The participants of the picketing are going to hand the Ambassador of Germany His Excellency Matthias Mülmenstädt a petition in which they ask for mediacy in forwarding the contents of the document to the authorities of Germany.
'We, Poles residing in the Republic of Lithuania, turn to the authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany through Your Excellency with a petition and call for the support for our postulates guaranteeing the observance and protection of national minorities' rights in Lithuania in accordance with the European law and standards applicable in the European Union. We turn for help in the fight against overt discrimination on grounds of nationality that we have been experiencing for many years in our state,' the petition says.
The participants will ask for the mediacy of German authorities because, among others, of the regular worsening of the situation of Poles in Lithuania.
'The situation of autochthonic Polish national minority in Lithuania is regularly getting worse. Despite the fact that Lithuania has been a member of the European Union for 10 years, the protection of rights of national minorities instead of improving has evidently regressed and this is inconsistent with the recommendations of the OSCE and the Venice Commission. Paradoxically, even in Soviet times no one would dare to make such things that we face today. The struggle with the Polish language and destruction of Polish culture in Lithuania continues for years,' authors of the petition state.
Authors of the petition remind us of penalties often imposed on officials of Polish nationality in Lithuania for the Polish-Lithuanian names of the streets, of the impossibility of non-Lithuanian spelling of names in their original form, of the tardiness in returning land, and of the worsening situation in the field of education for national minorities in Lithuania.
'Horrendous penalties are imposed for the use of the Polish language in public space. Fine of more than 12 thousand euro was imposed on the director of the administration of the Šalčininkai district, Boleslav Daškevič, local government employee of Polish nationality, for bilingual Lithuanian-Polish street name plates placed on private houses. There was a similar situation with Liucina Kotlovska, the director of the administration of the Vilnius district local government. She also was repeatedly fined for the delay in enforcing the removal of bilingual street names off the residents' homes in Vilnius district. All this, as before, was made at the request of the representative of the Lithuanian government. It is without a doubt kind of state repression and intimidation of Polish community. To complete the picture, we should add the tardiness in returning land seized from Poles in Lithuania yet in Soviet times, attacks on Polish education in the Vilnius Region, and a ban on original (in Polish) spelling of ones' names. And after all, just after the right to life, the right to one's own name is one of the most important rights as it determines the unique identity of each person. It is one of the fundamental or even inherent rights of individuals. Maintaining the existing legislation in this case means keeping discrimination in Lithuania on grounds of nationality,' the document says.
Authors of the petition believe that unacceptable is the fact that there is no Law on National Minorities in Lithuania – the state where 20% of the population are non-Lithuanians.
'The situation in the Vilnius Region is a specific example of ignorance on the part of state authorities towards EU standards promoting multiculturalism, multiethnicity, and multilingualism. Prohibiting the use of the Polish language as an auxiliary language in the districts of Vilnius and Šalčininkai, where respectively 60 and 80 percent of inhabitants are Poles, is a scandal and discrimination. Especially having in mind the fact that we, Poles, are autochthonic minority residing in these areas for centuries. In turn the Law on the State Language provides for naming only in Lithuanian. The situation is bizarre because until recently there was the Law on National Minorities that was providing bilingualism. Unfortunately, after being in force for nineteen years, the Law has not been prolonged in 2010 (sic!). Therefore, an unprecedented event in the European Union happened - a member state having such a high number of national minorities liquidated the legal protection provided for them. It is inconsistent with the international law,' participants of the picketing expressed their worries concerning the situation of national minorities in Lithuania.
Authors of the document deplore that Lithuania ignores number of international documents regarding the rights of national minorities, e.g. the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
'The Treaty of Lisbon puts a great emphasis on the protection of cultural and linguistic heritage, promoting linguistic diversity as a fundamental principle of the European Union. Rights are granted for the EU citizens in the articles 21 and 22 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which mean that an attempt to diminish the exclusivity of the language is a restriction and violation of the fundamental EU values. The notion of linguistic diversity in the EU law covers not only official languages but as well 'semi-governmental', regional, and languages that are not officially recognized in a member state. Lithuania also ignores the provisions of the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, which was signed and ratified by Lithuanian authorities. It was not implemented into our legal system and is not obeyed contrary to good principles and international moral standards. The Convention explicitly states that in the areas traditionally inhabited by substantial numbers of persons belonging to national minorities, local names, street names, and other topographical indications intended for the public will be placed also in the minority language. Moreover, the Convention also provides a possibility to use the minority language in relations between the inhabitants and the administrative authorities. Agreements should be upheld - it is one of the basic norms of international relations, a norm which is confirmed in many acts of international law. Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties stipulates that any agreement is binding and should be upheld in good faith, while a breach of an agreement cannot be justified by provisions of internal country laws. And this is what Lithuanian authorities do – justify their actions by internal law. There is one more crucial convention Lithuania does not want to hear about. It is the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Lithuania belongs to infamous group of a few countries with a large number of national minorities that have not ratified the Charter. In July 2013, the firm stance was taken by the European Parliament to solve this case. In a special resolution on linguistic diversity the Parliament urged the countries that have not done so to sign and ratify the Charter. It has also called to condemn all practices that turn against language and identity of other communities through linguistic discrimination or by imposed or hidden assimilation. If the internal rules are in conflict with EU standards, they must be changed and adapted to European standards, especially regarding such an important issue as the protection of national and ethnic minorities,' authors of the petition mentioned good union practice concerning the protection of national minorities rights.
Organizers of the petition ask German authorities to help in ensuring Poles in Lithuania their rights and add that they turn to the authorities of Germany because Germany is perfectly aware of the importance of proper care for minorities and because of the fact that German national minority residing outside the state enjoys its full rights.
'We turn to the authorities of the German state with this petition and ask to support our efforts to ensure the autochthonic Polish national minority in Lithuania its rights under European law and standards listed above. No other state than the German state knows how important for every national minority it is to preserve its cultural, linguistic, and ethnic identity. It results from respect for our ancestors and commitment to children and future generations. The German minority in Denmark, South Tyrol, and in the Oppelner Schlesien in Poland enjoys their full rights including bilingual names of places. Therefore, we count on understanding and support for our demands and our petition. We do not demand any privileges, we just want Lithuania to respect signed international conventions and treaties protecting national minorities, in particular the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. We want to live enjoying our full rights as national minority, rights to multilingualism, multiculturalism and multi-ethnicity, which are greatly stressed and promoted by the European Union. In turn we oppose any discrimination on national grounds which we unfortunately experience in Lithuania and for which there should be no place in the 21 century Europe,' the document says. Authors of the petition requested His Excellency Matthias Mülmenstädt to forward the petition to Chancellor Angela Merkel as well as to the deputies of the Bundestag.
