‘Poles not loyal citizens’ says Lithuanian ambassador
PR dla Zagranicy
John Beauchamp
20.06.2011 14:10
The Lithuanian ambassador in Warsaw has criticised Poles resident in the Baltic state for not being loyal to authorities in Vilnius.
“Lithuanians living in Poland, as opposed to Lithuanian Poles, are loyal citizens,” Ambassador Loreta Zakareviciene said in an interview for the Baltic News Service agency.
According to Zakareviciene, Lithuanians in Poland also have problems, but they do not protest against the state.
“I would very much like it to be the same in Lithuania with [the] Poles living there,” Ambassador Zakareviciene stated, adding that in her belief, Poles living in Lithuania do not behave as citizens of that country.
“[In Lithuania] there are Russians, Belarusians, Jews, and they are all ‘more Lithuanian’ than the [ethnic] Poles [residing there],” Ambassador Zakareviciene told the agency.
The comments come as recent protests against the alleged discrimination of Poles have gained momentum, with protests on Saturday being staged in Vilnius, Warsaw, Washington and Chicago.
Poles in Lithuania have been fighting for use of their own orthography when spelling their names, as well as bilingual street names. More recently, Poles in Lithuania have also been protesting against a new education bill, which they believe will threaten Polish schooling in Lithuania. (jb)