Supporters of broadening the scope of regional self-government marched through the streets of Katowice on Saturday in the annual Autonomy March.
The event attracted several hundred participants, including families with children, who carried Silesian regional flags and balloons in yellow and blue, the colors of Silesia. The motto of this year’s march was: “This is us, the Silesian people.”
The organizer of the annual march is the Silesian Autonomy Movement (RAŚ).
Jerzy Gorzelik, the leader of RAŚ, told the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that "this year there were two important events for the status of Silesians and respect for their historical and cultural distinctiveness."
President Andrzej Duda vetoed an amendment to the Law on National and Ethnic Minorities which sought to recognize Silesian as a regional language.
The organizer of the annual march is the Silesian Autonomy Movement (RAŚ).
Jerzy Gorzelik, the leader of RAŚ, told the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that "this year there were two important events for the status of Silesians and respect for their historical and cultural distinctiveness."
President Andrzej Duda vetoed an amendment to the Law on National and Ethnic Minorities which sought to recognize Silesian as a regional language.
The amendment, proposed by the main alliance making up the ruling coalition, the Civic Coalition (KO), was initially submitted to the lower house of parliament in January. Subsequently, at the end of April, the lower house passed the amendment with the votes of the ruling coalition’s MPS, and was then approved by the Senate.
An ethnic minority in Poland is defined as a group of Polish citizens who are smaller in number than the rest of the country's population, are significantly different in language, culture, and tradition, and strive to preserve them.
The Silesian language would become legally recognized if Silesians were to be recognized as an ethnic minority.
A platform carrying a dummy with the face of Poland’s President Andrzej Duda was also driven through the streets of Katowice.
An ethnic minority in Poland is defined as a group of Polish citizens who are smaller in number than the rest of the country's population, are significantly different in language, culture, and tradition, and strive to preserve them.
The Silesian language would become legally recognized if Silesians were to be recognized as an ethnic minority.
A platform carrying a dummy with the face of Poland’s President Andrzej Duda was also driven through the streets of Katowice.
“This is in reference to Andrzej Duda's decision, and in fact to its justification, because the decision can be different. The president can have his own opinion on the matter, while the justification that was presented was quite cursory,” said the leader of RAŚ.
According to a statement posted on the President's Office website, the president's decision to veto the bill granting Silesian the status of a regional language was motivated by the Silesian ethnolect not satisfying the requirements of the existing law on regional languages.
The Autonomy March traditionally takes place around July 15, marking the anniversary of the granting of autonomy to parts of Upper Silesia by the Polish parliament in 1920. This autonomy was granted to the region in the face of an approaching plebiscite that was to decide whether Upper Silesia should belong to the Polish Second Republic or Germany.
The law granted the province broad autonomy in many areas of life. Among other things, it established the Silesian parliament, which passed its own budget, funding the Silesian Treasury.
With the German occupation and annexation of the region to the Third Reich in September 1939, the autonomous province of Silesia effectively came to an end. Autonomy was officially abolished by the communist National Council on May 6, 1945.
According to a statement posted on the President's Office website, the president's decision to veto the bill granting Silesian the status of a regional language was motivated by the Silesian ethnolect not satisfying the requirements of the existing law on regional languages.
Silesian autonomy
The Autonomy March traditionally takes place around July 15, marking the anniversary of the granting of autonomy to parts of Upper Silesia by the Polish parliament in 1920. This autonomy was granted to the region in the face of an approaching plebiscite that was to decide whether Upper Silesia should belong to the Polish Second Republic or Germany.
The law granted the province broad autonomy in many areas of life. Among other things, it established the Silesian parliament, which passed its own budget, funding the Silesian Treasury.
With the German occupation and annexation of the region to the Third Reich in September 1939, the autonomous province of Silesia effectively came to an end. Autonomy was officially abolished by the communist National Council on May 6, 1945.
Source:
More In Society MORE...
