Perdu
26-03-02, 20:39
Brussels 27/2/02 , by Eva Blässar
The petition against Italian as official language in the Constitution has received 200 e-signatures in just two days, despite very little publicity (see Eurolang 26/2/02). ‘Until now there has been no media coverage of the petition in Italy,’ says Matteo Incerti, initiative taker to the petition on behalf of the European Free Alliance (EFA) in Italy. He tells Eurolang that this is an issue which is not popular to discuss in Italy.
‘Despite the common belief that people who defend regional languages are just from northern Italian regions, there are a lot of signatures from Sicily and Naples – around 20 percent. And also Italian speakers, who sign in the name of freedom,’ explains Incerti. ‘This shows that the centre-right and centre-left Italian coalition doesn't understand that the matter of regional languages and minorities is not linked with Lega Nord ideas. I can say that the xenophobian campaign of Bossi (Lega Nord leader) has damaged a lot of the regional and self-determination issues in Italy in the last years, especially from an international point of view.’
The European Free Alliance has chosen to take a firm standpoint in this issue. Belgian MEP Nelly Maes, Chairwoman of the EFA, comments on her signature on the petition:
‘Italian is the general language in Italy, but it is a fact that there are a more languages in Italy – not only dialects, but clearly defined languages. It would be against all common sense to change the Constitution to resemble the French Constitution. Look at what happens there – regional languages can’t get any support because of the article that states that French is the language of the Republic,’ Nelly Maes tells Eurolang.
Maes give the decision on the Corsican language as the most recent example, where the French Constitutional Council voted against a law that would have given certain legislative powers to Corsica, among them the power to decide over their language education. The French Interior Minister at the time of the law proposal (summer 2000), Jean-Pierre Chevènement – who is now one of the presidential candidates – resigned in protest against giving Corsica these powers.
Nelly Maes says that she spoke to European Commission President Romano Prodi – himself Italian – about constitutional matters yesterday: ‘Prodi used the word ‘impossible’ to describe how he feels about the Constitution proposal.' As an example of the linguistic diversity in Italy, Prodi mentioned his own parents, who come from the region Emilia Romagna. They consider their mother tongue as another language and not only a dialect of Italian.
‘UNESCO has said that there are almost 30 native languages in Italy. The Italian Parliament is ready to vote against UNESCO and freedom,’ warns Matteo Incerti.
The Italian Chamber of Deputies is due to make a decision on the Constitution change this week. (EL)
The petition against Italian as official language in the Constitution has received 200 e-signatures in just two days, despite very little publicity (see Eurolang 26/2/02). ‘Until now there has been no media coverage of the petition in Italy,’ says Matteo Incerti, initiative taker to the petition on behalf of the European Free Alliance (EFA) in Italy. He tells Eurolang that this is an issue which is not popular to discuss in Italy.
‘Despite the common belief that people who defend regional languages are just from northern Italian regions, there are a lot of signatures from Sicily and Naples – around 20 percent. And also Italian speakers, who sign in the name of freedom,’ explains Incerti. ‘This shows that the centre-right and centre-left Italian coalition doesn't understand that the matter of regional languages and minorities is not linked with Lega Nord ideas. I can say that the xenophobian campaign of Bossi (Lega Nord leader) has damaged a lot of the regional and self-determination issues in Italy in the last years, especially from an international point of view.’
The European Free Alliance has chosen to take a firm standpoint in this issue. Belgian MEP Nelly Maes, Chairwoman of the EFA, comments on her signature on the petition:
‘Italian is the general language in Italy, but it is a fact that there are a more languages in Italy – not only dialects, but clearly defined languages. It would be against all common sense to change the Constitution to resemble the French Constitution. Look at what happens there – regional languages can’t get any support because of the article that states that French is the language of the Republic,’ Nelly Maes tells Eurolang.
Maes give the decision on the Corsican language as the most recent example, where the French Constitutional Council voted against a law that would have given certain legislative powers to Corsica, among them the power to decide over their language education. The French Interior Minister at the time of the law proposal (summer 2000), Jean-Pierre Chevènement – who is now one of the presidential candidates – resigned in protest against giving Corsica these powers.
Nelly Maes says that she spoke to European Commission President Romano Prodi – himself Italian – about constitutional matters yesterday: ‘Prodi used the word ‘impossible’ to describe how he feels about the Constitution proposal.' As an example of the linguistic diversity in Italy, Prodi mentioned his own parents, who come from the region Emilia Romagna. They consider their mother tongue as another language and not only a dialect of Italian.
‘UNESCO has said that there are almost 30 native languages in Italy. The Italian Parliament is ready to vote against UNESCO and freedom,’ warns Matteo Incerti.
The Italian Chamber of Deputies is due to make a decision on the Constitution change this week. (EL)