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US Congress may rebuke Lithuania over Jewish cemetery

21 November 2007

The US Congress is considering a rebuke of Lithuania over construction on a Jewish cemetery. A proposed congressional resolution chastises the Lithuanian government for not stopping the building of luxury apartments. The resolution charges the Lithuanian government with violating a 2002 bilateral agreement to preserve the cultural heritage of religious and ethnic groups.

The Snipiskes Cemetery in Vilnius was built in the 16th century and closed in the 19th century. Developers built on a site adjacent to the burial ground prior to last year, but international outcry led the government to form a commission to mark out the cemetery. However, further construction began in February this year on a site that is likely to include part of the cemetery, but the government did not order the work stopped until September, when much of the work was already done.

The daily newspaper Lietuvos Zinios reported that Lithuanian presidential adviser Vilius Kavaliauskas called the resolution “highly unpleasant and exaggerated in some places.”

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