Poles of Vilnius Region and Their Protest Rally in the Defense of Polish Schools in the Trakai District

Today (on March 30) a protest rally of Poles of Vilnius Region in the defense of Polish middle school in Paluknys and Polish elementary school in Senieji Trakai (trans. Old Trakai) took place by the edifice of The Government of the Republic of Lithuania.

As part of the national project “The Millennium Schools,” the local government of the Trakai District intends to reorganize two Polish-language schools in the Trakai District – Longin Komołowski Middle School in Paluknys and Andrzej Stelmachowski Elementary School in Senienji Trakai. The project envisages that the aforementioned institutions will be converted into the branches of other schools, and that means demoted to the lower level.

The Polish community has gathered by the edifice of the Republic of Lithuania to defend Polish schools in the Trakai district and to stand up for the whole Polish education in Lithuania.

“We call out for no discrimination/the end of discrimination against our schools!”

At the beginning of the rally parents of both schools delivered speeches, calling out to the government and the authorities of the Trakai district to listen to their protests and make a non-discriminatory decision on Polish schools in the Trakai district.

During the rally, letters of support—from i.a. the World Polonia Council, and “The Polish Commonwealth” association—on the defense of Polish education in Lithuania were read out loud as well.

President of the Trakai district’s regional branch of The Association of Poles in Lithuania, Jarosław Narkiewicz, has also spoken to all gathered, underlining that the solidary Polish community in Lithuania will not give up

Waldemar Tomaszewski, chairman of The Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania – Christian Families Alliance, stressed that “through determination and unity, Polish community will be able to defend their rights,” calling what is currently happening in the Trakai district a provocation.