Austria: controversy on bilingual signs continues

[Harold F. Schiffman]

Austria: controversy on bilingual signs continues
Biel / Bienne, Thursday, 13 October 2005 by Peter Josika

Federal and regional representatives from across the political spectrum
commemorated the 85th anniversary of the 1920 Carinthian plebiscite during
an event in the provincial parliament at Klagenfurt/Celovec on Monday.

The plebiscite was ordered by the victorious powers of World War I to
determine if the bilingual area south of the Drau/Drava River was to
become part of the newly founded Yugoslavia, or to remain a part of
Austria. A majority of 56% of the mainly Slovenian population at the time
voted in favour of southern Carinthia remaining part of Austria.

During his speech Austrian chancellor Wolfgang Schssel praised his own
governments recent consensus conferences on bilingual signage, and what he
called enormous progress towards a long term solution. We need to find
consensus among Carinthians- between minority and majority- as only such a
solution can have any long term prospect. Added Mr Schssel.

Carinthian Governor Jorg Haider said that his government was prepared to
return to the negotiating table to make it clear to everyone that the
Carinthian declaration was not just a text written on a peace of paper. In
1920 the Carinthian parliament passed a declaration of unity including a
promise to protect Slovenian heritage in the province.

However, the president of the Austrian parliament, Andreas Khol, was
unexpectedly critical when he reminded parliament that Austria has still
only partially fulfilled its commitments as part of the 1955 state treaty
with which Austria regained its post-War independence. According to the
state treaty Austria has to protect Slovenian heritage and has to put up
bilingual signage in areas where Slovenes have traditionally lived.

There is also increasing criticism by the Austrian media about the
governments inability to find a consensus on additional bilingual signage,
in line with the constitution and state treaty.

In the meantime the so called Carinthian Defenders Organisation (Krntner
Abwehrkmpfer) has added fuel to the debate by categorically rejecting the
erection of any more bilingual signs. The head of the group, Mr.Fritz
Schretter, said that they had fought against a Slovenian Carinthia. The
struggle 85 years ago was not for a Slovenian Carinthia, he said at an
event staged at the Trade Fair Building of Klagenfurt/Celovec.

Groups like the Carinthian Defenders have recently stoked fears that the
bilingual signs would create what they call marked territory for future
attempts by Slovenia to change the state border line. Although this has
been rejected as a scare tactic by the media and most federal politicians,
they have created some anxiety and prejudice among the majority
population.

The right wing Carinthian Defenders were founded by pro-German/Austrian
groups in Carinthia that wanted to prevent the division of Carinthia
between Austria and former Yugoslavia after World War I. Eventually small
parts of southern Carinthia were attached to Yugoslavia and Italy,
however, most of bilingual southern Carinthia remained Austrian after the
plebiscite.(Eurolang 2005)


Article by ORF, in German
http://kaernten.orf.at/stories/63265/


Article by Kleine Zeitung, in German
http://www.kleinezeitung.at/nachrichten/politik/artikel/_730625/index.jsp


Council of Carinthian Slovenes
Narodni svet korokih Slovencev/Rat der Krntner Slowenen, in Slovene and
German
http://www.nsks.at/aktualno.php


http://www.eurolang.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2475&Itemid=1&lang=en