Lithuania doesn’t ease up on Polish names

Polish names of streets in Lithuania, even at places where Polish minority makes up over 80% of the inhabitants, are still against the law.

This was ruled by the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania which was hearing the case filed by the deputy of Vilnius Region. He demanded to remove street name plates with Polish names in the Vilnius and Soleczniki Regions – places where Poles make up about 60% and 80% of inhabitants respectively.

This time the ruling referred to the Soleczniki Region’s authorities who, according to the deputy Audrius Skaistys, don’t want to remove Polish names of the streets. The regional administration tried to convince the Court that the administration’s director, sued by the deputy, can’t appear as an executor of removing the plates.

Bolesław Daszkiewicz, director of the administration of the Vilnius Region’s government explained earlier, talking with “Kurier”, that the government removed Polish plates from public and local administration’s buildings. At the same time, there are no legal grounds for the local authorities to be obliged to remove the plates. Besides, the plates were placed by the inhabitants themselves on their own houses and at their own expense. Though, the Supreme Court of Lithuania didn’t find any circumstances which would not allow the local authorities to remove the private plates too. The Court ruled that the plates with Polish names in Soleczniki Region’s towns are against the law and ordered to remove them. The local administration has been obliged by the Court’s ruling to remove Polish plates in Ejszyszki, Jaszuny, Dziewieniszki, Turgiele, Biała Waca, Małe Soleczniki, Koleśniki, Dowigidańce, Purwiany, Montwiliszki, Żagaryń, Podborze, Cieciańce, Rudniki, and at the railway station in Jaszuny. For being not subordinate to the ruling the Soleczniki Region’s authorities will be fined. The Court’s ruling is definite and any charge cannot be brought against it, at least in Lithuania.

PROVOKING THE NATIONALISTS

The Court’s ruling, which cannot be applied by the regional authorities incite the nationalists to use violence against Polish minority. More than once nationalists took the initiative and claimed they were ready to come to Soleczniki Region and remove the Polish plates from the local houses by force. Several years ago it came to an incident when young people tore off a Polish plate. That was a single case but it was inspired for a patriotic reality show recording by Lithuanian television.

Source: http://kurierwilenski.lt/2013/10/02/litwa-nie-odpuszcza-polskim-nazwom/

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