Lithuanian parliament ethics panel finds another violation by Žemaitaitis

Lithuania’s parliamentary Ethics and Procedures Commission has unanimously found Nemuno aušra leader Remigijus Žemaitaitis guilty of violating the code of conduct, LRT reported on Wednesday.

The commission said Žemaitaitis breached the principle of respect for people and the state by publishing a belittling and degrading post on Facebook.

It strongly recommended that he express his views more responsibly and behave appropriately in the future, avoiding words and phrases that could be understood as insulting, degrading or belittling others.

The decision concerned a post published on June 3. It began with the words “Hey, idiots!” and referred to paedophiles, state traitors, Nazis, terrorists’ friends and other alleged supporters of a “values-based party”. Žemaitaitis had attached a headline and photograph from the news portal 15min showing Seimas members Vytautas Juozapaitis and Kęstutis Vilkauskas.

In his explanation to the commission, Žemaitaitis said the post was an ironic and sarcastic political comment. He said it was a reaction to public discussions about how politicians’ statements were assessed and what standards were applied.

According to Žemaitaitis, the post did not name or otherwise identify any specific person and was not intended to insult or humiliate anyone personally. “My aim was to express an opinion and a political position using elements of irony and sarcasm, rather than to personally insult anyone,” he said.

Conservative lawmaker Dalia Asanavičiūtė-Gružauskienė urged the commission on Wednesday to consider amending the Seimas statute to introduce stricter sanctions for systematic breaches of the code of conduct.

She said Žemaitaitis had been found to have committed violations more than once, but was not even required to apologise if the Ethics and Procedures Commission merely urged him to do so.

The commission agreed to submit proposals on possible legal amendments by the first half of October. “If we agree, we will submit them to the Seimas for consideration,” Asanavičiūtė-Gružauskienė told BNS.

Žemaitaitis is among the lawmakers most frequently considered by the Seimas Ethics and Procedures Commission. On July 8, the commission found that he had violated the principles of respect for people and the state, decency and exemplary conduct by sharing a doctored photograph.