Under that title was held the Thursday’s lecture of Ewelina Tylec, as a part of this year’s round of lectures organised by the European Foundation of Human Rights.
During this Thursday’s afternoon (22nd March 2012), the Foundation invited to a lecture on the protection of human rights in Europe and Lithuania and followed by a fruitful discussion. There were many, who accepted our invitation. Among them students, lawyers, scholars, teachers etc.
Conferences, lectures, street theatre performances and concerts, as well as removal of racist slogans from walls in cities – this is only a part of the series of events that will be organised throughout the whole week in March everywhere across Europe on the occasion of the Week of Solidarity with Peoples Struggling wit Racism and Racial Discrimination. The events start on 21st March – on the International Day of Fight with Racial Discrimination.
The majority of happenings will be organised under the framework of a campaign „Open your mind. Speak out against racism!” organised by the network UNITED (see: http://www.unitedagainstracism.org).
A march in defense of education in schools of minorities in Lithuania was held on Saturday, 17th March along the Avenue of Gedyminas. Few thousand participants of the rally marched towards the square of V. Kudirka to the headquarters of the government of Lithuania, where they openly expressed their protest against the amended Act on Education, restricting the hitherto rights of persons belonging to national minorities in Lithuania. Representatives of Polish, Belarusian, Russian and other minorities spoke to the Lithuanian authorities.
European Foundation of Human Rights and the Association of Scientists Poles of Lithuania have an honour to invite everyone for an open lecture by Ewelina Tylec (Central European University in Budapest) under the title „Can law discriminate? Analysis of the issue in the context of the situation of Polish minority in Lithuania”.
The lecture will be held on 22nd March 2012 at the Home of Polish Culture in Vilnius at 6pm in the room 305.
On Sunday, 11th March, on the day of the independence of the Lithuanian state, two marches took place in Vilnius: one under the slogan “Lithuania for Lithuanians, second, alternative one “We celebrate the freedom”. Two completely different marches, under the flag of one country; Many people were happy to hear that the march of freedom is organised, which was named as an alternative to the nationalistic march and it was associated with slogans against racism, discrimination etc. However, only three colours and independence slogans dominated, and nothing about the equality. One can only be satisfied that the march had no aggression, it was rather creative and was giving the feeling of unity. The question is to whom?
The campaign of the European Foundation of Human Rights against the increasing wave of hatred on the internet in Lithuania brings first positive results.
On 27th January 2012, a district court of the city of Kaunas issued an injunction for the citizen of Kaunas, Andrius Bražėnas for humiliating and inciting to discrimination on the grounds of nationality statements. For his comments: „ši nelojali Lietuvai šūdlenkių šunauja nebus išvyta iš Lietuvos, tol dergs mūsų valstybė“ (translation, “this disloyal to Lithuania group of “shitpoles” will not be kicked out of Lithuania until they contaminate the state”), „tokie šūdlenkių išsikalbėjimai vyktų kokioje nors Kaukazo ar Vidurinės azijos šalyje, ŠŪDLENKIAM būtų padaryta Baltramiejaus naktis ir baigtųsi tos nesąmonės.
Ewelina Tylec is a student of the LLM in Human Rights Program at Central European University in Budapest. In 2011 she graduated with a Master’s degree in legal studies from the University of Wrocław (MA thesis: The Role of Custom in Diplomatic Law). Currently, she is working on the project: The issue of legal discrimination. Polish minority in Lithuania under supervision of Professor Gabor Kardos. The project analyzes the situation of the Polish minority in Lithuania and the role of the international minority rights protection systems (particularly: the right to the use of minority language, the right to education in the minority language and the right to participate in the state’s public life).
International training: Your Power, Our Power
Empowerment as means to promote active citizenship and inclusive societies
Five-day training
Dates training: 2-7 September 2012
Location: Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Deadlines: Pre application at Radar: 6 April 2012
Final deadline application Grundtvig mobility grant: 30 April 2012
Eligible countries (Grundtvig mobility grant): European Union and Croatia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey
“For 22 years we have been building the state, enhancing the democratic values and raising respect for humanity. We are building a state in which we can enjoy freedom and which we can be proud of. Patriotism that emerges from it does not divide, degrade or humiliate people. Civic activity unites different people who enjoy free Lithuania, and motivates them to act together.”
October 11-14, 2012
Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvár, Klausenburg), Romania
The Department of Juridical Sciences and European Studies of the Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania, the Romanian Institute for Research on National Minorities, the European Studies Department of the University of Amsterdam and the ECPR Standing Group on Federalism and Regionalism will organize on October 11-14, 2012 a conference on minority representation and minority language rights.