"In my view, the most effective tool for protecting citizens' minds is accurate, accessible information together with open and good-natured discourse," said the director of the Human Rights Monitoring Institute (HRMI), Dovilė Šakalienė, in her opening word at the HMRI conference titled "Human Rights in Transformed Europe."
The conference was organized in response to Russia's recent informational and cyber attacks against Lithuania. In the official study of Kremlin propaganda presented to the leaders of Lithuania and other European Union countries, it was claimed that Kremlin propagandists seek to undermine European values and influence Eastern Partnership countries.
Modern information warfare
According to one political scientist at the conference, the current rhetoric employed by the Kremlin with regard to Lithuania is best described by a term coined by Edward Lucas — "modern whataboutism." Whataboutism was a tactic used by the Soviet Union during the Cold War — when criticisms were leveled at the Soviet Union, they would respond, "What about..."
This tactic allows Russia to deflect criticism regarding its problems with democracy or human rights by arguing that its critics themselves are yet to solve analogous or similar problems at home.
Journalists of the newsletter 15 min. also presented the results of their most recent journalistic investigation. The investigation revealed that one of Russia's soft power tools — "Prayfond," an organization implementing so-called "compatriot policies" — is directly financing three organizations active in Lithuania. According to intelligence officers, these organizations are disseminating disinformation about Lithuania and in this way seek to create a pretext for possible Kremlin aggression.
Human rights and integration
"[W]e see how thin and dangerous the line between patriotism and dogmatism, how large the temptation and the pressure to go over the line is: to pretend that you did not hear another unpopular opinion, to forget that national communities, often referred to as the fifth pillar, are our citizens — ones we should integrate instead of pushing away," said the senior editor of DELFI, the largest news site in Lithuania.
"In the current geopolitical context, powers that are hostile to Lithuania sometimes use human rights as a tool for propaganda. As such, under no circumstance can we allow ourselves to treat human beings, their rights and liberties lightly. We must strengthen our country by gaining the trust of our citizens," said the Lithuanian minister of justice in agreement.
