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On 25 July in Vilnius, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Azubalis met with representatives from the Union of Poles in Lithuania, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said. Azubalis stressed the importance of dialogue between the government and citizens, and conveyed to them a letter of lawyers from the Foreign Ministry, in which after an analysis the lawyers rejected all the apprehensions of the Union of Poles in Lithuania that the country had allegedly violated international treaties and conventions for the protection of national minorities.

"I always support the development of dialogue with all ethnic communities, because all of us are citizens of Lithuania. Obviously the government should make more effort to promote a rational and reasoned dialogue," Foreign Minister said. The Minister invited representatives from the local Polish minority to engage in a sincere and open dialogue, and assured that he always had and would continue to raise questions on ways to enhance opportunities for representatives from ethnic communities to foster their mother tongue, culture and customs, social and economic status.

"I would like to draw your attention to the fact that no international organization or court have ever found that Lithuania had violated any of its international obligations," reads the letter to the Union of Poles in Lithuania that is signed by Azubalis.

During the conversation, government's most recent rulings and subordinate legislation, facilitating learning of representatives from ethnic communities and organizing of education in minority schools were discussed. The meeting was also attended by head of Ethnic Minorities Affairs Division of the Ministry of Culture Kastytis Minkauskas and Deputy Minister for Education and Science Vaidas Bacys, reported BC Lithuanian MFA.

High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Ambassador Knut Vollebaek paid a visit to Lithuania last year and he did not identify any problems associated with minority rights. The Commissioner stressed that ethnic minorities had not only rights, but also duties. According to Vollebaek, one of the duties is to learn the state language, which would allow them to participate under equal conditions in country's social and economic affairs.

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammerberg welcomed the decision by the Constitutional Court of Lithuania regarding the possibility to write a person's name in non-Lithuanian characters, but only in the passport's additional pages for records.

On 12 May 2011, the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg ruled that it was normal for Lithuania to spell non-Lithuanian names in the Lithuanian way and not a violation of any fundamental principles.

Lithuania is the only country in European education system, where persons of Polish background have an opportunity to gain a complete education (primary to tertiary) in their own native language.

Currently, Lithuania has 48 Polish kindergartens, which are attended by 2 576 children. A branch of the Polish University of BiaBystok was also opened in Lithuania and is the only overseas branch campus of the Polish higher school.

The reform of Lithuania's education system and the law on education of 17 March 2011 aim to optimize and rationalize the education system, to enhance the quality of education and studies of all learners and students in Lithuania, also of minority ethnic pupils.

By Petras Vaida