In Šalčininkai Deputy Marshal C. Grabarczyk was welcomed by the Mayor of Šalčininkai district Zdislav Palevič and Polish community of the district. The aim of the visit was to foster ensuring Poles in Lithuania all the rights that conform with European standards. That is why the meeting was mainly based on the issues regarding restoring Law on National Minorities, coming back to the previous edition of the Law on Education, naming of streets in the Polish language in the areas compactly inhabited by Polish minority.

'I came here as I was delegated by the Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk. We are here in order to listen to your voices and statements, which we will note carefully and pass to the Prime Minister,' said Grabarczyk at the beginning of the meeting.

Later Valdemar Tomaševski took the floor and thanked Polish politicians for their visit. 'In 2011 in the Church of Saint Theresa Prime Minister Tusk said that Polish-Lithuanian relations will be as good, as good will be the attitude of Lithuanian authorities towards Polish national minority. Thank you for your support, it is very important to us. And today we would like to ask for further support, as unfortunately the situation of Polish community got worse. Repressions started after years of stagnation and not solving our problems. These are financial repressions for now,' said the Member of the European Parliament.

Tomaševski mentioned the example of the Director of the Administration of the Šalčininkai district Self-government Boleslav Daškevič, who was fined more than 43 thousand LTL for Polish signs on private buildings of the district inhabitants. 'He will have to pay a draconian fine. But for what? For the use of the native language in the homeland, from which he never emigrated? His ancestors lived here for at least 700 years. Unfortunately there is such a paradoxical situations that currently Polish and other minorities have fewer rights than before the accession agreement,' the EAPL leader added.

'We need support from the Polish state in the defence of the use of the native language. If today it is forbidden to use the native language on private buildings, it is possible that with time it will be prohibited to use it also on cemetery tombstones,' said V. Tomaševski. 'There is no need to reinvent a bicycle. There are standards of the rights of national minorities in various countries and they function there perfectly. We are applying for the same rights as the representatives of national minorities in other EU member states have. Therefore we ask Poland for a support and steps towards solving our problems.'

The community gathered in the room participated actively in the meeting with the Deputy Marshal. They have presented their comments on various issues. Some of the comments were quite harsh. Zbignev Semenovič, director of the hospital in Šalčininkai, recalled the words of Adam Mickevič in his speech: Lithuania, my fatherland, you are like health...

'The state of health of Lithuania is not very good nowadays, but I would like to note, that Poles have inhabited Lithuania since the times when there were no Russians in Crimea. We are here, because we want to live here despite all the adversity,' said Z. Semenovič.

At the end of the meeting Deputy Marshal of the Polish Sejm referred to the Roman poet Ovid saying that dripping water hollows out stone not through force but through persistence.

'Although today there is a lack of a breakthrough in the situation of Poles in Lithuania, I do not exclude that the situation will improve soon. I will make my personal efforts towards that,' said C. Grabarczyk.

Irena Kolosovska

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