Linkevičius: On Basanavičius’s tombstone there is also a ‘w’ letter

A chief of Lithuanian diplomacy, Linas Linkevičius, is convinced that the legislators will settle the issue of spelling of the names and surnames with Latin letters which do not appear in the Lithuanian alphabet.

 “It is not a Pandora’s box, it is a civilized attitude. It is just about the Latin letters and not the Arabic, Georgian, Armenian or the Cyrillic ones” – L. Linkevičius explained in the interview for “Žinių radijas”.

The ministry added that it was about adding such letters like x or w. “Let’s go to the Rasos Cemetery and we will see that there is a ‘w’ letter  on the Basanavičius’s tombstone. It is not about the relations with Poland or with the Polish minority in Lithuania, it is about civilized attitude. Anyway, as far as I understood the Constitutional Court’s judgment, this issue is regulated not in the Constitution but only in the laws” – the chief of Lithuanian diplomacy explained.

L. Linkevičius added that the issue needed to be resolved in compliance with the Constitution. Nevertheless, it needs to be done in such a way that will make it possible to defuse the tension between us and our neighbors as well as the tension inside the country. “Good relations with Poland are really unfavorable for our neighbors. Those who want to increase the tension should consider whose side they are on, whether they are our country’s real patriots or they simply regard themselves as such” – the Ministry added.

Source: http://zw.lt/litwa/linkevicius-na-nagrobku-basanaviciusa-tez-jest-literka-w/

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