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• Date: 13/02/2009

  Collective rights for ethnic minorities denied in Romania

  

  A Romanian court prohibits holding a referendum for the autonomy of the Székely people, the largest minority within Romania · Romanian President, Traian Basescu, has declared that “no claims for territorial autonomy will be allowed" · At least 7% of the total population are ethnic Hungarians, and they are majority in some places of Transylvania.

• Date: 13/02/2009

  Election campaigns kick off in Galicia and Basque Country

  

  Elections in the Basque Country are marked by the absence of the leftist pro-independence parties, banned by the Spanish judiciary · Galician nationalists are expecting to form government coalition with Socialists again · Spanish Center for Sociological Research (CIS) predicts a close result between PNB and PSE in the Basque Country and, in Galicia, a mild loss of support for PP in favour of PSG.

• Date: 12/02/2009

  Sweden, committed to preserve minoritised languages

  NEWS IN BRIEF. The Government announces an investment of 70 million crowns to reform policies on minorities

• Date: 11/02/2009

  Brittany stands up for reunification in Paris

  

  Breton political, cultural and businessmen representatives exhibit an unprecedented display of unity and strength as crucial time for France’s territorial reform draws near · More than 100 Breton important figures call for reintegration of the Loire-Atlantique department into the region of Brittany with a clear message: “It’s now or never.”

• Date: 11/02/2009

  The Assembly of Vojvodina defends the Statute from the Serbian parties and Church

  

  “The Statute does not create a new state within the State”, says the chamber spokesman in response to accusations of separatism from Serbian nationalism · The Parliament of Serbia still has to approve the Statute · It is likely that some parties demand amendments in the Serbian chamber

• Date: 10/02/2009

  More indigenous ministers join Bolivia’s new cabinet after Constitutional referendum

  

  The executive’s challenge is to implement the new Constitution approved last January 25th and to overcome the conflict with its opponents · Three Bolivian indigenous peoples have already made use of their right to self-government.

• Date: 09/02/2009

  Spanish Supreme Court bans leftist Basque pro-independence lists of candidates

  

  D3M (Democracy 3 Million) and Askatasuna are the lists affected by the Court’s decision · If the Constitutional Court of Spain does not reverse the decision, Basque pro-independence list will not be running elections for the Basque Parliament for the first time · UN Special Rapporteur warned few days ago that the Political Parties Act ‘might infringe fundamental rights’

• Date: 06/02/2009

  Peoples and Nations today: Ingushetia

  

  After a particularly tumultuous 2008, a new president seems to have eased the tension in the Caucasian republic of Ingushetia, the small homeland of the Ingush people, who are related to the Chechens. Being one of the poorest areas within the Russian Federation, Ingushetia is expecting President Dmitry Medvedev to keep recent promise of investing thousands of millions of rubles.

• Date: 04/02/2009

  Tension builds up in Tibet as 50th anniversary of 1959 rising draws near

  Chinese police arrests dozens of people accused of participating in a campaign against occupation · An organisation in exile calls against celebration of the Tibetan new year · Administration under Chinese rule designates March 28th as an annual ‘Serfs Emancipation Day’

• Date: 02/02/2009

  Cardiff asks London to transfer language powers to grant official status for Welsh

  The Welsh cabinet seeks to broaden language rights for Welsh-speaking people and secure equal status of Welsh with English · The decision depends on the British Parliament and could take months