Seimas Spokesperson: I can’t imagine a committee that suits Gražulis

More than 700 representatives from the field of culture signed an appeal to the Seimas a few months ago, requesting to change the composition of the Culture Committee, calling for the exclusion of Petras Gražulis, a member of the Seimas famous for its scandals. In the absence of a response, they circulated the request to the public. You can read about it here.

As the Seimas Spokesperson writes on her Facebook page, she has a hard time imagining which committee P. Gražulis could work on in general.

“If it is open and sincere, I find it difficult to imagine a committee of the Seimas in which a politician like Petras Gražulis would” fit “. However, he was elected to the Seimas by the voters, it is his will and I respect him as the will of all the voters, ”writes V. Čmilytė-Nielsen.

According to her, the Seimas has already voluntarily revoked the legal immunity of this parliamentarian. However, the Seimas president emphasized that she could not specify or change the composition of the committees.

“Otherwise, we could not call our parliament democratic. There are clear and fair principles in our Seimas: each faction has a quota in the Seimas committees according to their size. It is up to each political group to decide which member to delegate to which committee. . Mr. Gražulis was delegated to the Culture Commission by the Mixed Group. This is his collegiate decision, this is the subject of his responsibility “, emphasizes the Spokesman of Seimas.

In his report, V. Čmilytė-Nielsen also writes that he agrees with the representatives of culture that a politician like P. Gražulis “does not honor culture, the Seimas or Lithuania.”

However, this is not the first, and sadly, probably not the last politician whose actions or statements do not honor our country. That is the price of democracy. We defend it legitimately. And the voters decide what is worth being in the Seimas ”, reads the report of the president of the Seimas.

According to her, only political groups can remove and appoint members to committees. P. Gražulis belongs to the mixed group of members of the Seimas.

“As Spokesperson for the Seimas, I will speak to the representatives of the Mixed Faction about their election. However, this is not and cannot be an instruction to change the composition of the committees. Otherwise, we would open Pandora’s box, which programs dangers much greater than the presence of P. Gražulis on the Culture Committee, ”added V. Čmilytė-Nielsen.

He claims that P. Gražulis is unfit to be a member of the committee.

“We, the creative people of Lithuania, actors, directors, dancers, singers, musicians, painters, producers and representatives of other fields of culture, want to address the Seimas. Despite difficult circumstances, we dedicate all our efforts to promote Lithuanian culture, but we see the indifference of government people towards culture as a priority area of ​​the state. The participation of incompetent and culturally controversial people in the formation of cultural policy is extremely painful, ”says a circular report signed by Andrius Mamontovas, Oskaras Koršunovas, Dalia Ibelhauptaitė, Gintaras Varnas, Modestas Pitrėnas and many other cultural representatives.

The report points out that representatives of the cultural sector oppose the work of P. Gražulis in the Culture Committee, because “his activities, speeches, public conflicts with the police, the lack of respect for the natural dignity and self-expression of each person , declared values ​​not only have nothing to do with the concept of culture. “

“On the contrary, it divides society, increases exclusion and prevents any further development of culture. In our opinion, artists, the ideas of this member of the Seimas do not correspond to our ideas and vision of culture. P. Gražulis is not eligible to be a member of the Culture Commission due to the competence, education, education, lack of culture and personal image that he has been creating in public space for many years ”, say the representatives of culture.

The committee has no way to remove a member

Vytautas Juozapaitis, president of the Seimas Culture Committee, confirmed that such a letter had been received, but explained that such issues were not decided by the committee itself; only the mixed group of members of the Seimas or the decision of the parliamentarian himself could remove P. Gražulis from the committee.

V. Juozapaitis said that the committee had submitted a request to the Ethics and Procedures Commission of the Seimas on the basis of this letter, but also explained that the commission could not influence or remove any member of the Seimas, because all the members of the Seimas they were the same and P. Gražulis was elected. in a single-member constituency.

“It is impossible to expel a member of the Seimas from a committee by force without his consent: there must be an understanding of all people, including Gražulis himself, if he cares what people think of him, he must make decisions” , said. V. Juozapaitis.

Rita Tamašiūnienė, the oldest of the mixed group of Seimas members, confirmed that she was aware of this situation, but stated that it would be possible to change a member only if he wanted to do it himself and found out who would like to exchange places with him.

Father Gražulis himself has no intention of retiring

The member of the Seimas P. Gražulis himself says that he has no intention of retiring anywhere, recalls that he has worked in the Education, Science and Culture Committee of the Seimas in previous periods and then no one objected to his presence in this unit.

“Where were those artists and cultural workers back then, why weren’t they outraged at that time? Maybe here are those artists who painted all kinds of Soviet symbols, posters of Lenin and Stalin during the Soviet era, and now they have drastically changed their orientation not only political but also sexual and now they are drawing rainbows on the asphalt because they make it clear that their state regulations are different from the ones I think I think here are the ones that always adapt to the system, ”P. Gražulis told BNS.

“I will not go anywhere, I have been appointed there, I will stay there, and if they have a majority, let them be dismissed by decision of the Seimas,” said P. Gražulis.