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Contents
Editorial - 3
ENDANGERED
MINORITY CULTURES
Zhidas Daskalovski
Minority Rights in
Greece: Macedonians - 5
The author sets out by analyzing the recrudescence of nationalism in
Eastern Europe
following the
revolutionary changes in 1989-1990. This phenomenon triggered a
lively debate on the future of Europe, on
all national minorities in its countries under
the new circumstances. The author then focuses on the situation in the Balkan
Peninsula, taking as his starting point the Balkan wars (1912-1914) that
hallmarked the
end of the Ottoman Empire and the “liberation” of Macedonia, that is its
division
between Serbia (Vardar Macedonia), Bulgaria (Pirin Macedonia) and Greece
(Egeean Macedonia). The 1919 Treaty of Versailles did nothing but enshrine this
division, the three states possessing parts
of Macedonia setting out a long process of
forced assimilation which the author renders as ethnical and cultural
genocide.
While presenting the historical background, the author warns his study will
further
only the national construction policies in Egeean Macedonia, that is the
policies
developed by Greece. Immediately after
taking over the respective territory, Greece
started colonizing it with Greek ethnics, simultaneously persuading Macedonians
to
leave their home lands. The process
was carried on between the two world wars when
Macedonians were subjected to violent assimilation and denationalization
campaigns.
The climax was reached during the
fascist-monarchist dictatorship of Metaxa. The
drama of Macedonians’ situation has been a constant trait in the
aftermath of the
civil war to these days. According to the
Greek government, there are no Macedonians in Greece. The author records the minority’s response to this state of
affairs, the
response of the Greek government to the claims forwarded by the minority as
well as
the attitude of international
organisms towards the whole situation. The author brings
to light the way Greece denies the
Macedonian minority’s fundamental right to selfdefinition encroaching thus many international conventions regarding
human rights
it has ratified. “And it is sad enough for the ‘craddle of democracy’”, the
author
concludes, “that the conclusion must be drawn that the national construction
process of Greece and its policies for minorities are alarmingly unliberal
and distructive,
their change
being therefore an immediate necessity.”
Emil Ţîrcomnicu
Megleno-Romanians - 19
The study analyses the situation of the Megleno-Romanians, an ethnic
community
living in the Meglen Plain, on the northern border of Greece with
Macedonia. One by
one, the origins and history of this population, the Aromanian issue and
its consequences on the Meglenian community, the emigration to Dobrudja, facts
of Meglenian
ethnology,
ethnography and demography are presented.
An interesting chapter is the one titled Selfidentification and the
image of the other
where a comparison is drawn between Megleno-Romanians’ self-perception
and their
perception of Aromanians. Both communities share a salient national
sense, but
Megleno-Romanians look up to Aromanians due to their larger number and
economical
superiority.
Megleno-Romanians are the only Romanian speaking (as well as Latin)
community
who converted to Islam. Because of their small number, they are doomed
to extinction.
History so wanted that they be divided among four states — Turkey,
Greece, Macedonia
and Romania — and two religions — Orthodox Christian and Muslim. Steps
should be
taken at European level, the author points out, for the preservation of
this dialect.
Nathan
Weinstock & Haïm-Vidal Sephiha
Yiddish
and Judaean-Spanish. A Cultural Heritage - 27
Yiddish (Judaean-German) and Judaean Spanish are still living languages
and, at
the same time, two testimonies of the old stages of the languages they
originated from
— Middle German and, respectively the 15th century Spanish. They are
living museums of their original languages as Canadian French is to the 16th
and 17th centuries
French. Falling under the category of endangered languages, the authors
devote to
them this study where they trace — actually, there are two distinct
studies — their
origins and historic fate. The study devoted to Yiddish examines the
origins and traits
of this language, follows its spreading and the coalescing of its
dialects. Jewish
communities of the German linguistic area, ashkenazes, moved in
successive migratory waves Eastward thus resulting two major dialectal areas: Western Yiddish
(including the speeches specific to the Low Countries, Alsace, Switzerland
and Germany) and Eastern Yiddish (the speeches in Poland, Russia, Ukraine,
Romania
(Wallachia) and the Baltic countries. The authors make a brief foray
into old Yiddish
literature showing that the first Yiddish manuscripts date from the
Middle Ages, around
1272. Yiddish was traditionally spoken by women or uneducated people.
Modern
Yiddish literature fully bloomed through the work of important writers
like Mendele,
Sholem Aleykhem and George Peretz. The Nobel Prize for literature was
awarded to
Isaac Bashevis Singer in 1978. Yiddish should be seen the material
support of a highly specific culture. An extraordinary flourishing of the language
and the forms it
manifested
in, especially the written media, through a bustling activity a whole network of socio-cultural associations engaged
in, was followed by Choa, the genocidal
action perpetrated by Nazis resulting also in the assassination of Yiddish. The
associative network keeping the language alive collapsed and young people,
even when
amidst a religious environment, took on the languages spoken in the countries
they
lived in. Despite all history dramas
impressing Yiddish, this endangered language is
beginning now to revive. A renewed
vitality can be foreseen for this language through
the revival of associations and publications as well as through the
reintroduction of
Yiddish as a study object at different instruction levels.
The second study is devoted to Judaean-Spanish whose origin lie at the
end of the
Reconquista, when the Catholic royal couple, Isabelle and Ferdinand, ordered
Jews
who refused to convert to Christianity to be expelled. This is how the
wanderings of the
Spanish Jews started, leading up eventually to their integration into
the already existing Jewish communities and to the adoption of the language spoken by the latter
The
evolution of the Judaean-Spanish is further traced throughout history,
a particular
stress being placed on its merging characteristics and on its living museum
quality it
has for the 15th century Spanish. Grammar and writing
methods are tersely analyzed.
The authors make a foray into both old and modern Judaean-Spanish
literature and
outline the fate that betided its speakers after the dismemberment of
the Ottoman Empire
as well as after the genocide that befell them in 1939-1940. The
outcome — an assassi-
nated language.
During that period thousands of Spanish Jews perished in Greece,
Yugoslavia and Romania. It was only Bulgaria that protected its Jewish
community.
Despite its
still being an endangered language, Judaean-Spanish seems to have a
chance to be reborn as it is again studied up to academic levels.
Vilmos
Tánczos
The
Csangos in Moldavia - 48
The Csangos in Moldavia are one of the endangered communities. Their
history and
especially their 19 and 20th centuries separate evolution from that
of the Magyars of
which they
are a branch, accounts for the specific assimilation process the Csango
community has been undergoing. Their selfconsciousness has been crossing an uncertain, confused and contradictory state.
The author shows that the idea is generally
accepted that the coming of the
Csangos’ ancestors to Moldavia owed to well-aimed
policies of the Hungarian state, at the time their mission here being to
defend and
control the Eastern borders of the Hungarian
kingdom. The author sets out to explain
the origin of the Csango name, then goes on to explain the issue of the
origin of
Csangos, their regional spreading throughout their history, namely their
grouping
into the Northern Csangos and Southern Csangos, a historical evolution of their
demography, the process of linguistic assimilation they have been undergoing,
and,
resorting to comparative tables, provides an analysis of the degree of
knowledge of
the Hungarian language by the Csangos today
The study closes with several remarks
on their linguistic knowledge and ethnic identity showing that the
demographic data presented confirm the existence of a strong assimilation process under
way, signaled
by linguists, ethnographers, political scientists and journalists alike. The
author also
points out that language plays a lesser part in shaping identity consciousness
for the
Csangos in
Moldavia than for the Magyars living in the Carpathians Basin. The
connection between group identity and linguistic identity is rather loose. They
feel
closer to the Catholics in the Csango villages around, no matter whether the
latter
have preserved their original language. The
study is seconded by a vast bibliography
and more than a hundred footnotes.
Sándor N. Szilágyi
About
the Csango Dialects in Moldavia - 81
The study
illustrates the growing interest at the European level for endangered minority communities. The author, a prestigious professor at the University in
Cluj,
makes an astute analysis of the linguistic situation of the Csango Community in
Moldavia.
The author leaves
behind for historians to settle who the Csango ancestors were in
order to better focus on who the Csangos are now. The dispute between the
Hungarian and Romanian scientific community over who the Csangos are, whether they
are
Romanian or Hungarian or simply Csangos, is gracefully dismissed by showing
that
Csangos fall into two main groups: a Hungarian one (consisting of other two
sub-
groups: Northern
and Southern Csangos) and a Romanian one.
It is the
Hungarian branch of the Csangos that the paper focuses on.
The research whose theoretical reasoning is
backed up by data gathered in the field,
turns out to be a warm, but unbiased plea for the linguistic rights
Csangos should
enjoy in line with the standards implied by the European system of values.
A warm, but unbiased plea. The author accounts for the confused and
contradictory
selfidentification of Hungarian Csangos by reviewing the assimilation process
they
have been subjected to: they enjoy neither education nor religious service in
their
mother tongue, they have been told over and over by Romanian educational,
administrative and church authorities that their speech is not a fully functional
language
The impact on their mentality should not be underrated: this population
consists of
simple, uneducated people, living in poverty and leading a traditional way of
life.
Therefore, being asked what their mother
tongue is, Csangos hesitate to say Hungarian realizing the differences between
standard Hungarian and their dialect; they also
hesitate to say Csango realizing this is not a language; in an official context
they will
say they speak Romanian. Nevertheless, in their spontaneous
conversation, they say
they speak Hungarian.
A warm, but unbiased plea. The study concludes with several remarks on
the Roma nian Csango
dialect. It has never been scientifically studied: as a dialect of Romanian, it fell outside the interest of Hungarian linguists, while Romanian
dialectologists ignored it as linguistically irrelevant The author deplores its recent
extinction
considering it a great loss for linguistics.
CASE STUDY
Gabriel Andreescu
& Smaranda Enache
Report
on the Situation of the Csangos in Moldavia.
The
Issue of the Hungarian Csangos - 90
The report presents the results of an investigation held in the area of
the Bacău
county by a joint team of APADOR-CH and PRO EUROPE League in December
2001,
following the complaints forwarded to these associations by the
Association of the
Hungarian Csangos whereby the latter showed their claims to enjoy mother tongue
education had been dismissed, their activity in the Bacău county impeded upon,
and
their members harassed by representatives of local authorities. Having
given the
reasons for the investigation they conducted, the authors show the
pressures exerted
upon those Csangos who assume an identity other than Romanian and infer an
intentional assimilation process of the Hungarian speaking Csangos. Among others,
the
report states that the status of the Csango language/dialects is
significant not only
per se, but it is also an important dimension of the protection of the
Hungarian
Csango minority. Nevertheless, there is no sign in the area of any
implementation
whatsoever of the European Charter of the Regional Languages, meant to
protect
and promote regional and minority languages as an “important
contribution to
constructing a Europe based on the principles of democracy and cultural
diversity”.
The report concludes by ascertaining the complaints are well-grounded,
and demanding the authorities to respect minority rights as they are guaranteed by
the Constitution, by the domestic legal framework, by the relevant conventions of the
Council of
Europe, OSCE and UN, and the resolutions on the situation of the
Csangos in Romania.
DOCUMENT
Recommendation
1521 (2001). Csango Minority Culture in Romania - 105
Tytti Maria
Isohookana-Asunmaa
Csango
Minority Culture in Romania - 107
A report drawn up for the Committee on Culture, Science and Education
and presented to it on the 4th of May 2001, the study starts out by
showing who the Csangos
are, then analyses the Csango language and their historical background,
their folklore and popular ornamental art and stresses their strong Roman-Catholic
faith.
Regarding education and religion, although authorities claim they are willing
to
observe European standards, a lack of will (at the local level) and the
incapacity (at
the central level) can be noted in implementing the laws on education
passed by
those same authorities. The author concludes by putting forth several
itemized proposals aimed
at preserving Csango culture.
Ghiorghi Prisăcaru
Dissenting Opinion
from the Report Minority Culture in Romania - 115
As the title shows, it is a rejoinder to the report presented by Tytti
Isohookana-Ansumaa
to the Council of Europe which was designed as an alarm signal on the
danger of
extinction this culture is exposed to. The Romanian rapporteur starts out by
giving a
description
of national minorities protection in Romania. Several general remarks
on the Csangos are followed by the presentation of the education Csangos have
access to, the author claiming that, while the Csango dialect has not a written
form
thus rendering impossible education in mother tongue, “we cannot however agree
with the idea in the report that teaching in the Hungarian language will be the
answer”. Consequently, while the author shows concern for Csango language to be
preserved as a real asset of the European
cultural heritage, he deems it all but natural
that both education and religious service be held in Romanian, even
though — according to the Constitution and the new Education Law — the Csangos are
entitled
to education and religious service in their
mother tongue. The author welcomes and
comments the proposals made in the report for the protection of the
Csango culture
and concludes: “We take the view that the
main aim of all our activity must be the
preservation and development of this community’s cultural, linguistic and
religious
identity, and that this issue must be addressed without any political
connotations.”
ANALYSIS
Gabriel
Andreescu
Multiculturalism in
Central Europe: Cultural Integration and Privacy - 122
The study by the reputed political scientist Gabriel Andreescu suggests
that three fundamental concepts of contemporary world be revisited and redefined:
multiculturalism
as a functional norm, community privacy, polycultural society, in order to
allow a wide
enough view
to comprehend this very world’s cultural diversity and problems.
Multiculturalism is redefined here in its
normative sense as a backup for the minorities
need to enjoy both a certain degree
of integration and their right to separation. The
latter one was more often than not thought to be laden with negative
connotations so
the author suggests as an alternative the coinage of a new phrase: “community
privacy”. Making salient the diversity of
ethno-cultural groups traits, the author reviews
the various definitions provided to
multiculturalism: as encouraging immigrants to
assert their ethnic identity (the
Canadian rendering), as power-sharing among different national communities (the European
rendering), as inclusion of marginalized groups
(the American rendering). The
problems raised by multiculturalism as well as their
resolution rely on the specificity of
each minority community. Gabriel Andreescu further
examines the other two components of
multiculturalism: integration and multicultural
privacy. In a democratic society, where individual and collective minority
rights are
respected, balance and justness of
interethnic relationships imply the necessity that
communities be recognized their need both for integration and for
separation, these two dimensions needing a complementary development. The author analyses
the Romanian state’s attitude throughout the years, represented by its Ministry
of National Education, towards the legitimate claim of the Hungarian community to “separate”,
that is
to enjoy community privacy. Most politicians mentality (be they of
liberal orientation)
construe
“separation” as “segregation”.
The greatest part of the down-to-facts section of the study is devoted
to analyzing the
specific situation of the Hungarian and, respectively Roma communities in
Romania.
The activity of the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania is also reviewed
as a
defender of the idea of community privacy ever since its foundation. The
cooperation
of the DUHR with the opposition parties led to the shaping of a
reconciliation model;
the coalition
between the Democratic Convention in Romania, the Social-Democrat
Alliance and DUHR could be taken for a “model” without being however an ideal
situation for the Romanian-Hungarian relationships. As for the Roma, the author
notes that Romanian majority has never expressed any concern whatsoever for its
community privacy, not minding at all if it turned into ghettoization.
Actually, in the
‘90s, the problems the Roma community confronted were discrimination and access
to resources. Under the joint pressure of
the international community and of the new
Roma leaders, their situation registered a certain improvement, in 2001 there
having
been endorsed even a National Strategy for Improving the Condition of
Roma.
The next issue approached is that of
polycultural societies, that is of societies holding
a multitude of parallel cultures whose independence is acknowledged and
accepted.
Then the study
goes on by weighing a regional issue, namely the implications the
Hungarian Status Law may have and does have on multiculturalism. The
author shows
that the law introduces the “Hungarian nation” in its ethnic sense into
the international law, jeopardizing thus the logic of constitutional patriotism
extant in the countries neighbouring Hungary. As such, the minority will no longer negotiate with
the
majority as a self-contained group, but as a part of the ethnic nation it
belongs to.
A final issue brought forward is the implications of Europe’s
federalization, Gabriel
Andreescu
making a point here in showing that, provided the region integrated into
the European Union and the latter underwent
a federalization process, the potential
dangers posed by the “Hungarian model” would fade away.
As a conclusion,
the author admits a clear evolution in the last 11 years towards
integration and community privacy, but without an overall resolution of the
issues
regarding interethnic coexistence. The
study is seconded by a rich apparatus of bibliographic and explanatory footnotes.
DIALOGUE
On the Status of
Minorities — Inside and Outside of the Border - 139
Between the 23-25th of November 2002 the 9th Intercultural Forum of the
PRO EUROPE
League, titled “The Role of Minorities as Stability Factor in Central and
Eastern Europe”
took place at Bucharest. The participants in it were representatives of
the national minorities in Romania, of the Romanian minority abroad, of state
institutions, of civil society and of mass media. The reunion was financially supported by the
Heinrich Boll Foundation (Germany) as part of the programme carried out by the Intercultural
Centre of the
PRO EUROPE League. The organizers were represented by: Smaranda Enache, cochairmain of the PRO EUROPE League, Elek Szokoly manager of the
Intercultural Centre, and Laura Ardelean, programme coordinator of the Intercultural
Centre.
TRANSYLVANIAN
CONVERGENCIES
Paul
Philippi
Transylvanian
University Tradition in United Romania - 212
The text is the speech delivered by Paul Philippi on the occasion of
being conferred
the title of doctor honoris causa by the Babes-Bolyai University. The
author furthers
the line of a true family tradition of studying at this University. The author
recollects
the most important stages of his life, the renewal of his bonds — once broken —
with
the University of Cluj and pays a warm homage to the Transylvanian
academic tradition whose fertile soil bore the fruit of unity in plurality and
plurality in unity as a
modern essence distilled out of the experience of political coexistence
in Transylvania.
Anamaria Pop
Traditions
and Prospects in Romanian-Hungarian
Cultural
Relationships - 220
The Romanian-Hungarian cultural relationships have always stemmed from
two major
concerns shared by intellectuals: on one hand, they have been eager to
make a contribution to soften tensed political relationships; on the other hand, by
the very nature of
their mould, they have always been concerned to know the Other. The
author analyses
the evolution of these relationships in time, the historical reconciliation
efforts made by
intellectuals, the decisive part Transylvania has played as the cradle
of three distinct
cultures and civilizations — Romanian, Hungarian and German (Saxon).
Achievements and failures alike are listed and surveyed. Anamaria Pop wonders
whether we
are ready to live in the present European community, if we know well
enough the system
of cultural values and the spiritual heritage of the Other, next to us,
and whether we
have learned enough from the mistakes of our past not to resume them
again…
RESTITUTIO
Adrian
Majuru
The
Albanian Bucharest. From Merchant Elite to Cultural Elite - 228
“The Albanian Bucharest” is designed as a historical blueprint of the
Albanian
community in Bucharest. Unlike other Balkan or non-Balkan communities, Albanians could be found in all Moldo-Wallachian social structures. This
dynamic presence came into being in the16th and 17th centuries in order
to extend and diversify in
the following two centuries, the 18th and 19h.
The Albanian migration in Romania has
been
approached from varying thematic perspectives. The gradual building up of a
Moldo-Wallachian cultural elite of Albanian
origin which began to become aware of
its identity of origin through a constant cultural activity that was
also connected to
the idea of a modern and independent Albany, was taking shape at the beginning
of
the 19th century. The author has
passionately and patiently researched archives and
come up with lots of names of Albanians who lived in Bucharest. The
Bucharest
Albanian community, spurring and
cooperating with Albanian communities in other
cities and towns in Romania, succeeded for 75 years to assist culturally the
Albanian
people subjected at the time to a two-pronged process of denationalization: its
being
compelled to become Turks or Greeks.
ECUMENICA
János Erdő
The Unitarian Church - 247
Unitarianism came
into being in Transylvania as a radical wing of the Reformation.
Relegating the tenet of the Holy Trinity,
Unitarianism reverted to the tenet of the only
God. In its
essence and person, the only God was the foundation and the distinctive
sign of the Unitarian reformation. The author traces back into history
the fate of this
church founded by Ferenc Dávid, born in Cluj sometime about 1520. An advocate
of
the
Reformation, he preached the principle of permanent reformation and did not
deemed it completed on the emergence of
Helvetian and Lutheran orientations. Contending that “In the whole Holy Writ
there is no clearer and more evident science than
that of the Only God”, Ferenc Dávid started to preach this idea on the 20th
of January
1566 in the great church in Cluj. Initially these ideas generated
fruitless religious
debates, but later Unitarianism gained
ground and spread over even to Hungary The
Counterreformation, allied with those in power at the time, dragged Ferenc
Dávid to
lifetime hard labour The hectic history of the Unitarian Church
continued throughout centuries, with its ups and downs,
alternating glory and decay, but, in spite all the
persecution it was subjected to, the Unitarian movement never died out.
Its school
and patrimony were more than once confiscated, done away with, but they kept
reviving out of their own ashes, the Unitarian Church standing out with its
merits in
spreading culture, founding schools and even prestigious universities.
The author devotes a separate chapter to the issue of serving the Church
as a minority
member
through avowal and responsibility taking. Unfurling history till 1990, the
author shows that, in spite all obstacles,
the Unitarian Church not only survived, but
also managed to be always present in the life of the believers serving them as
well as
it could. Now it is ready once more to take the responsibility of a
standing renewal
and revival.
CIVICA
Valerian Stan
The Law on Free
Access to Information of Public Interest - 272
The author of this research lists the petitions he has forwarded to
public institutions
and authorities who, according to the provisions of the law 544/2001, should
have
granted them. From the 16 petitions altogether, 1 was granted, 1
partially granted, 8
were denied,
while other 6 benefited no answer at all. Valerian Stan attempts to
account for this almost all-encompassing
denial of access to information of public
interest by two causes: first, 11
years since the revolution, many of the public servants
still cannot get used to the idea of being controlled; the second is
related to the gaps
in the law, state firms making an exception
to the obligation to provide any information on their activity. The author
concludes by enumerating other shortcomings in the
law and suggesting their immediate remedy.
REVIEWS
Andrei Roth
Intellectuelle,
Eliten, Institutionenwandel
(Intellectuals,
Elites, Institutional Changes) - 279
Nadia Badrus
Germanii
din Banat prin povestirile lor
(Germans
from Banat through their Stories) - 282