Learning Russian will be banned? – Respublika.lt

The Vice-Chairman of the Seimas, Social Democrat Julius Sabatauskas, was happy that after a 14-year break, when the Law on National Minorities ceased to be valid, an attempt is 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. According to him, such a provision would mean that the Russian and Belarusian national minorities would be denied the opportunity to study in their native language.

In the opinion of J. Sabatauskas, the names of streets and place names in their languages ​​could also appear in areas with a higher concentration of national minorities.

“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 Convention on the Basics for the Protection of National Minorities”, J. Sabatauskas thought.

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.

“When we analyze the bill, we see that it is so half-empty in the sense that it does not provide for addressing some issues, such as place names, by 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. Duchnevičius.