In the battle for the underground passage, he sees the responsibility of the politicians: “There is no Alexander with a sword between them who can cross.”

March 11 one of the walls of the underground passage of Saltoniškių Street in the capital was repainted in the colors of the rainbow.

“After a tense few weeks in Lithuanian politics and social media, I wanted to do something: something colorful, beautiful and big. Therefore, on Thursday, on the occasion of the state holiday, we painted ~ 55 meters of the wall of a passage underground in the spring, ”announced the authors of the idea.

However, the rainbow by artists Karolina Rimkutė and Linas Salučka survived a little over a week: it was repainted in the colors of the Lithuanian flag.

“I will do my best to accommodate different and different people in my country in my Lithuania. I will fight from the last so that my tricolor flutters along with my rainbow. Because there will be enough space in Lithuania for everyone. My heart breaks when I see what I see, ”wrote Seimas member Tomas Vytautas Raskevičius on social media.

However, the battle for the passage did not end there. After less than a day, the inscription already appeared on the wall: “DO NOT COLOR OURS – WE ARE ALSO LITHUANIAN CHILDREN! LGBT + heart symbol ”. The activists who painted the wall in the colors of the Lithuanian flag repainted the wall and even began to protect it.

The most recent, but probably not the last, demonstration on the wall was the action of K. Rimkutė and L. Salučka. On Wednesday, the artists painted a pink triangle and the inscription “SILENCE = DEATH” in a tricolor.

“With this new work by me and Linas Salučka, we mean the world famous and still in use in 1987. A poster for the Silence = Death project was launched on the streets of New York, which became a symbol of solidarity resistance of the LGBT community to homophobia.

The pink triangle is a Nazi-created identification mark that gay, bisexual men, and broadcasters were forced to wear in concentration camps (gay, bisexual, and transgender women were also imprisoned but not systematized by the Nazis).

Of all the people marked with pink triangles, about 60 percent died in these camps, and most of those who survived torture remained in other prisons after the defeat of Nazi Germany. However, both on the poster and on this wall, the pink triangle is upside down, thus assuming this discriminatory sign and turning it into a sign of resistance to homophobic power structures.

With what courtesy can such silence be suffered? How many can be considered second-class people? We have always been, are and will be part of Lithuanian society. By suffering and waiting politely, some of the negative attitudes in society have been replaced by tolerance, which is very rewarding. But there are people who will not change their darkness. Human rights are not an opinion. We can no longer get carried away on the fringes of society, ”wrote K. Rimkutė on social media.

But the crossover wars did not end there. The work of K. Rimkutė and L. Salučka was repainted. On Friday, March 26, the now famous crossing wall was purely tricolor.

Serious Gordian knot

“Idiocism is first and foremost here,” Bernaras Ivanovas, associate professor and political scientist at Vytautas Magnus University (VMU), evaluated the battles at the border crossing.

Public opposition has been visible for several weeks, whether it affects the ratification of the Istanbul Convention or the legalization of the association. According to Ivanov, the issues of the rights of various social groups, which are currently the subject of much debate, are fundamental and have been discussed by all the European countries that have emerged from the dictatorship. However, according to the political scientist, the countries of the post-communist bloc have not fully considered these issues.

“These important issues need to be discussed at the political, social and public level, to reach a consensus and an agreement. It is a difficult path, as practice shows, but it is still overcome with patience, with the political will of politicians. Not fighting, but looking for points of contact, “commented B. Ivanovas on the tv3.lt news portal.

The interlocutor joked that when the public reaches a consensus and the problems are resolved, then both sides, in the words of a political scientist, will be able to hold hands, go to the underground passage and draw something.

“It just came to our knowledge then. In Lithuania, people like to do the opposite, build a house from the roof. When that roof collapses at all, then the problem just goes even deeper than that, and they can start. all kinds of bad processes, ”said B. Ivanov.

In his opinion, the current debate, the various actions do not lead to a consensus, but simply move away from it.

Or we walk in circles. There is a game so useless that it reminds of the street chebers interpretation of the relationship. This is not the level of the problem that can be solved in this way, “is convinced B. Ivanov.

According to the interlocutor, there is also the issue of the responsibility of politicians, but, according to B. Ivanov, the country’s politicians do not fully understand the magnitude of the problem.

“It is a Gordian knot, a serious Gordian knot, and it needs to be unraveled. There is no Alexander with a sword among our politicians that he can cut. And attempts to get through those nodes ended, as history shows, simply with tragedies. It takes a lot. patience, for everyone, especially politicians. “Avoid stupid and unreasonable statements, intimidation, which we see very often,” Ivanov said.

According to the political scientist, to reach a consensus both on the camps angry with the symbols and on the groups that discuss the association or the Istanbul Convention, a lot of talk is needed. According to Ivanov, consensus can be found in these discussions, as evidenced by the examples of Spain or Ireland, which have a strong Catholic tradition, where, according to the interlocutor, these issues no longer disturb society.

Reminiscent of basketball fan fights

“Here, as if legendary Southern IV fans fought Spartak 30 or 40 years ago, or now Žalgiris fans are fighting Rytas fans before or after the game. As passions boil, passions boil they are almost the same, but the outcome of the match will probably not have a great impact, ”said Mindaugas Lapinskas, a communication expert.

The interviewer told the tv3.lt news portal that for people who identify with one of these camps, the struggle itself is more interesting than finding a solution. According to M. Lapinskas, if these people wanted to achieve a result, they would lobby politically, raise money for public education or advertising campaigns, and pressure politicians.

“Here, in this case, you pick up, you find an opponent who thinks otherwise. Perhaps nothing, it is important not to hit us, but painting the passage is an expression of self-expression and struggle ”, commented M. Lapinskas.

However, at a rally in Cathedral Square on Saturday, where people demanded the lifting of the quarantine, contradictory statements were made about the fact that, for example, TV Raskevičius should be shot.

According to M. Lapinskas, the majority of society, although they read the news or talk among acquaintances about these ideological discussions, does not give importance to these issues and for many it is not the most important issue in life. As a result, according to the interlocutor, actions such as repainting walls should not escalate to a major confrontation.

“It should look like a battalion of a basketball club on television,” Lapinskas said.