WATERBURY Vilnius, April 14 (ELTA) - Lithuania's Acting President Arturas Paulauskas has called for "dispelling the cloud cast over the Lithuanian basketball players and all Lithuania" and investigate as soon as possible the US media reports about an alleged involvement of the basketball players in Jews' Holocaust in 1941.

Outrage in Lithuania - after Commentary in America
Lietuvos Rytas: 15.04.2004; author: BNS; page: 4
Reproved the Jews
Vakaro Zinios: 15.04.2004; author: not indicated; page: 2
One of the most popular US sports channel ESPN showed a report from Lithuania at the beginning of April accusing inter-war Lithuanian basketball players of participation in the killing of the Jews.

Arvydas Zilinskas, spokesman of acting President Arturas Paulauskas, claimed yesterday that Mr. Paulauskas intended to address the International Commission for the Evaluations of the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupation Regimes in Lithuania and ask to investigate this information and supply its conclusions. Mr. Paulauskas has also consulted with Alfonsas Eidintas, Lithuania's Ambassador to Israel, a famous holocaust specialist, who had confirmed this story was "only unsound witnessing of a single person".

Valdas Adamkus was also outraged by these charges. He claimed it was "complete nonsense" in the conversation with Arturas Paulauskas.

Searching for Historical Justice
Lietuvos Zinios: 15.04.2004; author: ELTA, BNS; page: 2
Experts to Put a Full Stop in Story of Killing of the Jews
Respublika: 15.04.2004; author: Egle Digryte; page: 6
One of the most popular US sports channel ESPN showed a report from Lithuania at the beginning of April accusing inter-war Lithuanian basketball players of participation in the killing of the Jews.

Arvydas Zilinskas, spokesman of acting President Arturas Paulauskas, claimed yesterday that Mr. Paulauskas intended to address the International Commission for the Evaluations of the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupation Regimes in Lithuania and ask to investigate this information and supply its conclusions. Mr. Paulauskas has also consulted with Alfonsas Eidintas, Lithuania's Ambassador to Israel, a famous holocaust specialist, who had confirmed this story was "only unsound witnessing of a single person".

Value declared by Politician Became His Tool
Respublika: 15.04.2004; author: Jurate Zemaityte; page: 6
Basketball is often called the second religion of Lithuanians. This phrase is extremely favoured by our politicians, Vytautas Landsbergis included. Thus, I was shocked to hear his comments ("some dead old basketball players") about our inter-war basketball champions accused of the killing of the Jews.

Now I understand that politicians are only playing with words to make us like them and respect them. But what about HONOUR? Why did the politician forget his main duty: to defend our nation, our sport, our basketball, and our basketball players?

Citations of the Day
Respublika: 15.04.2004; author: not indicated; page: 28
" I do not have any comments. I am very sorry. You can ask me about chess...". Vytautas Landsbergis was unwilling to share his opinion about the articles in the US media about the participation of inter-war Lithuanian basketball players in the killing of the Jews.

Whom Slander of Basketball Players is Beneficial to?
Vakaro Zinios: 15.04.2004; author: Rolandas Parafinavicius; page: 4
Romanas Lescinskas, brother of inter-war basketball player Vytautas Lescinskas, decided to defend Lithuanian heroes himself. "I lived with my brother in one room, we shared everything. Was it possible for me not to know about the killing of the Jews?", Mr. Lescinskas asked rhetorically. He also claimed that popular sportsmen were always in the centre of attention. If there had happened anything similar, whole Kaunas would have known about it.

"The Jews are a very smart nation. There had to be some aim; they were silent about this and basketball players for so may years...", Romanas Lescinskas could not understand the reasons of such an attack.