Poland`s Sejm votes to allow Belarusian to be used in local public offices as additional language
Published:
12 January 2005 y., Wednesday
Poland`s Sejm (lower chamber of the national parliament) has passed an amendment providing that ethnic Belarusians residing in the country may use Belarusian in local public offices. As the Belarusian Service of RFE/RL reported, the amendment stipulates that local governmental agencies may use Belarusian as an "additional language" provided the Belarusian national minority accounts for 20 percent of the territorial unit`s population. An original version of the amendment set the percentage at 50 percent.
The Sejm voted that numbers of people belonging to the Belarusian minority would be determined on the basis of the most recent population census conducted in Poland in 2002.
Belarusians are the second largest national minority in Poland after Germans. According to Polish official sources, in the 2002 census, 47,640 citizens of Poland declared themselves Belarusians. Of them, 46,041 resided in the Podlaskie province. The Belarusian minority is represented in the 460-seat Sejm by MPs Eugeniusz Czykwin, Aleksander Czuz and Sergiusz Plewa. The Belarusian language is reportedly taught to 3,664 children in 40 public schools.
Most of Poland`s Belarusians are members of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church.
Šaltinis:
Charter`97 Press Center
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
The Champs Elysees rings in the holiday season with a festive lighting display.
more »
Westminster Abbey is confirmed as the venue for the wedding of Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 29, 2011.
more »
15,000 pilgrams flock to see official unveiling of the world's tallest statue of Jesus in Poland.
more »
Muslims in Bangladesh go to market to buy livestock to slaughter for the approaching holy Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.
more »
Ten–year strategy for people with disabilities so they can take part in all aspects of daily life across the EU.
more »
Ahead of the Africa-EU Summit taking place from 29-30 November in Libya, the Commission presents today its proposals for a consolidation of the Africa-EU relations.
more »
Average CO2 emissions from new cars sold in the EU dropped by 5% last year, the biggest annual fall ever recorded, a report published today by the European Commission shows.
more »
Baby koala fights for her life in Australia after being injured by shotgun fire.
more »
Plans to give consumers more control over how personal information is collected and used.
more »
A severe drought pushes river levels in Brazil's Amazon region to record lows, isolating communities and strangling vital boat transport links.
more »