The vice-chairwoman of the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania: “The prime minister should partly take responsibility, not prattle politically correct utterances”

As we have informed, today, in the Defenders of Lithuania’s Freedom Day, the members of  the EAPL’s faction left the Parliamentary hall on the solemn session of Parliament, during Vytautas Landsbergis’ speech on 11^th March. In that way the MPs objected to politicized decisions of courts and imposing huge fines for using mother tongue. By the protest, MPs also reminded that 23 years ago, in January 1991, just after the bloody events, nobody else, but Vytautas Landsbergis had signed an ethnic minorities bill, which successfully functioned almost two decades – until 2010, when it was cancelled by the conservative-liberal ruling majority.

The vice-chairwoman of the EAPL, MP Wanda Krawczonok, in the conversation with the editorial staff of our portal, called the Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius’ commentary concerning leaving the Parliamentary hall just after the beginning of Vytautas Landsbergis’ speech misunderstanding.

As the MP pointed out, the Prime Minister’s statement is counter to her position opined a few days ago, that she partly felt ashamed because making the decision concerning the issue of ethnic minorities bill lasted so long. W. Krawczonok reminded that the solution of that issue is included both in social democratic platform, whose chairman is A. Butkevičius, and in the government programme; however , as the vice-chairman of the EAPL pointed out , “nothing is being done towards the realisation of those programme premises. As an example, the MP adduced the fact that it had been long since the ethnic minorities draft law has been prepared, the Political Council of the ruling coalition yet on 9^th September 2013 made the decision about looking into the project by the Governmental Strategic Committee; however, as the vice-chairwoman of the EAPL claims, “ones should regret that the Prime Minister does not want to realize the coalitional council’s decision, because the draft law has not been discussed yet by the Governmental Strategic Committee”.

According to W. Krawczonok, the form of protest chosen by the EAPL faction is normal and it is used when the other ways of expressing dissatisfaction with an ensuing situation does not give effects.

“As an example, 10 years ago while the solemn session in the Parliament on the Defenders of Lithuania’s Freedom Day, the conservative, even without an important reason left the Parliamentary hall, when the then President of Lithuania Rolandas Paksas stood on the tribune” – the vice-chairwoman of the EAPL commented to the portal L24.lt on the Polish politician’s expression of dissatisfaction while Vytautas Landsbergis’ speech.

“Either the Prime Minister A. Butkevičius does not remember it, or this is a misunderstanding” – assessed the Prime Minister’s commentary W. Krawczonok.

Source: http://l24.lt/pl/polityka/item/25249-wiceprzewodniczaca-awpl-premier-powinien-czesciowo-wziac-odpowiedzialnosc-a-nie-klepac-politycznie-poprawne-wypowiedzi

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