Poet Tomas Venclova states that Lithuanian and Polish nationalism is like twins, and emphasizes that the countries should strive for more historically weighed policy, delfi.lt wrote on 23 April.
According to him, the third and fourth decades of the last century in Vilnius Region are considered to be Polish occupation for Lithuanians; meanwhile, some Polish speculate about Lithuanian occupation.
“This is not the official opinion of Poland, however, on the subconscious level, there is an idea that Vilnius Region is not a part of Lithuania. From here comes an understandable view of Lithuanians that Vilnius Region is more Lithuanian than any other region”, – explained T.Venclova.
According to T.Venclova, Vilnius to Lithuanians is as important as Jerusalem is to Jewish.
“In Poland you can hear that in 1920, when Vilnius was taken by general L.Żeligowski, Lithuanians did not have any rights to the city, because, according to Lithuanian data, there were 14 per cent Lithuanians back then; according to the Polish – maybe 2 per cent. There was nearly not a single Jew in Jerusalem for centuries, but it is their most important city”, – he stated.
“Vilnius is as symbolic city to Lithuanians. It always was the capital of Lithuania, even during the time when the state of Lithuania didn’t exist. This sensitiveness must be taken into account”, – spoke the poet.
Translated by Greta Armonavičiūtė
