NEWS
Lituanian President Slams Anti-Gay Bill
Lithuania's new president criticised a censorship bill passed by lawmakers in the Baltic country yesterday that aims to keep information about homosexuality away from children.
Dalia Grybauskaite, who was inaugurated as president on Sunday, said the measure was poorly worded and vowed to propose amendments later this year.
"I'm very much upset that such kind of laws in Lithuania are possible," she told reporters during a joint news conference in Stockholm with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.
The measure bans publicly disseminating material deemed harmful to the mental health and "intellectual or moral development" of minors.
It lists 19 examples of "detrimental" information, including material that "agitates for homosexual, bisexual, and polygamous relations," instructions on how to make explosives and graphic depictions of violence or death.
Lithuanian lawmakers this week overturned a veto by Grybauskaite's predecessor, meaning the new president has to sign it into law.
Critics said the text violated the freedom of speech and international standards of human rights. Gay rights activists called it homophobic.
Grybauskaite said it would be difficult to implement the legislation, which is set to take effect in March, because "it is unprecise and allows a lot of interpretation."
Reinfeldt, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said he had voiced his concerns about the bill with Grybauskaite during their meeting.
"Of course we're disheartened by all signals that goes against our defense for human rights," he said. "This transmits signals of a kind that you're in some kind of way trying to portray homosexuality as something strange — and you shouldn't do that in a modern society."