On 22 December, the parliamentary committee investigating alleged CIA ‘black site’s in Lithuania concluded that Lithuania had the necessary preconditions for providing the CIA with two secret prisons in Lithuania.  The committee identified that there were two such facilities in Lithuania ready to be used.  It also concluded that there were preconditions for transportation of CIA detainees, however  the committee could not prove if such detainees could have been kept in the prisons.  The Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius issued following statement. 

“The prime minister hopes that the National Security and Defence Committee’s second probe on CIA prisons will help reform the State Security Department and regain public trust in this vital institution.

Even without any absolute proof that the prison was finally utilized for the purpose for which it was equipped, the prime minister feels the sole fact that this detention centre infrastructure existed is cause for considerable concern.  The fact that this infrastructure was created indicates that a small group of State Security Department officers were able to issue a decision to go ahead with building a detention centre bypassing the public and, possibly, top state officials, and parliamentary control.  What’s most worrying is that a decision issued by a few officers was being implemented in violation of laws regulating secret service activity and financial accounting and ignoring detrimental consequences to Lithuania’s international reputation,”” the statement reads.

Further the PM said, “The CIA prison investigation basically shows how the State Security Department came to be and how the culture of avoiding control and disregarding the law gained strength, how the department started becoming a state within a state, which played on self-interest ignoring the true interests of the state. Finally, the State Security Department stopped caring about its playmates, whether it be the CIA or controversially acclaimed mediators for gas import from the East, possibly associated with secret services of states hostile towards Lithuania. This was revealed by the last National Security and Defence Committee probe on alleged corrupt links between the State Security Department and Foreign Ministry officials.”

The statement reads that the strategic partnership with the USA is of vital importance to Lithuania, noting the importance of cooperation in all areas, including secret operations held in the framework of the battle against terrorism.  “Nevertheless, the strategic partnership with the US cannot be used as an excuse to act under what essentially were Soviet methods, by ignoring civilian control over secret services and violating legislation.”

The prime minister said it’s time to replace this faulty practice of allowing “the State Security Department to formulate its own tasks and not be accountable to supervising institutions.  The prime minister feels that the executive authorities should formulate tasks for the secret services, and the parliament should have the capacity to oversee execution of those tasks. In the prime minister’s opinion, changes have to take place based on President Dalia Grybauskaite’s proposed concept to boost supervision of secret services activity”.

At the same time the Prime Minister dismissed all speculations that the CIA investigation could be of useful tool to states which are hostile towards Lithuania.  “On the contrary, Lithuania’s foes would like for our secret services to fall short of meeting requirements set for democratic states, for them to not be overseen by the civil authorities and to remain a symbol of Lithuania as an unreliable country lagging behind the civilized world. The prime minister notes that Lithuania is obliged to its allies in the European Union (EU) and NATO to reform and depoliticize the State Security Department and oust this symbol as soon as possible”.

Prime Minister highlighted that Lithuania regards its military mission in Afghanistan to be an important aspect of cooperation with its allies, and an honest evaluation of Lithuania’s CIA prison lessons and a reform of the secret services can only improve the quality of cooperation with its strategic partner – the USA.”