FUEN-Delegates adopt resolutions and Congress-declaration

At the Assembly of Delegates of 19 May 2012 in Moscow, six resolutions and a Congress-declaration were adopted by the Delegates of the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN), the largest umbrella organisation of the autochthonous minorities in Europe. FUEN unites more than 90 member organisations in 32 countries.

The Assembly of Delegates ordered a letter to be addressed to the president of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. At the opening of the Congress Putin himself– in the form of a letter that was read out aloud - addressed the representatives of the different minorities of Europe. The participants answered with a Congress-declaration and called upon the relevant decision-makers in Russia to implement the laws on minority protection and on the promotion of cultural and linguistic diversity in Russia; between legislation and implementation there still is a discrepancy that cannot be overlooked. Furthermore the Delegates called upon Russia to quickly ratify the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of the Council of Europe, which it already has signed.

Two member organisations had tabled an application for an urgent resolution and in both cases these urgent resolutions were adopted.

The umbrella organisation of the Lusatian Sorbs, Domowina, received unanimous support of the 143 votes of the Delegates for their criticism on the cuts in funding for Sorbian teaching in the Land of Brandenburg. The minorities of Europe demanded from those responsible in Potsdam to rethink their decisions and to enter into a direct dialogue with the minority.

The Hungarian minority in Romania, represented by RMDSZ, the umbrella organisation and political representation of the Hungarians in Romania was supported by the Delegates in their criticism to the new Romanian government. Bucharest is accused of not obeying to concrete provisions of minority protection and decisions made by the former government and of rolling back what has before been agreed to.

In a resolution submitted by the cultural umbrella organisation of the minority (SSF), the Danish minority in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, asked attention for the issue of access to TV-stations. Some national minorities in Europe can no longer receive the TV-stations of their “mother land” because of new technical standards – this problem affects not only the Danish minority, but is known in several European border regions. That is why the Assembly of Delegates calls for a Europe-wide solution, which should be realised on the level of the European Union.

The Turkish minority in Western Thrace raised awareness for the non-recognition of their group as a national minority and referred to many court judgments and the statements of different international organisations. The Assembly of Delegates of FUEN calls upon the Greek government to comply with the judgments from the European Court of Human Rights without delay.

The Greek minority in Turkey – represented by the Ecumenical Federation of Constantinopolitans – asked attention for UN Resolution 60/147, in which the basic principles of the rights of victims of gross violation of international human rights norms have been defined.

The Assembly of Delegates adopted these two resolutions with a large majority – of the Turkish minority in Greece and of the Greek minority in Turkey.

The resolution submitted by the National Council of Balkars on the implementation of several protection provisions and on full rehabilitation of the repressed peoples in the Russian Federation was also adopted by the Assembly of Delegates of FUEN.

Source: www.fuen.org