(June 02, 2020) White House journalist Dr. Matthew Anthony Harper has issued a statement condemning the Lithuanian’s proposed plan to construct a conference centre on the old Jewish cemetery in Vilnius, Lithuania. Dr. Harper is a leading voice for the Christian Satellite Network radio station and has an audience which exceeds 20 million. Get more info about Dr. Matthew Anthony Harper
In 2016, there were an estimated 619 million evangelicals in the world, indicating that one in four Christians could be classified as evangelical.
Dr. Harper has further indicated that evangelicals, would move to boycott tourism in Lithuania in light of the government’s plans to construct the conference centre. A boycott would be a significant blow on the economy and would have an impact on thousands of jobs in Lithuania. Ironically, the purpose of the proposed conference centre was to promote tourism in the country.
Hans Gelbard, a tour operator who has been active in taking tour groups to Lithuania for the last five years, said that the development was most unfortunate. “The impact of the coronavirus is tragic. A boycott on tourism would be devastating.”
Tour operators in Europe were hopeful that the government would scrap the proposal to construct the conference centre on the cemetery.
Paul Schneider is a writer for Human Rights Watch (Europe)
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Paul Schneider
Human Rights Watch (Europe)
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