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Lithuanian parliament’s national security and defense committee to hold meeting to discuss teddy bear stunt

The Lithuanian parliament’s national security and defense committee plans to hold a special meeting on August 21and 22 to discuss issues relating to a recent incident in which a group of Swedish citizens illegally flew a small plane from Lithuania to Belarus, dropping teddy bears containing human rights messages.

“We’ve already received answers on the issue of the Swedish plane’s flight from appropriate agencies, met with the heads of those agencies and received preliminary information,” Arvydas Anusauskas, chairperson of the committee, told news agency ELTA.

Earlier this month, the Belarusian authorities asked Lithuania and Sweden to help them investigate the invasion of Belarus' airspace by the foreign plane on July 4.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Rasa Jukneviciene said on August 9 that Lithuania had no information about the incident, and that Belarus’ request for legal assistance would be considered in accordance with national regulations.

Alvydas Sumskas, deputy director of the Civil Aviation Administration, has said that minor civil charges may be brought against the Swedish pilots. //BelaPAN