Lithuanian culture minister to attend protest against public broadcaster reforms

Lithuania’s Culture Minister Vaida Aleknavičienė will attend Wednesday’s protest in Vilnius against proposed reforms to the country’s public broadcaster LRT, she confirmed to reporters on Tuesday.

“I was not officially invited to participate as a politician or to speak from the stage,” Aleknavičienė told journalists at a government briefing. “I will simply go as an ordinary citizen, a member of parliament, a minister—to walk around, talk to people, and hear their concerns.”

She added that she had done the same in the past: “I find it interesting to listen to different positions and understand why people come and what worries them. I’ve done this before, and I’ll do it now.”

The protest, titled “Hands Off Free Speech,” will take place in Vilnius’ Independence Square. Organisers aim to draw attention to proposed amendments to the LRT law, currently under review by parliament’s Culture Committee, which critics argue would undermine the broadcaster’s independence and politicise its governance.

The draft law introduces a formal definition of LRT’s mission, creates a new governing board, expands the broadcaster’s council from 12 to 15 members, and imposes stricter requirements for council appointees. It also restricts the involvement of other media representatives in producing LRT content without prior approval and revises the grounds for dismissing the director-general before their term ends.

While the threshold for a no-confidence dismissal remains at two-thirds of the council, the requirement for an open vote has been removed, leaving the voting method to the council’s discretion.

Earlier attempts to fast-track similar amendments in December triggered mass protests, with over 10,000 participants rallying in defence of press freedom. After those proposals stalled, a working group was formed to revisit LRT’s governance structure. The current draft, prepared by that group, has faced criticism from journalists and academic experts.