• March 26, 2013
  • 235

Gedvilas: The rights of Poles in Lithuania and of Lithuanians in Poland should be equal

© DELFI

The rights of Poles in Lithuania and of Lithuanians in Poland should be equal, the Chairman of the Seimas, Vydas Gedvilas, stated in Warsaw.

‘We agreed on that the rights of national minorities in Poland should be identical to the rights in Lithuania. We must identically love Poles in Lithuania as well as Poles love Lithuanians in Poland’ – Gedvilas told BNS.

The Chairman of the Seimas stressed that the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture ought to work closely at these issues.

‘We did not discuss any concessions. We must simply work on the principle of parity’ – said Gedvilas.

The Chairman of the Seimas added that the specific issues of the original spelling of surnames or bilingual inscriptions had not been raised.

In reply to a question whether Polish-Lithuanian relations are changing for the better, Gedvilas answered: ‘In my opinion they certainly are’.

Except for the issues connected with national minorities, the Chairman of the Lithuanian Seimas and the Speaker of the Polish Senate, Bogdan Borusewicz, discussed the energy security, including the project for gas connection between the countries.

Source: http://pl.delfi.lt/aktualia/polska/gedvilas-prawa-polakow-na-litwie-i-litwinow-w-polsce-powinny-byc-jednakowe.d?id=60997697

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

Related post

‘Half a loaf is better than none’? New national minorities bill.

Up until now, the Lithuanian national minorities’ rights have been regulated partially by special laws (e.g.…

White-and-red march through Vilnius and a rally in schools’ defence. ‘Poles want normalcy’.

A two thousandth white-and-red march passed through the streets of Vilnius on Saturday, March 23. Participants…

Issues of Polish education have been raised in front of parents and teachers.

The discussion on current issues in Polish education in Lithuania was initiated by the Forum of…