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Lithuania is already pressed towards the border
In 2011, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the ban on lifetime participation in the Seimas elections for R. Paksas, who was removed from the presidency, is disproportionate, so Lithuania should take action.
Rima Urbonaitė, a political scientist at Mykolas Romeris University (MRU), said on the Lietuvos Rytas television program “New Day” that Lithuania is not following the instructions of the ECHR due to a lack of political will.
“We have a clear mandate and a statement that this is not proportionate or applicable. Now we are talking about 10 or 15 years, but here is the negligence and inability of our politicians to agree, which has already led us to be under magnifying glass, and we can face very serious sanctions ”, commented the political scientist.
Julius Sabatauskas, a member of the Seimas Social Democratic faction, also supported him.
“Lithuania is already late, because the special control procedure has even started and they may be threatened with various sanctions. The situation itself is very unpleasant, because we are already comparing it with countries like Russia and others where the human rights situation certainly it is not in the best condition.
Being in one place is not so much a good precedent, ”said J. Sabatauskas.
According to him, penalties can be extremely unpleasant.
“I will compare it to the fact that the Russian representatives were not allowed to participate in the Assembly and vote, it is practically as if they were taking him out of that circle. If the Lithuanian representatives could not participate in the Assembly and make decisions, it would not only be unpleasant, but also a great lack of respect for the state.
We already receive fines after each decision of the ECHR, which is already in the millions, but the fines are not the worst. The worst thing is the deprivation of the right to make a decision, ”said J. Sabatauskas.
According to R. Urbonaitė, this decision is specifically related to Rolandas Paksas, but it is not applicable only to him.
“Yes, this case is exceptional even in the European context, but it would apply to any other politician or even to judges. This is simply a legal norm that must be enshrined,” explained R. Urbonaitė.
He considered that the Seimas politicians do not agree unanimously, looking only at the case of R. Paksas.
“The main dispute is whether to allow Rolandas Paksas to return to the Seimas alone or to allow him to run for the presidency. As a result, there were mostly fears and broken spears. But now, there seems to be a tendency to be able to run for positions where oath is required in 10 or 15 years ”, said the MRU political scientist.
According to R. Urbonaitė, due to the non-execution of the ECHR order, Lithuania is already feeling a lot of pressure from abroad, a feeling of shame has appeared that damages the reputation of the country.
“Let’s think about our reputation and internationally, we are under a lot of pressure, we have to constantly justify it, I think I think it is time to fix it after other elections.”
Until our politicians are pushed to the border, they are not very inclined to work on what belongs to them, ”said the political scientist.
It considered that some damage had already been done to Lithuania.
“We don’t seem solid, and when it comes to the European Union, sometimes we also have problems with non-compliance with certain obligations and directives. <...> I think the damage is already very great and we should meet here once and start thinking not only about our garden, but also about the state as a determined unit, ”said R. Urbonaitė.
May have political ambitions
The MRU political scientist acknowledged that R. Paksas has the possibility of returning to political life, but he will have to make a great effort.
“R. Paksas himself liked to interpret the ECHR decision in such a way that he is innocent, but it is not discussed at all. The potential to become president may not be enough, but you could still become a member of the Seimas.
But to say that this amendment would return Paks a red carpet to politics would not be so bold. And a long time has come, and the Paksas star is already a little short, ”said R. Urbonaitė.
He does not rule out the possibility that R. Paksas may cooperate with the organizers of the recent “Great March for the Defense of the Family” in the future. At this event, R. Paksas also delivered a welcome speech.
“I think that Rolandas Paksas may still have some political ambitions – we have also seen congratulations on the occasion of the Family March, it is obvious that if a person has already seen a niche, they will be inclined to use it.
The current organizers of the march could play the R. Paksas card. He’s still quite recognizable, I wouldn’t really be surprised if they tried to attract him. But whether they will really unite is still a big question, because I don’t see strong leaders there.
There is probably a derivation here that you could think of, only if it can be turned into something real, I still doubt it, ”said the MRU political scientist.
The parliamentarian J. Sabatauskas affirmed that there cannot be a permanent prohibition to return to the position of state, reason why the chosen term is proportionate.
“I think this is the optimal term that can be related to the duration of the Presidency of the Republic. So these are two terms. There really is a considerable period in 10 years of human life, when many things change, people’s thinking changes, ”said J. Sabatauskas.
