attention then. Everyone about that case and this whole situation, written in concentration, received my letter. I sent it in person before January 13 and told myself to wake up and see what was done. The award is given. with one hand and takes it off with the other ”.