Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today praised the critical comments made by Norwegian ambassador to Lithuania Steiner Gil regarding the failure of Lithuanian leaders and members of parliament to denounce a neo-Nazi march held earlier this month in the center of Vilnius. Ambassador Gil spoke at a seminar on “European and Lithuanian Values: Identical or Different?” held late last week in the Lithuanian Parliament. In a statement issued here by its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center labeled the march “a horrifying spectacle of hatred, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism which brings back memories of dark days in Vilnius.”
According to Zuroff:
“Such neo-Nazi demonstrations have no place in European society, which suffered unprecedented losses at the hands of the Nazis and their local collaborators. The fact that no public figure had the courage to speak out against this manifestation of lack of tolerance is a strong indication of the weak foundations of Lithuanian democracy. Ambassador Gil’s criticism should serve as a dire warning to Lithuanian society.”
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