Algirdas Butkevičius against bilingual signposts

Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius has expressed his disapproval towards bilingual signpost for streets and settlements in Lithuania, using respect for the constitution as an argument to support his view – BNS agency reports.

„In my opinion, we should all understand that we are all Lithuanian citizens and therefore conditions for all citizens should be equal. This means, that there should not be signposts in two languages if we respect our country, our constitution and the law of our country” – Butkevičius said.

He added that there should be no exceptions in this matter.

According to the European Charter of Local Self-Government that was signed and ratified by Lithuania, national minorities have the right to have signposts be written in their language in regions where they constitute a compact community. This provision is however against the Lithuanian act on the state language.

Source: http://zw.lt/litwa/algirdas-butkevicius-jest-przeciwny-dwujezycznym-tabliczkom/

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