- Press releases
President of the FUEN Loránt Vincze presented the Minority SafePack Initiative at the General Assembly of the Society for Threatened People (GfbV) in Göttingen, Germany and asked the organisation and its members to support the MSPI campaign. Mr Vincze praised the work of one of the biggest human rights organisations in Germany, which has projects in many corners of the world. “You have an extraordinary history in supporting the most vulnerable, most threatened people: ethnic and religious minorities, nationalities and indigenous communities. Your work has brought hope in many corners of the world, you raised your voice for crimes against human beings, against discrimination and persecution” – stated the FUEN President. In his opinion, the two organisations do complementary work in Europe, in the benefit of the autochthonous national minorities.
„Our Initiative is a project of solidarity, and this not only means solidarity between different minority communities. We also request people belonging to the majority to support this initiative, because it is a positive one, a European one, and it does not take away anything from the states, from the majority” – explained Loránt Vincze at the GfbV meeting on Saturday, November 4th.
He explained to the organisation’s leaders the importance of the European Citizens’ Initiative, giving examples of its benefits. „The EU is supporting the dominant cultures and the official languages, which don’t really need so much support, as Member States do their utmost to protect them. Instead the small languages and cultures, like the Sorbian, Frisians or Breton languages are threatened, these communities face assimilation on mid- term. They are the ones who need the most protection and support” –said the FUEN President. The MSPI offers European level solutions to these communities.
The GfbV General Assembly offered its support for the FUEN signature campaign with its own effort in Germany and in several minority regions. During its General Assembly, the Society for Threatened People renew its board. The new President of the GfbV is Jan Diedrichsen, former FUEN Director, while Heinrich Schultz, long standing former Vice President of the FUEN kept his position as Vice President.