Edward Trusewicz: „These issues are exaggerated”. Act on minorities to be finalised before the end of this year?

Deputy Minister of Culture, Edward Trusewicz, hopes that an agreement will be reached on the

issue of the national minorities act before the end of this year, Lietuvos žinios reports.

The first draft piece of legislation on national minorities was presented to national and ethnical

minority  representatives  this  spring.  The  draft  was  criticised  and  was  therefore  amended.

Deputy Minister highlights  that  the  current edition  is also not  final. According  to  the project,

councils that govern boroughs with no less than 25% of minority population will be obliged to

provide  citizens  with  assistance,  spoken  or  written,  in  the  language  of  that  minority.  The

project also proposes  that  in such boroughs  information would have  to be distributed also  in

that minority language.

The  draft  legislation  also  proposes  the  introduction  of  bilingual  signposts  for  streets  and

towns. Edward Trusewicz highlighted  that  it will be  the council’s  that will decide whether or

not they will apply such regulations.

“These  issues  are  exaggerated  too much  by  certain  groups, we  are  talking  about  law  that  is

already applicable in many European countries.”

Source: http://www.wilnoteka.lt/pl/artykul/kilkadziesiat-propozycji-legislacyjnych-awpl-kontynuacja-prac-rozpoczetych-zapoczatkowanie-n

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