"Request to take MEASURES aimed at the defence of national minorities' rights in Lithuania

We turn to you in response to the recent situation regarding the national minorities in Lithuania as we think that it is unacceptable that fundamental human rights, including national minorities' rights, are violated in united Europe. It is reprehensible and unacceptable that people are being prosecuted and punished for the use of their native language in public life in a state which is a member of NATO and EU.

On 23rd December 2013, the Vilnius Regional Court with an adopted ruling imposed a huge fine of about 13 000 EUR on Mr Boleslav Daškevič, Director of the Administration of the Šalčininkai district self-government because Mr Daškevič failed to fulfil an obligation to remove bilingual street-name plates from some private buildings of Šalčininkai district within one month. It seems that the court ruling is purely political and this casts a shadow on our state's courts, as it is difficult to imagine such situation when a superior court increases a fine almost hundred times in the civilised world. It is regrettable that the fines are imposed for the use of their native language by national minorities in the district which is inhabited by autochthonic Polish national minority in 80 per cent. And all this is happening in the member state of the European Union. We can see that people suffer from repression and fundamental human rights are violated, including the right to use one's native language. This provocative court ruling has already caused great dissatisfaction and protests which seem to only get stronger.

On 14th January 2014, the European Parliament held a semi-annual summary and discussion of the presidency of the EU Council during which President Dalia Grybauskaitė had publicly deceived the international community and members of the European Parliament saying, that none of the international organizations' reports does mention that Lithuania violates minorities' rights. These words of the President were shocking and stunning to us, because they are far from truth and reality of national minorities' situation in Lithuania. This is confirmed by the following reports:

1. The report of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI): ECRI notes that representatives of national/ethnic minorities have clearly expressed a sense of uneasiness in connection with the abrogation of the 1989 Law to which they associate a decrease in the level of protection afforded to national/ethnic minorities. ECRI is also concerned that the abrogation of the 1989 Law on National Minorities, coupled with the absence of a new law establishing a similar level of protection, raises doubts as to the intentions of the authorities vis-à-vis national/ethnic minorities. ECRI encourages the Lithuanian authorities to dispel this doubt by adopting without further delay a Law on National Minorities which recognises at the very least the rights previously granted under the 1989 Law on National Minorities;

2. The resolution of the Committee of Ministers of 2012 on the implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities by Lithuania with reference to linguistic rights, lack of legal regulation, strengthening of the system of consultations with representatives of minorities on issues affecting them: Resolution CM/ResCMN (2012) 19 on the implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities by Lithuania;

3. The report of the 'European Network against Racism' (ENAR): note of the deteriorating situation of the Polish national minority in Lithuania;

4. The Alternative Report (February 2011) of the Human Rights Monitoring Institute in Vilnius (HRMI), based on the Fourth and Fifth Periodic Reports of Lithuania, which were based on the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), in which it is stressed that 'Lithuania is characterized by the low level of knowledge on human rights among policy makers, government officials, the judiciary, the media and the society in general. The state must develop effective institutional and legal framework in order to protect human rights in Lithuania';

5. The report of the Freedom House that speaks critically about the new Law on Education which was adopted in March 2011 and which in 2013 forced high school graduates to pass the Lithuanian language exam on the same level as their colleagues from Lithuanian schools;

6. The report of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Knut Vollebaek on the situation of national minorities in Lithuania from May 2012.

The reports clearly confirm the fact that situation of national minorities in Lithuania is getting worse. We cannot agree with our rights being cut back, primarily due to the fact that we do care about our children's well-being and future. We want to educate our children in accordance with our traditions and culture. The native language is the nation's primary merit. The previously provided reports suggest that the President is not sufficiently informed about the problems of protection of national minorities in Lithuania; noteworthy is also the fact that the President is confusing the meanings of national minorities' and migrants' definitions.

In our opinion, Lithuania is being discredited on the international area and shame is incurred because the highest authorities of Lithuania, instead of telling truth, are lying to international community and pretending not to have any knowledge on the reports and their contents of such an authoritative international institutions.

The Law on National Minorities was adopted in January 1991 but it was cancelled in 2010. It is the fifth year when the rights of national minorities are not protected by any national legislation; and international standards, that are respected in all European Union states, are not recognized by Lithuania although the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities was ratified by the state in 2000 without reservations.

With the reference to the apparent discrimination of national minorities and infraction of human rights in Lithuania, we request to immediately take all the measures to protect the rights of national minorities in our multinational and multicultural state.

Lithuanian Poles' Electoral Action Political Group:

Rita Tamašunienė

Vanda Kravčionok

Zbignev Jedinskij

Michal Mackevič

Jaroslav Narkevič

Leonard Talmont

Juzef Kvetkovskij

Irina Rozova"

2014-01-23

www.awpl.lt