Olekas backs Meškauskaitė appointment to LRT council

Seimas Speaker Juozas Olekas said he saw no reason to criticise lawyer Liudvika Meškauskaitė, whom President Gitanas Nausėda appointed to the Lithuanian Radio and Television Council, LRT reported Tuesday.

“I really have no need to criticise her, because I believe she is someone with experience in this field and could add value by helping address or identify problems that need to be solved,” Olekas told reporters at the Seimas.

Olekas described Meškauskaitė as an experienced specialist and lawyer who focuses on media law. He said her expertise could be useful to the council.

Conservative leader Laurynas Kasčiūnas said he would have chosen a different candidate if he had been in the president’s position. He also called for renewed discussion on depoliticising the LRT Council and increasing the number of professionals and experts on it.

Kasčiūnas said he did not question the president’s legal authority to make the appointment, but argued that the political decision had prompted criticism, divided society and could politicise the council.

Nausėda signed a decree appointing Meškauskaitė on Monday after Giedrius Jucevičius resigned from the council. The president had also considered lawyer Vytis Turonis for the position.

Meškauskaitė specialises in media law, human rights, constitutional, civil and criminal law. She is also an associate professor at Vilnius University and Mykolas Romeris University and a public figure. In 2004, she received the Medal of the Order of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas.