G. Landsbergis invites E. Bajarūnas to Vilnius: reactions of G. Nausėda and I. Šimonytė – different

Criticism of G. Nausėda

“We are creating a flawed situation from which it can be very difficult to get out, and the most important thing is that the ambassador will continue to live with the slur attached to him,” says G. Nausėda in the video published by the Presidency.

The President also called the decision to temporarily suspend the functions of Ambassador E. Bajarūnas “half-hearted” and noted that he does not decide anything, and leaves the diplomatic mission without a leader for at least half a year.

“A partial decision that does not solve anything, we said that it is a very serious matter, about the prestige of our diplomatic mission and the entire service, about the reputation of a particular diplomat, so it was most appropriate to start a full official inspection, which would answer all the questions,” he noted G. Nausėda.

According to the head of the country, if the accusations against E. Bajarūnas of mobbing and abuse are confirmed, “the strictest measures may be applied, including cancellation”.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gabrielius Landsbergis, signed an order on Monday temporarily suspending the functions of the Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Sultanate of Oman and Portugal E. Bajarūnas from October 19.

As reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the functions of E. Bajarūnas are suspended “until the constructive and productive work of the representative office is restored”.

Before that, the ambassador appealed to the Government, the Ministries of the Interior and Foreign Affairs, requesting an independent investigation into possible psychological violence at the embassy based on the complaints and other reports submitted by the employees, if any, and into possible psychological violence and defamation of his own reputation.

Prime Minister: Harmful to Lithuania’s interests

In her turn, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė stated in a comment forwarded to BNS on Tuesday that she received the ambassador’s letter and the request to assess the possibilities of the investigation from the Presidency.

“Currently, the mentioned letter of the Presidency is being examined by the chancellery, but I would like to emphasize that the evaluation and investigation of the official activity of a diplomat is defined by the Law on Diplomatic Service”, says the Prime Minister.

She also states that the situation caused by the ambassador is “harmful to the interests of Lithuania, so it would be important to resolve it”.

“I don’t see the possibility that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could have ignored the reports about possible inappropriate behavior of the ambassador, because it is important that the employees of the diplomatic service feel heard and valued and that the problems are solved – embassies are usually small teams and any negative atmosphere has a very significant impact on work efficiency.” – stressed the Prime Minister.

It is to be regretted that the ambassador himself tries to simplify the criticisms expressed by a considerable part of the team into some kind of political battles, basically demonstrating that he considers the opinion of his colleagues at the embassy about his work ethics to be worthless.

I.Šimonytė, responding to the accusations regarding the lack of official inspection, emphasizes that, as far as she knows, the situation was explained “according to the procedure established by the Law on Diplomatic Service”.

“It is to be regretted that the ambassador himself tries to simplify the criticisms expressed by a considerable part of the team into some kind of political battles, basically demonstrating that he does not consider the opinion of his colleagues at the embassy about his work ethics to be worth anything, and considers his colleagues themselves to be independent people. Demanding managers are first and foremost demanding of themselves,” she asserted.

E. Bajarūnas claims that he is experiencing psychological violence from the MFA, because leaking information harms his reputation.

Previously, he received accusations from employees of the embassy in London about inappropriate behavior and working conditions. After investigating the complaints, the General Inspectorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs found violations and proposed to decide on the suitability of E. Bajarūnas to head the embassy.