LL-L "In the news" 2005.09.16 (05) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 16.SEP.2005 (05) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: R. F. Hahn <lowlands-l at lowlands-l.net>
Subject: In the news

Folks,

Below please find an article published in the latest issue of Eurolang 
(http://www.eurolang.net/).

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

***

FRISIANS MARK 50 YEARS OF CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION

Auerk/Aurich, Monday, 29 August 2005 Contributed by Onno P. Falkena

"It's about time we stop referring to ourselves as Dutch Frisians or German 
Frisians. We are just Frisians, period. And we happen to live in the 
Netherlands or in Germany.'' These words were spoken last Saturday by Ingwer 
Nommensen, President of the  Ynterfryske Rie (Interfrisian Council), during 
a gathering to mark the 50th anniversary of the Frisian Manifesto in Aurich, 
Germany.

Several hundred Frisians gathered at the Upstalsbeam historic site in Aurich 
to mark the anniversary. In the early Middle Ages leaders from the 'seven 
Frisian sealands' met at the Upstalsbeam, a tradition upheld by present-day 
Frisians from North Friesland (Schleswig-Holstein), East Friesland 
(Niedersachsen) and Fryslân in the Netherlands.

The Frisian Manifesto was issued in 1955 during the first postwar gathering 
of Frisians from Germany and Netherlands, which also took place in Aurich. 
The manifesto asked for two things: full recognition for the Frisian 
language and culture, and a unified Europe. "The Frisians were well ahead of 
their time,'' president Helmut Collmann of the Ostfriesischen Landschaft 
said in a speech marking the occasion. "The manifesto was a step towards 
[postwar] reconciliation. It was the Frisian Council (Friesenrat) that 
helped us to start working together across the border and taught us the 
value of safeguarding our own language and culture.''

Collaboration between Fryslân in the Netherlands and the two Frieslands in 
Germany has never been easy due to the very different situation that 
prevails in the three regions. In North Friesland in Schleswig-Holstein only 
10.000 people out of a population of 150.000 speak North Frisian. Danish, 
German, Low German and South Jutlandish are also spoken in the area.

When it comes to developments such as multilingual education, teaching 
material, Frisian media, Frisian music and bilingual signs, North Frisians 
have drawn inspiration from Fryslân in the Netherlands, where the language 
is stronger (360.000 speakers out of a population of 600.000).

Frisian actually died out in the 19th century in East Friesland 
(Niedersachsen). The population now speaks a regional variety of Low German, 
which they call East Frisian (Ostfreesk). A few kilometres south of East 
Friesland is the community of Saterland, where approximately 1.000 people in 
three villages have managed to preserve East Frisian. They call their 
language Seelter Frysk.

"With all these differences one can only admire and respect the Interfrisian 
Council that they have managed to carry on for fifty years,'' said political 
scientist Piet Hemminga of the Fryske Akademy in Ljouwert (Fryslân). 
"Especially because the authorities in both Germany and the Netherlands have 
shown little interest in supporting Frisian collaboration across the 
border.''

Today the main activity of the Ynterfryske Rie (Interfrisian Council) is the 
organisation of annual exchanges for young people, farmers, politicians and 
teachers. They organise a conference every three years, and a reunion on the 
Frisian island of Helgoland, also held once every three years.

During the weekend Frisians from north, east and west discussed a new 
manifesto, which was prepared by the North Frisians. The new manifesto calls 
upon authorities in both countries to support the Frisian language and 
common Frisian identity according to European standards. Collaboration 
between all Frisians should be strengthened, says the new manifesto. "It is 
about time that Ynterfryske Rie becomes a professional organisation'', said 
president Ingwer Nommensen. "At present all our work is being done by 
volunteers. With only volunteers we can never fulfil our ambitions.'' 
Nommensen is hopeful that thanks to recent developments such as the Frisian 
language law in Schleswig-Holstein and the European Charter for Regional and 
Minority Languages it will be possible to convince the authorities in both 
Germany and the Netherlands that the cross-border collaboration between 
Frisians deserves more support than it received in the past.

Sticking up for Frisian identity

Near the Upstalsbeam the Greater Frisian Action Group 'Groep fan Auwerk' 
handed out official-looking FRL stickers for the visitors to place on their 
cars. Dutch authorities had already warned that it is forbidden to hide the 
official NL sign on vehicle number plates. "Right now we leave it up to the 
people how they want to use the FRL sign. They may get a fine if they put it 
over the NL sign, but they can put it elsewhere as well. We simply demand 
the right to identify ourselves as Frisians,'' said spokesman Siwert 
Reinarda of the Groep fan Auwerk. The group has been giving stickers to 
politicians of all parties and asking them for new number plates which offer 
space for two signs, NL or D to the left and FRL to the right. President 
Ingwer Nommensen of Ynterfryske Rie commented, "It's about time we have the 
right to express ourselves freely as Frisian, even on our cars.'' Earlier 
this year the same group asked all Frisian senators in the Netherlands to 
allow Frisians to declare their nationality as 'Frisian' in the Dutch 
passport. The Frisian parliament is expected to discuss the issue later this 
year. (Eurolang © 2005)

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