"Don't promise what's unacceptable to Lithuania. They say, 'What does one small letter mean to you?' or 'What's the problem about bilingual signs?' A lot will happen (if these demands are met)," one of the organizers, Romualdas Ozolas, a signatory to the Lithuanian Act of Independence, said during the rally, held on Independence Square outside the parliament building.
About 500 people took part in the rally, which began at around 2 PM, the police told BNS.
The protesters held placards that read, "No to the Polonization of Vilnius region", "Let's protect the land of our ancestors, our state language, and the integrity of lands", "Street names only in Lithuanian", "Demand the return of the Punsk area," and "No to the LLRA's demands."
The square was protected by the police.
"This rally is not directed against ethnic Poles, our fellow citizens. On the contrary. The LLRA's anti-constitutional demands turn members of the society against one another," Paulius Stonis, another organizer, told the rally.
Representatives of the rally, called "For Our Language, Nation, and State," said that the event had been organized by a committee made up of various organizations, rather than by a single organizer.
Vilnius' authorities confirmed to BNS earlier that they had sanctioned a rally of up to 3,000 people.
