VILNIUS (dpa) – Lithuania’s most obvious symbol of hard-fought independence, its national flag, is the focal point of a discussion on whether Lithuanians should be legally obligated to show their patriotism.
Current law states that the flag must be flown at every building – including private homes – on at least 14 national holidays per year.But ten years after Lithuania’s split from Moscow, an increasing number of citizens have voiced their opposition to a law that many regard as comical.Vitas Tomkus, chief editor of Respublika, Lithuania’s largest tabloid, is among the strongest opponents of the law.“On a holiday, I want to relax. Flying the flag is work for me,” he explained.Tomkus himself was one of the leaders of Sajudis, Lithuania’s independence movement from the Soviet Union, and isn’t suspected of lacking patriotism.His view is that by forcing someone to display a flag, the Lithuanian government is acting much like an oppressive Soviet government that he fought so hard to break free from ten years ago.While some in Lithuania just shrug and smile when reminded of their legal duty to fly the flag, the existing law itself is not at all ambiguous and leaves no room for interpretation – every building in Lithuania must have a flagpole and fly the flag on at least 14 holidays a year.The law also requires that the tri-colored yellow-green-red flag be flown all day from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.Failure to observe the law can result in a fine of up to 100 litas (25 dollars) – not a small amount of money in this former Soviet republic that is struggling to implement economic reforms.In the local city government of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, Vytautas Kudirka is responsible for enforcing the flag-flying law.Kudirka’s family has a long tradition of Lithuanian patriotism as demonstrated by the fact that one of his relatives wrote the lyrics to the country’s national anthem.He is proud of the flag law and even laments that “only real patriots” fly the flag when it is not legally required such as religious, regional or personal days of significance.His sentiment is certainly not shared by all of Lithuania’s citizens – most notably the sizable Polish minority in the country.Ethnic Poles, representing about 8 per cent of Lithuania’s population, are the most notorious violators of the flag law, Kudirka notes. Ethnic Russians seem to take the law – and the potential fines – more seriously, he adds.Minorities have begun to comply with the law only after stronger monitoring and harsher fines were imposed on violators, Kudirka says.Throughout the country, some 500 investigations of non-compliance with the law are conducted each year. Many investigations start with a phone call to local police from a disgruntled neighbour keen on exacting revenge or simply stirring up trouble.“Of course there are those that feel they are settling old scores (by reporting a neighbour)”, Kudirka adds, telling a story of how a millionaire was reported by jealous neighbours for not flying the national colours.Now the debate on whether citizens should be legally required to fly the flag is to be decided in parliament, most likely in the next few months.Gintaras Steponavicius, an influential liberal parliamentarian, maintains that a country “cannot force patriotism” on its citizens and has drafted a bill that would eliminate the existing flag law.In his view, better education about Lithuania’s national symbols and being able to make a voluntary choice would be much better for the country.Even former Prime Minister Gediminas Vagnorious, who oversaw the adoption of the flag law during his first term, is in favour of at least reforming the current law which he describes as “a not very successful attempt to copy old traditions”.
