B. Davidonytė expressed gratitude for the participation in the protests against proposed amendments to the LRT law. She stated that the demonstrations were instrumental in removing the majority of the provisions that had been deemed contradictory within the project.
Speaking to Eltai on Tuesday, the association’s head noted, “My initial reaction is to thank all those people who were at least one of the six protests for free speech. (…) The provisions that we protested against, which were the most criticized in the context of free speech, were removed from the draft law.”
Davidonytė added that the collective action demonstrated a significant level of public concern, which she believes prevented exhaustion and spurred action. However, she cautioned that the law remains imperfect.
Specifically, she pointed out that the inclusion of the Venice Commission’s recommendations was not successfully incorporated into the final draft. While acknowledging the positive outcome of the protests, Davidonytė indicated that she was not currently addressing plans for further demonstrations. Her comments suggest a measured assessment of the legislative process following the public outcry.
The removal of key contentious clauses represents a notable concession made to civil society following sustained public pressure regarding the free speech aspects of the amendments.
Topics: #protests #amendments #lrt
It’s encouraging to see that public protest helped remove problematic sections of the proposed law.