As it can be seen, only the application of a bailiff was dismissed. The issue of the signs is still open. Nothing has changed after three years of legal grilling. State officials cannot even for a moment catch the idea, that something what they consider as complying with the law, is in fact a completely illegal fight against their own state’s citizens of other nationality.
Leaving for a moment all the right emotions caused by this issue, it is worth taking a look at the position of the people, who govern the state. When returning to power after winning the elections, the Social Democratic majority from the very beginning announced the course for the improvement of relations with closest neighbours. The relations, especially with Poland, were really strained during the ruling of conservatives. So there was no need to wait long for the visits of the politicians of highest rank led by the PM and ministers to Warsaw. A. Butkevičius, L. Linkevičius – they were solemnly ensuring that the problems of the Polish national minority will be promtly solved. They were speaking about new laws on the names‘ spelling, about bilingual names of places and bilingual signs, about national minorities, etc. „It is going to be dealt with immediately, the new committee is already working on that, it is a matter of a few weeks, months...“ There were a lot of promises.
But all the promises, as seen from assumptions of their authors, had to live on their own, while the reality should be going on as it used before. In practice it looks exactly the same as we presented at the beginning, i.e. at the time when politicians visit our neighbours and claim that the works on the mentioned laws are supposedly going on, the court issues its judgment and sends bailiffs on the application of the representative of the same government which makes the above mentioned promises. No comments.
At the beginning of the nineties, during the times of the retrieval of independence and revival of national identity, tensions between Lithuanians and Poles were far from current perfidious games. People hoped that the widespread euphoria and its side-effect in the form of anti-Polish reactions was just a transitional period. Today, after joining the European Union and NATO, after ratification of a number of major internationals laws, conventions, etc., it seems that the awakened ghosts of nationalism should go away. Unfortunately, it is not true.
After 23 years, the clique of still the same political masqueraders even for a moment do not stop their anti-Polish ambitions, using the same hypocritical tricks, i.e. making promises so they can continue doing their job. Lithuanian political elite is not brave enough to get out from the pressure of this clique of shadows, directing Lithuania towards the dead end of nationalism.
That is why the today’s court decision is in fact not even half as good as it should be. It again only pushes aside the appropriate and fair solution of the problem – the remission of the case once and for all. Because the intention of this delay is too evident – the forthcoming Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. It is not quite the thing to start the guidance of the united Europe bearing such load of not observing the rights of national minorities in own state or, even more, forcing them to break the law. The authors ‘managed’ to achieve a completely opposite goal – discredit themselves on the international arena.
The attitude of people, who have been harassed by the judicial system, is in turn admirable. The director Kotlovska did not give up under the pressure of penalties and financial losses. Having quite a lot of professional duties she had to go to courts repeatedly, although this time could be devoted to the people of the district and their problems with greater benefit. Thanks to her determination and common support another move aimed at the intimidation of the Polish minority failed again. It should be like that every time until all the non-democratic decisions will be cancelled.
Česlava Pačkovska
