Jews abroad have no reason to worry about the fate of their brethren in Lithuania, in connection with Lithuania’s new constitution, Minister of Interior Julius Caplikas declared today in a long interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
“Tell the Jews abroad that the Lithuanian Jews are in no danger,” General Caplikas said. “Seven hundred years of friendship between the Lithuanians and the Jews will not be undermined by the new Constitution.”
Jewish fears had been aroused by the fact that the new charter omits the guarantees of minority rights contained in the old Constitution. The new Constitution has not changed anything in the Jewish question, General Caplikas said, and the Lithuanian Government will continue in the future to treat minorities with tolerance. It does not intend to deprive them of equality of rights, he added.
“We Lithuanians will never forget that the Lithuanian Jews helped us in the first years of our fight for independence,” the Minister asserted. “We remember the loyalty of Jewish leaders who helped Lithuania gain its independence in the centers of world politics. We know that Jewish citizens took an active part in the work of building up our country.”
A special paragraph of the new Constitution affirms categorically that all Lithuanian citizens are equal before the law and that rights of citizens will not be infringed because of nationality or religion, General Caplikas stated. The Constitution also recognizes equality of rights for all religions, as well as the right of every citizen to work. These paragraphs, as well as the fact that subvention for Jewish education and social needs remain as hitherto, prove that the Jews’ legal position in Lithuania has not been changed, he said.
Regarding the absence in Lithuania of a legalized Jewish communal organization, General Caplikas said it was necessary to remember that among the Jews themselves there were differences of opinion about this problem. If the Jews agree among themselves and draft their own Jewish community bill, the Government is ready to meet their demands, he said.
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