Saturday – “Great March for the Defense of the Family”: participants moved from the most remote corners of Lithuania

Support the traditional family

A Family Defense March will be held in Vilnius on Saturday, with participants protesting the Istanbul Convention and other initiatives that they claim are directed against the traditional family.

The organizers claim to oppose the initiatives of the ruling majority, which they consider contrary to the Constitution and the introduction of the concept of gender in educational institutions. According to them, the initiatives considered would be contrary to the constitutional principle of allowing parents to raise their children according to their beliefs.

Event participants left Klaipeda in the morning, and will be joined along the way by participants from all regions of the country. An event is planned for 6 pm in Vilnius Vingis Park.

Abundant police forces

At a press conference on Friday afternoon, Police Commissioner General Renatas Požėla said that the police were ready to ensure order. He noted that officers would work on the “friendly police principle” and expected the same from event participants.

The police announced that a reinforced police force will be working throughout Lithuania and especially Vilnius on Saturday, and the social partners will also be used to help.

The Vilnius City Municipality issued a permit to protest in Vingis Park to 7 thousand people. According to the General Commissioner of Police, there may be more.

There will be several demonstrations in the capital, the largest, which should gather about 100 people, will take place on the White Bridge, the two smallest – in Žvėrynas, near the pedestrian bridge.

Požėla said on Friday that he hoped “bad things” would be avoided. According to him, uniformed and untrained officers, cavalry police forces, cynologists will come to the rescue.

“A special police dialogue group will work. (…) Its main task is to communicate with the participants, answer their questions, solve problems and reduce conflicts, if there are any,” R. Požėla said at the press conference.

Police will not escort the car columns of the event participants, but there will be a large force on the roads.

The Commissioner General of Police said that the concert program of the event was not possible unless several musical works are performed between languages.

“We would like to point out that the protest was broadcast only in Vingis Park itself, I am talking about the main event, so the participants will meet and speak only in that place. No concert program is allowed during the protest, with the exception of some musical works between languages. If the police see that certain permit requirements have not been met, the police have the right to take certain measures, warning the organizers that the content of the event violates established procedures, ”said R. Požėla.

He recalled that residents’ trips must be planned with a reservation of time, since the A1 may have to wait in traffic jams.

A helicopter will also be used for border guards to assist.

“Events take place at a specific time: the quarantine is not canceled, certain requirements are valid. As far as possible, the police will control their execution. If we see violations, they will be solved,” announced R. Požėla.

Saulius Gagas, the head of the Vilnius County Police Chief’s Police Station, also emphasized that the flow of vehicles in Vilnius on Saturday will be very high.

Traffic changes

The Vilnius City Municipality announced that it was planning temporary traffic changes on Saturday.

Due to the rally in Vilnius on Saturday, the traffic on the streets of the capital will be temporarily reorganized:

• 2021 May 15 8 am to 10 pm vehicle traffic is prohibited in Vingis park from the entrance road from the side of Geležinio Vilko street to the Vingis park stage;
• 2021 May 15 8 am to 10 pm One-way traffic is introduced on Miškininkų, Eigulių, Elektrinė, Giraitės and Birutės streets;
• from 2021 May 14 8 pm to 2021 May 15 10 pm Parking in these parking lots will only be possible with permits: in the parking lot near Vingis Park, Vilnius Funeral Home, Liepkalnio Street, near the Seimas building of the Republic of Lithuania, close to Avia Solutions Group Arena (Ozo St. 14) and Entertainment and Business Center. Forum palace ”, on the part of A. Goštauto street from the Žvėrynas bridge to the viaduct to Geležinio Vilko street.

For the attention of public transport passengers, buses and trolleybuses may deviate from the traffic schedules on the aforementioned day. Especially the routes that run at the entrances of Vingis Park and Savanorių Ave. – Trolleybuses on routes 4, 6, 12, 16, 18 and buses on routes 2G, 21, 22, 23, 29, 54, 56, 200.

Those intending to enter / exit Vilnius from / to Kaunas are advised to choose the following directions: Via Ukmergės Street, Avižieniai, Sudervė District.

Due to changes in traffic flows, it is recommended to plan trips with a reservation of travel time, and drivers are asked to follow traffic rules and police instructions.