Conservative warns of proposed limits on expression in parliament

Conservative lawmaker Radvilė Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė says Lithuania’s parliament board will consider rules on posters, symbols and clothing linked to issues under debate in the Seimas on Wednesday. She opposes the proposal, LRT reported Tuesday.

The proposed rules, put forward by Speaker Juozas Olekas, would bar lawmakers and people on the main floor of the chamber from disrupting proceedings or bringing in and displaying posters, banners or similar objects.

People in the public gallery would be barred from expressing approval or disapproval, interrupting proceedings or otherwise disrupting order. They would also be prohibited from bringing in or displaying posters, banners, flags or other items, and from wearing clothing considered offensive or inappropriate, or clearly associated with an issue being debated.

The proposal would also prohibit people in the gallery from holding mobile phones, audiovisual equipment or other objects over the main floor while a session is underway. State Protection Service officers could remove people from the gallery immediately if they fail to remain silent, breach the rules or otherwise disrupt parliament’s work.

Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė said the proposals would restrict the expression of views by lawmakers and parliamentary visitors. She also argued that limits on what lawmakers may display in the chamber would conflict with their free mandate, which she said allows them to represent the public and vote according to their conscience.

She said the proposals suggest that some members of the governing parties are troubled not by noise or breaches of order, but by people’s opinions. “Democracy is not sterile silence,” she wrote on Facebook.