DISINFO: Lithuanian authorities want to establish a military dictatorship
SUMMARY
Lithuania could establish a military dictatorship as it was in 1926. As in the past, Lithuanian authorities in extreme situations will rely on the military. Today Lithuanian authorities are distanced from society and lose any connection to common people. The state of emergency is already declared in regions near the border but it could be very easy to expand it to all territories of the country.
RESPONSE
A recurring narrative about the undemocratic nature of the government of Lithuania.
The statement about the possibility of military dictatorship in modern Lithuania is groundless. Lithuania is a free country (by index “Freedom in the World”). It is recognised that “Lithuania is a democracy in which political rights and civil liberties are generally respected”. The country is a member of the EU and NATO. Today, allusions to the coup of 1926 can be interpreted only as baseless speculation.
The change of power happens in Lithuania during free and democratic elections (more information about elections in Lithuania can be found here).
The state of emergency is limited in scope and geography and is the result of the migration crisis on the border with Belarus; a situation created by the Lukashenko regime through instrumentalisation of irregular migrants brought from the Middle East and ferried via Minsk to the border with Lithuania.
See other examples of similar disinformation about Lithuania: Lithuania fell into a totalitarian dictatorship; Lithuania lost the “liberal curtain” after pressing the protests at home; Lithuania is a totalitarian country.