Vilnius migration protests trade chants, including “Lithuania for Lithuanians”

Two opposing demonstrations over immigration policy brought rival slogans to Vilnius’ Gediminas Avenue on Saturday, including “Lithuania for Lithuanians,” LRT reported. Police said more than 200 officers would be assigned to maintain order.

The National Union, a right-wing party led by Vytautas Sinica, held its protest at Vincas Kudirka Square, while left-wing activists staged a counter-demonstration nearby, about half an hour earlier. Police said the two gatherings would be separated by around 50 metres.

Organisers expected about 500 people at the anti-immigration protest and around 100 at the counter-protest. The National Union called for lower migrant quotas and the deportation of foreigners who have committed crimes. It had invited people to travel to the protest by free buses from across Lithuania.

The counter-demonstration, titled “Demonstration Against Racism,” was organised by the groups Solidarity Chain, Antifa, the Union of Anarchists and Fridays for Future Lithuania. Its organisers said migrant numbers in Lithuania were lower than politicians claimed and warned that political rhetoric was spreading panic and misinformation.

The migrant-rights group Sienos grupė held a separate event, “Wake Up from Hate,” alongside the protests. Organiser Emilija Švobaitė said the group wanted to create a calm space for discussion and highlight that migration was part of the lives of many people and families in Lithuania.

Sinica said provocations, including radical posters, would not be tolerated. He cited a poster calling for Muslims to be shot as an example of material his organisers would ask to be removed. Laurynas Tomelaitis, one of the counter-protest organisers, said he was concerned about radical individuals on the right.

Most political parties told LRT they did not plan to attend the demonstrations. Some individual members of the Green Party and Liberal Movement, as well as Freedom Party leader Vytautas Mitalas, were expected to attend.

The demonstrations came after incidents involving anti-Muslim sentiment in September. A group of men brought a pig’s head to a mosque in Kaunas, and a Quran was allegedly burned in Vilnius. Pre-trial investigations were opened in both cases.