From 29
May to 1 June, 1997 the Fourth World Congress of Rusyns was held in Budapest,
Hungary.
Delegates to this gathering accepted the following
report:
- The World Congress of Rusyns declares that the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Poland, and the Slovak
Republic have acknowledged Rusyns as an distinct nationality. We regretfully
state that Ukraine has not taken this step, which violates the Framework
Convention on the Protection of National Minorities and the Constitution
of their own state,
- The World Congress of Rusyns appeals to the state organs of Ukraine
and its representatives to recognize Rusyns as a distinct minority and
to respect the result of the popular referendum from the year 1991 held
in Subcarpathian Rus' / the Transcarpathian Oblast of Ukraine,
- The World Congress of Rusyns calls upon representatives of the United
Nations and the Council of Europe to use their authority and address the
respect of human rights of Rusyns in accordance with the European standard
at the end of the 20th century,
- The World Congress of Rusyns calls upon the parliaments of states on
whose territories Rusyns live, to prepare relevant legislation which will
enable at least one of their parliament members to have the right to represent
their nationality in parliament "according to the law", as understood
with respect to the practice of the parliaments of the various states,
- The World Congress of Rusyns calls upon the clergy of the Greek Catholic
and Orthodox Churches, that they will become, according to the example
of the 19th century national awakeners, bearers of the spiritual renewal
of Rusyns, that by their own example they would strive to eliminate the
negative artificially imported problems between these two confessions,
which are damaging to Rusyns. "Spiritual fathers, commit yourselves
to the preservation of the Old Slavonic liturgy and the Cyrillic alphabet,
as the primary identifying marks of our people",
- The World Congress of Rusyns solemnly commemorates the 50th anniversary
of the tragedy of Rusyns (Lemkos) carried out under the name "Akcja
Wisla", in order that this sad jubilee will serve as a memorial for
the present and future generations of Rusyns. We are turning to the state
organs of the Republic of Poland and its representatives, that they would
not only acknowledge "Akcja Wisla" as an act of injustice, but
will undertake steps toward compensation for the moral and material injustices
which occurred as a result of it,
- The World Congress of Rusyns declares its reverence for the suffering
of extreme violence inflicted against Rusyns and other native inhabitants
of Subcarpathian Rus' in concentration camps in Rachov in 1938, and in
Svaljava in 1945, the World Congress of Rusyns at the same time condemns
the signing of the Fierlinger-Molotov pact, as an act in violation of international
law,
The World Congress of Rusyns has approved that the Fifth World Congress
of Rusyns will be held in 1999 in Ukraine, in the geographic territory
of Subcarpathian Rus'.
Resolutions of the Fourth World Congress of Rusyns
1. The Congress assigns the Interregional Committee of the World Council
of Rusyns to arrange meetings with representatives of the governments of
Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia and the Czech Republic with the
goal of discussing and solving the problems of Rusyns in those states,
2. the Congress assigns to the chief representatives of Rusyn nationality
organizations which are members of the World Council of Rusyns, that in
every country where Rusyns live, that they achieve recognition of Rusyns
as a distinct national minority with the right of every Rusyn to freely
identify oneself as Rusyn, and that in the next census of population there
will be on the census forms the category "Rusyn",
3. the Congress assigns the Interregional Committee of the World Council
of Rusyns: to guarantee, by the time of the Fifth World Congress of Rusyns,
the publishing of an anthology of Rusyn prose and a concise encyclopedia
of Rusyn history and culture; and to begin, on the part of scholars, the
preparation of a universal history of Rusyns,
4. the Congress assigns the Interregional Committee of the World Council
of Rusyns and the chief representatives of Rusyn national cultural-social
organizations to set up and support the teaching of Rusyn language and
culture in schools,
5. the Congress assigns the Interregional Committee of the World Council
of Rusyns to create the financial fund of the World Council of Rusyns.
Budapest, 1 June 1997
English-language version prepared by Richard D. Custer, Carpatho-Rusyn
Society, from original text provided by Jan Lipinsky.
Back To Carpatho-Rusyn Knowledge Base Main Page