On Saturday, the Polish Union started a march and a rally regarding the situation in schools of national minorities in Lithuania.
Several hundred participants, mostly students from Polish schools in Lithuania, gathered in Independence Square near the Seimas. Those gathered held placards with the inscriptions "Conservatives do not incite discord", "STOP discrimination of national minority schools!", "No to intimidation and mobbing of teachers!", "Does the capital municipality government mob the school director?", "MFA must ensure the implementation of the Convention on the Protection of National Minorities in Lithuania" ", "Wszytskie języki są łęczny - ojczysty najpiękniejszy!" (lit. All languages are beautiful - the native language is the most beautiful!). They often carried Polish flags in their hands.
In the crowd it was also possible to see the symbols of the Lithuanian Polish election campaign - Union of Christian Families, the representatives of this political force also participated in the march - party chairman Waldemar Tomaszewski, Jaroslavas Narkevičius, member of the Seimas Rita Tamašunienė.
The protesters started marching towards the Government at noon and will end the march at the Presidential Palace, where the rally will take place.
ELTA reminds that after more than a month of discussions about improving the quality of education in educational institutions of the Russian national minority, in mid-March the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports submitted its proposals for public discussion, among which are calls to increase the teaching and use of the Lithuanian language to increase the autonomy of municipalities.
G. Jakštas told Elta in early January that he was looking for legal ways to gradually abandon educational institutions of the Russian national minority. However, later the minister clarified that there are no plans to close the schools of national minorities.
Ignas Dobrovolskas (ELTA)
