- February 6, 2014
- 198
Polish MP surprised by Lithuanian government’s attitude towards Poles
Imposing such a high fine on the administration director of Šalčininkai Region for not disposing of bilingual signs was taken with disbelief and surprise in Poland, said MP Adam Lipiński, vice-chair of Polish party Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość) during a meeting with colleagues from Lithuanian Parliament.
The meeting was initiated by Jarosław Narkiewicz, vice-marshal of Lithuanian Parliament, who sent invitations to all chairmen of Polish parties. As the vice-marshal said, he organised it to “lessen the tension and normalise the dealings”. It was Law and Justice that first answered to the invitation. The leader of the party, Jarosław Kaczyński, was also to arrive to Vilnius, he however cancelled the visit due to illness. Among the participants of the meeting were MPs of AWPL Fraction, a candidate for president Linas Balsys and MPs from Polish-Lithuanian Interparliamentary Assembly.
Lipiński informed that the Lithuanian Court’s decision to impose an enormous fine was discussed by the Commission on Connection with Poles Abroad. He argued that the fine is a consequence of lack of political will.
“We do not know how to proceed, how to react and what to do next about this slashing case”, Lipiński said.
The vice-leader of Lithuanian Parliament, Gediminas Kirkilas, tried to answer to Lipiński: he highlighted that it is dialogue which is necessary to normalise the dealings. He also reaffirmed his will to talk with members of different Polish political parties.
According to MP Broniusa Bradauskas, existence conflicts (as he described the problem of bilingual signs) are regarded to be essential too much, which is pernicious and not understendable. He suggested that the Poles in Lithuania should have the same rights as the Lithuanians in Poland. AWPL Fraction’s MPs confirmed that the latter have the right to write their names in accordance with the original spelling and to use bilingual signs.
“The meeting is a good opportunity to share views. We thought that every single touchy subject could be talked through within the Political Council of the coallition; not always, it seems. We look for dialogue partners”, Rita Tamašunienė, the leader of AWPL Fraction said.
Tłumaczenie by Szymon Wnuk w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by Szymon Wnuk within the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.
