H. E. Algirdas Brazauskas
President of the Republic of Lithuania
Office of the President
Vilnius
Lithuania
Vienna, 20 November 1995
Your Excellency,
The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors and media executives from newspapers, magazines, broadcasting organisations and news agencies in 85 countries, strongly condemns the bombing of the offices of the Vilnius daily Lietuvos Rytas.
We are informed that on Friday, 17 November 1995, a powerful bomb destroyed an annex of the editorial offices of the country’s largest daily newspaper. No injuries were reported, but there was substantial material damage. The attack came after Lietuvos Rytas published a series of articles about organised crime in Lithuania. The newspaper alleged, amongst other things, that a mafia clan in the city of Kaunas swindled the State out of millions of dollars during the second stage of Lithuania’s privatisation process.
IPI is concerned about the circumstances surrounding the attack, which are similar to those leading up to the October 1993 murder of Vitas Lingys, founder and publisher of the popular daily newspaper Republika, who specialized in lifting the lid on organised crime. We therefore strongly urge Your Excellency to authorise an investigation into the incident and to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice. We further urge that all possible steps are taken to protect the safety of journalists working in Lithuania.
We thank you for your attention.
Yours sincerely,
Johann P. Fritz
Director