Jarosław Pieszko who on 2 May, which is a Day of Polonia, hanged out on his shop in Jaszuny a Polish flag is subject to threats from Lithuanian justice. The Day of Polonia is a widely celebrated day for all the communities of Poles around the world.
– On the Day of Polonia I hanged the flag out because I am Polish. On that day Polish flags are hanged out in all the corners of the globe, in all the places where our compatriots live and where Polish communities are. Nobody objects it and nobody feels offended or indignant, and here, almost instantly, I was called to the police- Jarosław Pieszko reports. The problems he encountered exemplify non-acceptance by the local authorities to any manifestations of Polish language and Polish descent; authorities, which for years have consequently fought against Polish street signs and names.
As we have recently informed our readers, Zygmunt Marcynkiewicz, the director of „Irzimas,” a transport company from Czarny Bor in Vilnius region, was confronted by the Language Comission and the Language Inspectorate. First, Mr Marcinkiewicz was reprimanded by the inspectorate for placing bilinguial, Lithuanian and Polish, bus route plates on the company busses. Later on, he was requested to remove the Polish names of the destinations from the bus route plates. He did not remove them and he was charged.
The inspectors of the Language Inspectorate imposed fines on Bolesław Daszkiewicz, the director of administration of Solecznica local government for displaynig street signs with Polish street names. After the event we learnt at the inspectorate: „ in accordance with the Lithuanian law all names of the streets in Lithuania must we written in the official language, which is Lithuanian. Only the EU law guarantees the right of minorities that in a given territory constitute majority to use their own language next to the state language in the street signs. However, the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania adopted a provision that in some cases the Lithuanian law can overrule the EU law, and apparently, the case with the street signs falls under the given court decision. The Lithuanian officials and representatives of the judiciary who are sensitive towards the cases connected with Polish language decided that Polish flags, signs and names in Polish are unacceptable.
-The police accuse me that I hung out the national flag of a foreign country. I absolutely disagree with the charge. The size of the flag I hanged out was much smaller than the flags of foreign countries and it was to symbolize that I am of Polish descent- resents Jarosław Pieszko. As we learned in the police station in Jaszuny, the information that the Polish flag is placed at Pieszko’s shop was received from Vilnius.
A police officer who preferred to remain anonymous admitted an anonymous call on the emergency number. The caller informed that the flag of a foreign country is hoisted on the shop in Jaszuny. The police officer added that the caller gave the exact time when he saw the flag.
– Let them charge me, but as it is a day of Polonia and Poland I will continue to hang the Polish flag out as I always used to do- said Jarosław Pieszko firmly.
Może dałoby się to popchnąć na jakieś zagraniczne portale?
The article is good thank you!
But still it has that bad air that we do not want to be as part of Lithuanian society and that has nothing to do with fighting for minority rights.
To put the foreign flag up is not any minority right at all! With rights same responsibilities! If you want a Quebec here behave as proud Canadians not as proud French people being put somewhere far away from their roots!
O, niezły pomysł z angielskim! Zuszek też autor za obszerny zapas słów. Czy to naprawdę Witold Janczys, czy zasługa tłumacza?
Czarny PR to i tak łagodna kara z ten debilizm!!!
Brawo. Tak też należy robić. Tłumaczyć na angielski to cały świat, nawet w Tajlandii przeczytają. Informujmy świat! Walczmy o nasze prawa!
to chyba oczywiste, inaczej by już nas nie było!!!
Wielkie dzięki za tą angielską wersję informacyjną.
Dobrze byłoby rozpowszechnić również wersję polską na forach dyskusyjnych KW.
Chwała św pamięci M. Płażyńskiemu !
In Quebec, you can hang up any Flag you want! A Quebec Flag, a Polish Flag etc… I recommend hanging up the flag of the Republic of Central Lithuania or that of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or that of the opposition in Belarus….
Prosimy o wysłanie (wszędzie) ang. wersji artykułu.Do środowisk emigracyjnych, polonijnych i wszelkich instytucji zajmujacych się prawami człowieka i mniejszościami narodowymi.Twórzcie wokół siebie takie prywatne lobby, które póżniej będziemy łączyli w konkretnych działaniach.
Wersja anglojęzyczna szczególnie ważnych artykułów to świetny pomysł redakcji na błyskawiczne nagłośnienie tego co tutaj wyczyniają władze litewskie.
Zachęcam do pisania większej ilości newsów po angielsku w tej sprawie.
“Vive le Quebec Libre, et vive la Republic de Lituanie Central!” Gente Lituanius, Nationus Polonus!
A miedzy innymi w raju tez wszyscy rozmawiali po litewsku!