Confidence in National Defence Sysytem in Lithuania is lowering and the image of the Lithuanian armed forces has worsened.
The trend is becoming apparent from 2018 because of some incidents with the military which undermine d population's trust. A new unpleasant one occurred recently.
A young man (born 2000) was raped in GrigiÃ... ¡kÄ""s, a suburb of Vilnius. According to Delfi , on June 28, police received information that a young man had been raped in GrigiÃ... ¡kÄ""s. At the crime scene, two suspects were detained (born 1999 and 1996). One of the suspects was a military man.
Reporters found out that drugs were found during the search.
The police do es not usually provide information about the incident with the involvement of the military, since such crimes do not cover by the media.
Delfi contacted prosecutor Cristina Rekertene, who confirmed that an
investigation had begun. "The investigation has begun, but there
will be no detailed comments," she told Delfi.
Representatives of the Lithuanian army told Delfi that they knew about this incident. The suspect is a professional military man and he even had impeccable reputation earlier.
An army spokesman said that if the court found the military guilty, he would be dismissed from the service. It is hard to believe that the prosecutor did not apply to the court with a request for the arrest of a suspect. The army informed that he would still serve until proven guilty.
It seems as if low character traits have become common among military in Lithuania. Such behaviour earlier was a distinguishing feature mainly for the military from the NATO's enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroups.
Bad examples are absorbed by the Lithuanian military much faster than good ones.
Political and governmental institutions in any country are the "mirror" of of the society. People who work or serve in such institution must have such individual characteristics and qualities that make them the right fit for the job. They should be respected by different segments of the population. If the Army does not respect and even abuses population, there is no respect or confidence, only shame and strong disapproval.
