On February 3rd in the main hall of the Lithuanian parliament there was a press conference called entitle “The referendum on the ban of the sale of land to foreigners is oriented against Lithuania and the country’s people.” During the conference liberals Petras Auštrevičius and Eugenijus Gentvilas, President of the corporation Matininkai Kestutis Kristinaitis, Lithuanian Forest Owners Association Chair Algis Gaižutis and Vice-Chairman of the Lithuanian Landowners Association Kęstutis Mozeris made their speeches against the planned referendum.
The latter made no secret of their frustration with referendum initiators, saying that most landowners do not intend to sell their ancestral land, and that the presumption of the referendum organizers that they would sell their land at the first opportunity humiliates them and calls into question their dignity.
According to Mr. Mozeris, the referendum does not make sense because foreigners are now and have been for years able to buy Lithuanian land and have purchased as much as they want without restrictions, but not much interest has been shown.
