Maria Rekść: Poles aren’t immigrants in Vilnius district

Neither Poles nor Russians, nor people of other nationalities, living in Vilnius are are immigrants, who dictate the terms – said in the interview for “Lietuvos  žinios” mair of the Vilnius district Maria Rekść.

Multinationality distinguishes Vilnius district and is its greatest value – claims M. Rekść.

Ability to use native language and to communicate in it in state institutions is important for everyone. Neither Poles nor Russians, nor people of other nationalities, living in Vilnius are immigrants, who arrived there and dictate terms and conditions. It’s historically conditioned that Lithuanians, Poles, Russians, Jews and other nations lived harmoniously for thousands of years in Vilnius district. Already in the times of Vytautas reign, and later, they had their temples, the right to speak in their mother tongues and cultivate tradition. Inhabitants of Vilnius region – Poles, Russians, Jews, whose ancestors fought for Lithuanian’s independence want to have freedom and democration, which are statued in Constitution of Lithuania.

She added, that new redaction of law on national minorities – if it will be adopted under the european standards – should regulate the situation of minorities in Lithuania, especially when it comes to bilingual inscriptions question.

Asked about perennial leadership of Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania in Vilnius region,  Maria Rekść pointed out, that the party earned the electoral trust and their electoral successes mean that residents of Vilnius support the EAPL politics.

“We are very happy that we meet the expectations of voters. Not only we write our postulates, but also operate actively. The stability of administration is also crucial. Due to constant rotation many cases remains unfinished – and thanks to stability we achieve positive results.” – said Maria Rekść

Source: http://zw.lt/wilno-wilenszczyzna/maria-reksc-polacy-nie-sa-imigrantami-w-rejonie-wilenskim/

Tłumaczenie by Aleksandra Szcześniak w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by Aleksandra Szcześniak within the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.