Migration Department sent the following letter – translation below:
THE DIVISION ON CITIZENSHIP MATTERS
OF THE MIGRATION DEPARTMENT
UNDER THE MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR
Budgetary agency. L.Sapiegos g. 1, LT-10312 Vilnius Telephone (8 5) 219 8432
Fax (8 5) 271 8600 Email md.rastine@vrm.lt Information is collected and maintained in the Registry of legal persons
Code 188610666
October 31, 2013 Nr. (15/3-9) 10K-39085 in response to the request on May 28, 2013
To: Grantas Arthuras Gochinas (Grant Arthur Gochin)
10900 Winnetka Avenue
Chatsworth
California 91311
USA
REGARDING GRANTAS ARTHURAS GOCHINAS’S (GRANT ARTHUR GOCHIN’S) AND BRYCE’AS GOCHINAS-LYONAS’S (BRYCE GOCHIN-LYON’S) DOCUMENTS
The Division on Citizenship Matters of the Migration Department under the Ministry of the Interior is reviewing your and your son Bryce’s Gochinas-Lyonas’s (Bryce Gochin-Lyon’s), born on February 15, 2001, documents for restoration of Republic of Lithuania citizenship.
We inform you that the documents which you submitted confirm your grandfather Samuilis (Samuelis) Gochinas’s (B. Gochin-Lyon’s great grandfather’s), born on February 15, 1902 having had Lithuanian citizenship prior to June 15, 1940 but they are insufficient to make a decision for the restoration of Republic of Lithuania citizenship because they do not indicate the circumstances by reason of which your grandfather S.Gochinas left Lithuania prior to March 11, 1990.
We draw your attention to the fact that Republic of Lithuania citizenship, when retaining the citizenship of another state, can be restored only to an individual who withdrew from Lithuania for historical, political reasons, resistance to an occupational regime (or to the descendant of such an individual).
We also draw your attention to the fact that based on the Constitutional Court’s clarifications regarding the granting of dual citizenship only in extremely rare cases, and the practice of Lithuania’s administrative courts in clarifying the concept of an individual withdrawing from Lithuania prior to March 11, 1990, without giving up the citizenship of another state, Republic of Lithuania citizenship can be restored only to individuals who withdrew from Lithuania for special reasons that are to be linked to the period of occupation, historical, political motives, that is, for reasons which establish grounds for the withdrawal from Lithuania to be judged an exceptional case (or to the descendants of such individuals).
Only upon specifying the abovementioned circumstances and, if possible, submitting documents which substantiate that, can the matter of restoring you and your son B. Gochinas-Lyonas’s Republic of Lithuania citizenship be considered, according to Republic of Lithuania citizenship law article 7 paragraph 4 and article 9, respectively as an individual’s, who until June 15, 1940 having had Republic of Lithuania citizenship and *having withdrawn* from Lithuania until March 11, 1990, grandchild or great-grandchild. We draw your attention to the fact that according to Republic of Lithuania citizenship law article 7 paragraph 4 a Republic of Lithuania citizen can also be a citizen of another state if he is the descendant of an individual exiled from the occupied Republic of Lithuania prior to March 11, 1990.
If you cannot submit at least one of these documents (regarding withdrawal from Lithuania prior to March 11, 1990 or exile) then the restoration of you and your son’s Republic of Lithuania citizenship can be decided by Republic of Lithuania citizenship law article 9 as an individual having had Republic of Lithuania citizenship prior to June 15, 1940, and analogously their grandchild or great-grandchild, only upon renouncing existing United States of America citizenship and South African citizenship and submitting documents confirming that.
We inform you that based on article 21 of the description of the procedure for preparing documents for Republic of Lithuania citizenship as confirmed by the Republic of Lithuania Republic of Lithuania Government’s decision Nr.280 of April 3, 2013 the deliberation on your request as to restoration of Republic of Lithuania citizenship and your request as to restoration of your son’s Republic of Lithuania citizenship is halted and will be continued on the day additional documents are received in the Migration Department in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
In addition, clarify, whether you and your son have or have not acquired Israeli citizenship. If you have received this state’s citizenship, submit documents confirming this.
We clarify that if in submitting the abovementioned documents you or your son should receive a new document of personal identification and confirming citizenship, please submit as well a copy of this document.
In addition, we note that according to Citizenship law article 22 paragraphs 1 and 2 Republic of Lithuania citizenship is not restored if an individual prepared or intended to commit or committed international crimes – aggression, genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes or prepared or intended to commit or committed such criminal actions against the Republic of Lithuania.
Head [signature] Daiva Vezikauskaite
Audra Strigiene, 219 8421
The following was the reply sent by my sister:
2013-10-31 Nr. (15/3-9) 10K-39085
I 2013-05-28 prasyma
Daiva Vezikauskaite – daiva.Vezikauskaite@vrm.lt
Audra Strigiene – Audra.Strigiene@vrm.lt
Z. Pavilionis – Zygimantas.PAVILIONIS@urm.lt
D. Degutis – darius.degutis@urm.lt
Almantas Gavėnas almantas.gavenas@vrm.lt
Ms. Strigiene, You are intimately familiar with my Grandfather, Samuel Gochin’s file, as you yourself adjudicated the earlier claims, and you were one of those that created dishonest reasons for denial of the applications. Therefore, in having taken Migration Department to court five times to address your lies, deceit and fraud, you have full awareness of the facts of this case and the contents of this file. For proof that my Grandfather left before 1990, see his death certificate from South Africa in 1984. It is in your file. You are deliberately not looking in your files in order to create further delays and problems.
My brother, Grant Gochin, wrote a book on why my Grandfather left Lithuania, it is titled “Malice, Murder and Manipulation”. Mr. Gavenas has a copy – in case you have interest in reading it. (The manipulation part of that book is about the Migration Department and people like you.) To re-iterate.
My Grandfather and his family were deported from Lithuania in 1915. The actions of Lithuanian bureaucrats (such as yourself) led directly to their murder, and their ethnic Lithuanian neighbors robbed them, beat them, and stole everything they had. The actions of the Interior Ministry towards my family is what Hannah Arendt described as “The Banality of Evil” – exactly comparable to people like you and your cohorts in Migration Department. Mindless people pushing around papers and creating animosity, or in my family’s case – murder.
My Grandfather was then taken into the Lithuanian Military where he was extremely badly treated by ethnic Lithuanians, until he almost died. After that, he left Lithuania. I do not know his exact reasons for leaving. If you would like me to dig up his dead body and ask his dead body why he left, I will let you know if I receive any reply. Otherwise, what do you suggest that I do? Would you like me to have his dead remains delivered to your office so that you can ask him yourself?
Had my Grandfather remained in Lithuania, he too would have been murdered by his Lithuanian neighbors, as were his relatives that remained behind. Some of the orders to persecute his remaining relatives in Lithuania were signed by the Lithuanian national hero, Noreika. You and your nationalist friends celebrate and honor the man responsible for the murder of my relatives. I hope you take pride in your country for this.
I am interested why you want to know if we have Israeli citizenship. Please explain your legal basis for asking that question. I also want to know why you ask only about Israel and not any other country, and if you ask every single applicant if they have Israeli Citizenship. In order to be maximally helpful, I do not hold citizenship from Uganda or Zimbabwe. Please provide the full listing of countries to which you would like to know if I am a citizen. Clearly, by asking ONLY about Israel, you take note of the fact that I am a Jew, so any claims that there is no differentiation in treatment of Jews versus ethnic Lithuanians is an outright lie – a significant strength, feature and skill set of the Lithuanian Migration Department. Do you ask Catholic applicants if they have citizenship of the Vatican? What does me being a Jew have to do with citizenship – unless Lithuania is a racist country.
Regarding your statement about “Citizenship law article 22 paragraphs 1 and 2 Republic of Lithuania citizenship” I am not a threat to Lithuania because I do not care one iota about Lithuania and do not ever intend to set foot on Lithuanian soil. This is a passport of convenience only. My brother, Grant Gochin, wished to re-associate with Lithuania, but he will no longer accept your citizenship, for me, it was simply a useful travel document. Therefore, I am no threat to Lithuania, I do not care if Lithuania exists or not.
I do not want your citizenship any longer. I am utterly repulsed at your conduct and the conduct of your country.
Yours in disgust and revulsion.