A unique example of censorship established by local authorities of their own Minister of Interior is reported today from Lithuania. Apparently for reasons of their own the authorities in Kaunas have prohibited the local press from publishing the text of an interview given by the Lithuanian Minister of Interior, Stefan Rustaiko, to the correspondent of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
The minister devoted his interview to Jewish-Lithuanian relations and emphasized a number of points which seem not to be to the taste of the anti-Semitic Verslas organization, which is very influential in certain official circles in Lithuania. The interview was, therefore, put under ban and the Lithuanian newspapers were not only prohibited from printing it, but even from comment upon it.
It will be interesting to hear what M. Rustaiko will say of this censorship practiced against him by his subordinates. How will the minister react toward such censorship, which is the best proof of the power which the anti-Semitic forces in Lithuania enjoy over Lithuanian officialdom.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
