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On Monday, the spokesperson for the Seimas Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen was led by Alvydas Nikžentaitis, Director of the Institute of History, Loreta Skurvydaitė, Dean of the Faculty of History of Vilnius University, Vasilijus Safronovas, Director of the Institute of History of the Baltic Region and Archeology from Klaipėda University and Vytautas Magnus University.
At the time, Adas Jakubauskas, general director of the Genocide Center, says that some employees are unhappy with the reorganization of the institution and are making noise in the community.
Accused of politicization
The available data suggest that after the change of the general director of the center in the summer of 2020, its activities began to be determined not by an expert opinion of scientists, but by a politicized approach ignoring the basic requirements of criticism of historical sources. . “authors.
According to historians, efforts are being made to restrict the freedom of LGGRTC researchers, to subordinate their research to the spread of ill-founded ideas, and to turn the institution itself into a citadel of a primitive information war.
The letter notes that this leaves or dismisses highly qualified professionals at the center, “reducing the institution’s ability to competently perform the assigned tasks.”
“Given this, the signatories of this letter declare that in the current circumstances they do not see opportunities to continue cooperating with LGGRTC and distance themselves from the statements of non-professionals who represent it,” the speech reads.
On Monday, M. Sirutavičius, Head of the Department of History at Vytautas Magnus University, told BNS that he had signed this appeal in response to the situation at the Genocide Center, as he knows the specialists working there and listens to their stories. .
“They are under some pressure, it is no secret,” he said.
According to M. Sirutavičius, the termination of cooperation to resolve the situation is mentioned.
The researchers call on the authorities responsible for supervising the Genocide Center to take the necessary measures as soon as possible to restore the trust of the academic community in this institution.
“We believe that this would contribute not only to the consideration of the issue of the manager’s responsibility and competence, but also to the reduction of the political control of the LGGRTC by abolishing the public council that now operates in the center,” the authors of the letter. said.
They also propose the creation of a scientific council at the Genocide Center, in which the country’s academic institutions conducting historical research would delegate their representatives.
On Tuesday, the president of Seimas plans to meet with several LGGRTC employees and discuss the situation.
Dissatisfied employees
Last week, the news portal lrt.lt reported that some of the researchers from the Genocide Center approached the general director of the institution Adas Jakubauskas and the leaders of the Seimas, saying that after the change of direction of the center, the investigation was it ideologized and politicized. .
It is noted that the management of the LGGRTC Center encourages the public to participate in the “defense of history” and the “memory wars”, in addition to making irresponsible and biased statements and interviews on behalf of the Center.
Staff also expressed concern that a tense emotional climate prevails in the center, leaving seasoned historians at work due to pressure from management.
Following the resignation, Vidmantas Valiušaitis, Acting Adviser to the Director General, announced his resignation. According to the staff of the Genocide Center, a special position was created for him.
A. Jakubauskas: the transformation is causing tension
In June last year, A. Jakubauskas, president of the Union of Tatar Communities of Lithuania and professor at Mykolas Romeris University, was appointed General Director of LGGRTC.
Commenting on the situation at BNS on Monday, he said tensions in the center arose after the start of the transformation.
“When the reforms begin and the institution has to be reformed, there are always some people who are not satisfied. As a rule, these people are a minority, but when people’s comfort zones are disturbed, they begin to resist, “said A. Jakubauskas.
He claimed to have held a staff meeting at the Genocide Center’s History Department on Friday. According to the director, it became clear through him that the problem was inflated and some of the employees who signed the LGGRTC letter did not know what they were signing.
“Some said: I agree with one point, others say: I agree with another, and there was no such common position. There was something wrong with the position of three or four people in the center, ”said the director.
“But the center needs to improve the culture of organizational work, communication, the center needs to be reorganized. (…) The money has been spent irresponsibly, we want to place an order. People are used to doing little or nothing and charging for it ”, he emphasized.
A. Jakubauskas claimed that he wanted to create a wage system so that historians who worked hard earned a decent salary and those who worked less received less.
According to him, they also want to introduce quality standards in research so that there are no doubts about them.
Commenting on a letter from representatives of the Institute of History and universities, the director of LGGRTC rejected the accusations of politicization of historical research.
“I can say that there was no politicization, there was no pressure from politicians. In half a year, when I lead the center, no politician, neither from the left nor from the right, has called me to tell me what to do,” A. Jakubauskas told BNS .
He regretted that historians who did not work at the center began to assess its internal affairs and activities.
“It seems very strange to me that colleagues from other institutions, from the side, are beginning to appreciate each other. In my opinion, this is unethical, we do not appreciate the work of the Institute of History, the Faculty of History of Vilnius University or other researchers from higher education institutions ”, said the director of LGGRTC.
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