EU tribunal overrules Polish name contest in Lithuania

different due to the fact that Scots aren't looking to take over areas of England. anyway like i said i find the subject interesting but have not much knowledge on it, so educate me, how did Poles end up there?

They have lived there for hundreds of years. Current capital of Lithuania, Wilno/Vilnus, was ethnically Polish prior to World War 2 and it only changed after commies took over, so relatively recently.

Didn't the 2 countries join together their armies to stop invaders? And in turn beat off the Germans?

Good point Ironside has. Scotland hasn't been independent in ages yet so many still would like to see a independent Scotland. I know Poles in Lithuania have a homeland in Poland if they choose to go back, yet since that part of Lithuania used to be Poland and is still mostly populated by Poles, they just expect equality.

Sorry but they don't, they live in another whole country.

Poland and Lithuania were in union since late XIVth until late XVIIIth century, since late XVIth century they were basically one country. Poland being the stronger part of that union - demographically, economically etc. led to gradual polonization of Lithuanian nobility and elites, in the capital of Lithuania and its surroundings there were more Poles, Jews and Belarusans than Lithuanians (Lithuanians comprised only 7% of population of that region prior to WWII).

So Poles didn't appear in those territories out of nowhere.

Also worth pointing out that it was a Lithuanian city after WW1, only for Poland to seize it by force.

Some of you write the Polish were native to Lithuania, especially to Wilno, only the border has been shifted. True. Some of you whine Lithuanian Polish are forced to assume Lithuanian surnames and are told to speak Lithuanian. True.

Let us go back to the Upper Silesia in Poland. The Silesians always were there, only the borders were moving. What the same people as above say? "Silesian can be Silesian as long as they are Polish citizens and speak fluent Polish". "Silesian is not a language, it is a dialect of Polish". "Why don't you Silesians leave for Vaterland?" "Silesians are veiled German option".

Can't you see double standards and hypocrisy in such thinking?

LOL, no it wasn't. Directly after WWI Vilnus belonged to Poland. Soviets temporarily captured it, when forced to retreat they transferred the territory to Lithuanian government, deliberately to stir up a conflict between Poland and Lithuania (and they succeeded).

Most can't!

I also tried to bring it to their attention that their behaviour against Ukrainians is the exact mirror of what they don't like about German behaviour against Poles.

But most are blind with that eye... :(

But Silesians (since most Slavic Silesians see themselves as Poles) are ethnic Germans and they have their own schools and dual language road signs and 2 parliament members so for their small minority numbers they are well represented in Poland,

Just a question: What about people who use Cyrilic alphabet and are a minority, let say in Poland. Are they allowed to have their names written the original way or are transformed into Latin alphabet used in Poland?

I hear whispers saying that it is different than the case of Polish minority in Lithuania. Ok, in what way?
*goes to sleep still hearing whispers* ;)

that sounds pretty arrogant since your country is not really that big either.

First there aren't too many of one single nationality in Poland that uses it, if there was i'm sure they'd have bi lingual signs. Second Cyrillic is a lost alphabet, most EU citizens use Roman it's bound to be extinct.

Unfortunatelly I don't have a country (I wish I had one,it would be the best country in the whole world),anyway,I understand you are refering to Poland then you should know that Poland (by population) is a 34th country in the world vs 135th Lithuania.What's arrogant about pointing out a simple FACT?

all you have to do is to go back to Poland to make yourself happy again. I assume, you'd be able to call it your country, right?


no, you won't get out of it that cheap my friend, lol You called it "insignificant nation"., in other words, you called them basically an "UNIMPORTANT NATION" (you know exactly what you did grubas, lol)

As I said before - one little letter from count Bul-Komorowski would solve the problem.
Surely things are not that bad for the president's office that they can't afford an envelope
and a post stamp?

The letter should read, more or less, as follows:

To: the government of the Republic of Lithuania

We call the government of Lithuania to immediately stop violating the rights of Polish
minority, regarding education, bilingual signs and restoration of Polish property.

We find it especially outrageus, that the nazi government of Lithuania denies Polish
minority even those basic rights that are guaranteed directly by the European Union,
which, as we allow ourselves to remind, your fascist seasonal statelet is a member of.

If the violated rights are not restored within 48 hours, I will take all the necessary steps
to ensure the protection of the persecuted Polish minority.

Signed:

The President of the Republic of Poland
and Commander in Chief of Polish Armed Forces

Bronisław Komorowski

PS The clock is ticking. *tick, tock, tick, tock*

:-)

No. Except the Opole/Oppeln region -- where the German minority is fully recognized -- Upper Silesians assuming German nationality moved to the Vaterland long time ago. Remaining native Upper Silesians have been there at least since 15th century. Their language is ancient Slavic with strong German influence. They have own literature, they have own culture. This is denied by the "true Poles".

The problem of native Upper Silesians is they have no Pres. Komorowski to protect them, they cannot count on the support from Germany either -- since they are not German. They are Silesian.

No.The only way I would ever be able to call any country a "my country" is if I ruled it according to MY ideas and beliefs.


Yeah,I know but they are "unimportant" (at least in my opinion).

And for Poland to threaten to invade the rest of Lithuania if the Lithuanians didn't agree to Poland's breach of the relevant international treaty.

Interesting fact for you all: 'Lithunian language' schools in Poland have to use English as a foreign language text books designed for Poles, the ministry of education refuses to certify Lithuanian textbooks.

Can any of the outraged Poles here tell me if Lithuanians in Poland are permitted to have proper Lithuanian names?

I really like what Czesław Miłosz (who considered himself Lithuanian) told Lithuanians in Vilnius once:

"It is not true that before WW2 Wilno was a Polish city."

*applause from the audience*

"It was a Polish-Jewish city!"

LOL The man was a legend.

Anyway...


Yes, they are allowed to have bilingual signs with proper Lithuanian names in the areas with Lithuanian
minority in Poland (Suwalszczyzna). The same right is denied to Poles in Lithuania.

That is not the answer to the question which I asked (which suggests you might know the answer). You also overlook the fact that the woman in this case is not actually an ethnic Pole anyway.

What treaty?

^ The Suwałki Agreement: signed by Poland on 7 October 1920, broken by Poland on 8 October 1920 in a movement which had been planned before the treaty was signed, meaning that Poland signed the agreement with the intention of breaking it.

The army acted against orders.

only officially Koala - let's not promote myths

I do love the way some Poles react to inconvenient bits of history: lie, lie, lie and keep lying.

Whatever buddy. The fact is, Lithuania occupied Polish territory (as they received it from Soviets who were at war with Poland and only captured Wilno temporarily) didn't want to leave the area, didn't agree to make the poll, the only way wasto capture it the same way Lithuanians de facto did - by force.


I'm only doing the same thing Harry is.

It's crazy. Poland allows bilingual signs, but doesn't allow textbooks to children. Then you get Lithuania, which subsidises books in Polish, but also refuses Polish signs.

Seriously, WTF?

???? What does it mean? One may then say the same about Chinese.


Why has there to be people of one nationality? Cyrillic is used in Ukrainian, Beloruski, Serbian, Russian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Montenegrin etc languages. There is quite a minority of these people in Poland to have their names in Polish passports printed in Cyrillic. But they don't. So, why whine about the Lithuanian demands in regards to Polish way of writing?