The passionate monument to J. Krikštaponiis is in the vortex of political circles and courts

According to the mayor of Ukmergė district, Darius Varnas, there is a trial going on because of this, so the municipality has no right to arbitrarily interfere in the judicial process.

However, the chairman of the Seimas Human Rights Committee Tomas Vytautas Raskevičius says that the mayor does not follow the instructions of the institutions that, according to the law, have the competence to order the removal of symbols from the public space, and intends to turn to the prosecutor’s office.

They called for the monument to be dismantled last June

In June 2023, the inter-institutional commission for evaluating the compliance of public objects with the prohibition of the promotion of totalitarian, authoritarian regimes and their ideologies in them, known as de-sovietization, recognized the monument to J. Krikštaponiis in the Ukmergė district as promoting totalitarian, authoritarian regimes and called for its removal.

The municipality had to do this by the middle of November, but the mayor of the district, D. Varnas, claimed that the municipal commission examining this issue wants to receive a court verdict. The Lithuanian Freedom Fighters’ Union, the Association of Lithuanian Political Prisoners and Exiles, the Lithuanian Freedom Struggle and Jonas Mindaugas Janulis appealed to the court.

Juozas Krikštaponis

Last June, the Human Rights Committee of the Seimas appealed to the mayor of Ukmergė district, D. Varnas, with a call to dismantle the monument to J. Krikštaponiis. Its chairman, TVRaskevičius, then said that the Lithuanian Genocide and Resistance Research Center (LGGRTC) recognized that J. Krikštaponis participated in the Holocaust back in 2016.

Although eight months have passed since the appeal, the monument is still standing and, according to TVRaskevičius, the mayor of Ukmergė is not following the instructions of the institutions, which according to the law have the competence to order the removal of symbols from the public space.

“It is in the public interest. In my opinion, the prosecutor’s office should start an investigation. We intend to apply to the prosecutor’s office on behalf of the faction, for the protection of public interest. This has not yet been coordinated with colleagues, so it is not a matter of days”, – 15min said TVRaskevičius.

Lukas Balandis/BNS photo/Tomas Vytautas Raskevičius

“There is an order from the LGGRTC to do that (remove the bas-relief – aut. post.) and it must be implemented. If they don’t like it, they (Ukmergė district municipality – official post) can complain to the court, but as far as I know, such processes do not take place,” he said.

According to TVRaskevičius, there should be no doubts regarding J. Krikštaponis’ participation in the Holocaust.

“This is a very controversial figure, because there are conclusions confirmed by historians regarding the participation of this person in the actions of the Holocaust. All residents have the right to express their beliefs in meetings, but no one revokes or stops the validity of the laws,” said the politician.

Awaiting a court decision

Ukmergė District Municipality Mayor D. Varnas emphasized that the appeal of several organizations is still in court, and the case is currently waiting for its turn.

According to the mayor, both the de-Sovietization commission and the Human Rights Committee, the municipality is currently unable to carry out the calls to dismantle the monument, as it is awaiting a court decision.

“The examination of this issue is carried out in court, therefore the municipality does not have the right to arbitrarily interfere in the judicial process, but must be guided by what the courts decide. The speed of the court process does not depend on the municipality at all”, – 15min said D. Varnas.

Žygimantos Gedvilas/BNS photo/Darius Varnas

According to the Law on the Prohibition of Propagation of Totalitarian, Authoritarian Regimes and Their Ideologies, LGGRTC’s decisions on monuments can be appealed to an administrative court.

According to D. Varna, such a complaint was submitted by the applicant organization.

“It is clear that no other decisions and actions are possible at this time until the court has examined the case and made a final decision. It is also clear that no person can be convicted and condemned without a trial. All of these matters are completely independent of the mayor’s or the municipality’s point of view, since in Lithuania justice is administered only by the courts, and the municipality will enforce the court’s decisions, whatever they may be. So we will wait for the end of the courts”, said the mayor of Ukmergė district.

He does not understand the intention to apply to the prosecutor’s office

Vitas Karčiauskas, head of the so-called de-Sovietization commission, does not understand the intentions of TVRaskevičius, chairman of the Seimas Human Rights Committee, to turn to the prosecutor’s office.

“First of all, if someone intends to apply to the prosecutor’s office, they should open the law adopted by the members of the Seimas themselves and read what is written there”, – 15min he said.

“I understand that the decision of LGGRTC director Arūnas Bubnis is rather unclear and does not comply with the law, but the Law on the Prohibition of Promoting Totalitarian, Authoritarian Regimes and Their Ideologies clearly states that the manager of a public facility must remove or replace the facility no later than three months following receiving the decision , and if the decision is appealed to the court – from the date of entry into force of the court decision rejecting the appeal. In this case, the mayor of Ukmergė district municipality is right, he is waiting for the court’s final decision, and if the complaint is rejected, then the municipality will have to remove the bas-relief,” V. Karčiauskas explained.

Irmantos Gelūnos/BNS photo/Vitas Karčiauskas

V. Karčiauskas points out that the status of J. Krikštaponis as a volunteer soldier and his participation in the Holocaust should not be confused.

“I have no doubt that Krikštaponis was both a soldier and a volunteer, but I do not understand at all why the facts were mixed up. He was a partisan, maybe a Jew-shooter, the court might confirm it definitively, I won’t have to use the word perhaps“, said V. Karčiauskas.

According to him, according to the facts that the commission headed by him received officially and relied on when making the decision, it was confirmed that Mr. Krikštaponis participated in the Holocaust.

“Trying to contrast the Law of De-Sovietization with the status of a volunteer soldier, in my opinion, is unfair when looking at the activities carried out by Krikštaponis”, emphasized V. Karčiauskas.

“Part of the public says that he is a famous partisan, although he died early, but did quite a lot, but part of the public is justifying Krikštaponis without knowing or underestimating some facts,” said the chairman of the De-Sovietization Commission.

According to V. Karčiauskas, in all cases the final decision must be made by the court.

The Jewish community spoke out for the monument

In June 2023, the chairman of the Lithuanian Jewish (Lithvak) community, Faina Kukliansky, also called for the removal of a monument to J. Krikštaponiis, the commander of the Vytis district of the Lithuanian partisans, who is associated with participation in the Holocaust, in Ukmerge.

“Participation in a massacre is a crime that cannot be expiated by other merits.” “Commemorating the 80th anniversary of the anti-Nazi resistance and liquidation of the Vilnius ghetto, the monument to Krikštaponis is an insult to the memory of all the victims and their relatives,” said F. Kukliansky in a statement issued last summer.

Žygimantos Gedvilas/BNS photo/Faina Kukliansky

LGGRTC stated in the certificate published in 2016 that the battalion in which J. Krikštaponis served as company commander might have been used by the German occupation command in 1941-1943 for the persecution and extermination of Jews, prisoners of war, and civilians in Belarus.