Social Democrat Julius Sabatauskas, the vice-chairman of the Seimas, expressed his joy at a press conference in the Seimas on Wednesday that after a 14-year break, when the Law on National Minorities ceased to be valid, attempts are being made to adopt a law that would meet the expectations of the population of national minorities at least at the end of the term.
“Nevertheless, we believe that the project should really be improved, because the provisions of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, ratified by Lithuania, are not met. In addition, we see some opposition between some national minorities and others. At least that’s the impression we get,” said J. Sabatauskas.
The politician positively assesses the fact that the law clearly defines the concept of national minorities, but it also includes an additional provision regarding the European Economic Area and bilateral agreements. According to the parliamentarian, only one group currently living in Lithuania is promised education in the language of the national minority, while at least several others are not.
“The draft law states that representatives of national minorities have the right to study in their native language in general education and non-formal education institutions, but at the same time it is said that this must be done in accordance with the bilateral or multilateral international agreements of the Republic of Lithuania with the countries of the European Economic Community. In this case, it is obvious that, as if some national minorities will have an opportunity, others will not. Poland belongs to the European Community, and other countries do not. In no way would I want it to be understood as some sort of eulogy for the aggressor country, but most of those people are Lithuanian patriots, fully integrated here, their parents and grandparents were born here. Therefore, I think that they have the right to nurture their cultural traditions and language”, said J. Sabatauskas.
In his opinion, in areas with a higher concentration of national minorities, street and place names could appear in their languages as well.
“I have seen bilingual tables of place names in Poland near Punsk. Why can’t it be done in Lithuania? Especially since it is provided for in the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities”, J. Sabatauskas considered.
He notes that the draft law contains a lot of references to other legislation without saying anything specifically.
According to the social democrat Robert Duchnevičius, mayor of Vilnius district, the draft law is half-empty, because it does not solve some actual problems, it programs new discussions and new conflicts for the future.
“Analyzing the draft law, we see that it is so half-empty in the sense that it does not address some issues, such as place names, referring to other laws and regulations. In my opinion, it’s a little bit harmful because it doesn’t solve the problem. We will have to argue about some things again, discuss possible changes to other legal acts,” said R. Duchnevič, who participated in the press conference.
He was happy that the concept of national minorities satisfying the social democrats appeared in the law, but he criticized the regulation of the education of national minorities.
“The draft law gives certain priority to the Polish-speaking population because they are EU citizens. However, this document limits the right of Russian speakers and Belarusians to study in their mother tongue in schools. In my opinion, there should be no such restriction. Despite the brutal war waged by Russia in Ukraine, our citizens are not related to this country in any way. And there is no need to cover up with laws to introduce one or another restrictions”, – believes Vilnius District Mayor R. Duchnevič.
New Draft Law on National Minorities
The draft Law on National Minorities prepared by the Ministry of Justice establishes the rights and duties of persons belonging to national minorities and the obligations of the state to create conditions for maintaining and fostering the customs, cultural and linguistic identity of national minorities.
National minority, according to the project, is “a group of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania with the following characteristics: they live in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, have long-term, strong and permanent ties with the Republic of Lithuania, their population is smaller than the rest of the population of the Republic of Lithuania, and they are united by the desire to preserve their national identity”.
The draft law stipulates that every person belonging to a national minority has the right to freely and unrestrictedly, privately and publicly, orally and in writing, use his language, but the laws regulating the use of the state language must be observed.
The draft law on national minorities regulates the right to education in the language of the national minority.
According to the project, a person belonging to a national minority “has the right to study in the language of this national minority or the language of a national minority in schools of general education and non-formal education according to formal and (and) non-formal education programs”.
The draft law also stipulates that in schools that implement educational programs in accordance with bilateral or multilateral international agreements of the Republic of Lithuania with the countries of the European Economic Area Agreement, the educational process is conducted in the language of the national minority provided for in these agreements.
Previous attempts to pass a law aimed at national minorities have failed
In the past and in this term of office of the Seimas, there have already been several attempts to submit draft laws on national minorities. Back in 2018, the Social Democrats of the Seimas prepared a draft law that provided for the right to write the names of residential areas, streets, and public administration entities in the language of the national minority.
In June 2021, the Seimas rejected the draft Law on the Preservation of Multicultural Identity, submitted by Ieva Kačinskaitė-Urbonienė, deputy elder of the Labor Party faction, which aimed to create conditions for maintaining, protecting and nurturing the customs, culture and language of national minorities.
The rejected draft law also regulated the right to write the names of residential areas and streets in the language of the national minority.
in 2021 in December, the Seimas did not consider the draft Law on National Minorities prepared in 2013, which was intended to be presented by the member of the Seimas, Rita Tamašunienė, who represents the Lithuanian Polish election campaign – the Union of Christian Families. The main obstacle is the possible conflict of some provisions of this project with the Constitution.
The project provided that where national minorities live compactly, the (local) language of that nation’s minority is used in institutions and organizations alongside the state language.” It was also suggested that the information notes could be in the (local) language of the national minority in addition to the Lithuanian language.
In the opinion of the Law and Order Committee of the Seimas, these provisions would contradict the constitutional status of the state language.
Since 2010 lapsed in 1989 November 23 also adopted by the Supreme Council-Restorative Seimas in 1991. January 29 supplemented and amended the Law on National Minorities.
Currently, the rights and freedoms of national minorities and their protection are regulated in different documents.
Tags: Social Democrats criticize draft law national minorities halfempty possibly discriminatory
