Tamašunienė wants the old act on national minorities to be restored

The governor of Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania (AWPL) in the government Rita Tamašunienė proposed to restore the previous act on national minorities by parliament’s resolution.

Tamašunienė had registered a resolution in the parliament’s office in which she proposed the old act on national minorities accepted by the Supreme Council in 1991 to be restored until the parliament passes a new act.

According to the parliament’s regulations, an act is passed in simplified procedure and a quorum of 71 MEPs is not necessary. Tamašunienė had made a similar proposal earlier, but parliament lawyers declared that such procedure of restoring an expired act is not allowed by the Constitution.

The current ruling coalition in its program has a declaration of solving the so-called issues connected with national minorities, which includes passing a new act on national minorities.

Draft of a new act was prepared by a special working group led by the Deputy Minister of Culture Edward Trusewicz. The current draft was criticized by President Dalia Grybauskaitė and The State Commission of the Lithuanian Language as incompatible with Constitution.

Source: http://zw.lt/litwa/tamasuniene-chce-przywrocenia-starej-ustawy-o-mniejszosciach-narodowych/

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