11 September 2007
Lithuania's government has asked city authorities in the capital of Vilnius to suspend the building of an apartment block over an ancient Jewish cemetery. A working group led by Lithuania's foreign minister has recommended freezing construction work and carrying out a survey to establish the precise boundaries of the cemetery. Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas said the government would ask the local municipality to freeze construction work. "It has become an international problem for us ... The developer should realize that it needs to seek a compromise,"
However, Edvinas Butkus, a spokesman for the developer has said it will carry on working. "There are no new legal reasons to halt the construction, except a political desire," he said.
