A presentation by Göran Hansson Scania/Skåneland The 18th Conference "Regionalism and Freedom of Identity" Copenhagen 21-23 August 1998 Cultures under threat A State - A Nation There are 5-6000 nations and peoples in the world. Nations and peoples are, by definition, groups of people who share the same historical background. One could say that nations and peoples are the result of cultural evolution in a particular place over a long period of time. A state, on the other hand, binds its citizens by legal and military means. A nation is a distinct people with a common history, territory, language and culture. In scientific terms it is erroneous to equate states and nations. But most people are indoctrinated to believe otherwise. The distinction between a state and a cultural nation in a region was not obscured until the period of the French Revolution in 1789, when the Jacobins attempted to harness the power of nationalism as a means to gain a further centralisation of state powers. The state claimed to be a nation. 90 percent of all states that have ever existed have perished. States come and go - nations and peoples persist. Dr Richards Griggs of Berkeley University expressed it metaphorically: "States are like shifting sands over the bedrock of nations". Today there are about 195 states. Out of these states, more than 125 are only about 50 years old or less. This may explain why many of today’s state governments have problems with legitimacy and popular support, both within their own states and internationally. In fact, one major problem we all face in the world today is that the state as an institution, with frightening regularity, produces despotic leaderships holding its own citizens and sometimes even the rest of the world to ransom. Cultures under threat The latest count of peoples and nations in Europe exceeds 120. There is an equal number in Russia. There are at least 56 distinct nations in China, in Indonesia - 2-300. There are about 1500 nations and peoples in Africa with 150 in Nigeria alone. This is the real "cultural diversity", which is mentioned so often in the context of the New Europe. These cultures are being threatened from two directions - one political and one commercial: From the State’s ambition to create within itself a nation with one culture, one language, one history, etc. From the globalisation of cultural activities - often illustrated by Hollywood, Coca-Cola and McDonalds The consequences are devastating: During 1995 alone there were more than 26 intra-state conflicts and civil wars in the world in which more than 1000 people were killed. Many of those suffering in such conflicts were minority peoples and nations. According to linguistic scientists more than one language - i.e. culture - is disappearing from the face of the earth every two weeks, all year around. The state governments are obviously lacking a sincere will to preserve the much-talked about "cultural diversity"”. Human cultural rights, as stated in the various international conventions on human rights, are often merely nice words on paper. The Scanian example It is widely regarded that Scania was, up to the year 1658, the most important region of Denmark. It was culturally one of the most developed areas of Scandinavia. In 1658 Sweden invaded Denmark, which was eventually forced to relinquish Scania – a major part of its land. Later attempts by Denmark to recapture Scania by force - the last attempt in 1720 - failed. Scania became a peripheral province to Sweden. It was described in official Swedish documents as “a domestic but foreign land”. Scania was culturally set back into the dark ages. For two hundred years not one single book was written in the Scanian language. During the first half of this century a regional awareness awakened with demands for protection of the Scanian language, for history teaching in the Scanian schools, etc. These attempts by individuals and organisations were eventually crushed by a wave of state nationalism preceding the Second World War. In the fifties and early sixties the ideas of regional autonomy grew in the Scanian population but these were again crushed by the State. The weapons this time were ridicule and defamation of everything Scanian. Even the Scanian flag was a victim of this policy and many Scanians, who previously had hoisted the flag on their flag poles, now put it away in a drawer – afraid to use it again. The Scanian Conclusions In 1989 a group of persons met to discuss the Scanian problem. It was decided then that a serious effort should be made to achieve a re-emergence of Scanian cultural awareness in the region. The modern Scanian Movement was born. Two regions in Europe were particularly targeted as sources of experiences from which the Scanian Movement could benefit - Scotland in the United Kingdom and Flanders in Belgium. Over the years, three major conclusions were drawn from the studies of Scotland and Flanders as well as from meetings with representatives of movements of these two regions: The movement in Flanders started in the late sixties and obtained their self- determination - a federal form of government - in the early nineties. The movement in Scotland got themselves organised in the early seventies and obtained promises of self-determination in 1997. In both cases it took 25 years to achieve the goals. Our conclusion is that it may take 25 years for any movement to sway a popular opinion to a majority vote in favour of devolution. We have been active for ten years now and feel that things now are slowly moving in our direction. We have 15 years to go. It may seem like a long time, but we accept that a democratic change will always take its time. We are sure that with persistence we will get there. A regional movement - if it wants to be successful - must work on all levels of the society. The activities must range from promoting the use of the regional flag and all types of regional cultural activities such as, for instance, the singing of songs from the region in the children’s classroom as well as restoring the regional architecture, literature and food traditions. It also means being active in non-partisan politics, promoting regionalism as a modern political alternative. In the last 10 years we have seen a number of interest organisations emerge in Scania - the Scanian Literary Academy, the Scanian Academy of Gastronomy, the Association for the Scanian Flag and others. We are now seeing artists sing in Scanian, something unthinkable 10 years ago. The problems of nations and peoples are universal. It is the deep concern of all regional movements that the respective people’s ways of life - their cultures and languages - are about to become eradicated. We share this concern with all nations and peoples of the world. The Scanian regional movement looked for an international organisation in which we could both draw experiences from other movements and give support to others. The Unrepresented Nations and People’s Organisation (UNPO) is such an organisation. The European Union The expression "Regions of Europe" is used as often today as the "European Community". Devolution and decentralisation are very important parts of the politics of the European Union. It is part of a European desire to reduce the possibilities of further state conflicts on the European soil. The Maastricht and Amsterdam treaties are emphasising the importance of cultural diversity and supporting international conventions on human cultural rights. No doubt the work of diminishing the influence of the state, in an orderly manner, in favour of regions is in process: Economy - Common currency. The Central Bank activities are being placed under a common European control. Borders - The concept of the Four Freedoms has diminished the importance of the present state borders considerably. Defence - The European defence is, within the framework of NATO, already to a large degree placed under a common European control. Democracy - The European Union is, contrary to what is sometimes claimed in popular debate, a decentralisation project. This means that everyday political decisions will be taken nearer the people under the concept of the subsidiarity principle, in which the region will become an important decision making level. The Regions of Europe is becoming a reality. Culture - Issues concerning culture and languages are placed under the regional authorities (Committee of Regions). The European Union has thereby accepted that culture has different boundaries from the state’s borders. Europe on a new path. The European Union has entered on a path which is very promising, not only for nations and peoples in Europe, but - in its extension - for all peoples and nations of the world. The goal is to introduce a certain amount of self-rule and autonomy in the regions as well as to support inter-regional co-operation across state borders. There appears to be little doubt that the European Union is attempting to re-create and strengthen the cultural diversity in Europe. The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation - UNPO The UNPO is situated in The Hague. It is slowly but surely establishing itself as a very important organisation for the protection of the right of nations and peoples to self- determination and for the protection of every nation’s and people’s cultural survival. The UNPO is promoting the idea of peaceful and democratic solutions for nations and peoples all over the world. Although the present situation and political aspirations of all UNPO members differs greatly, the regional devolutionary development within the European Union is closely monitored by the members of the organisation. The Future There are today three important supporting elements, which Flanders and Scotland did not have, but may be in favour of any new regional movement: A Europe in favour of devolution. Organisations - the UNPO - to give support to members striving for self- determination. The introduction of Internet - the World Wide Web – which effectively puts an end to the control and censorship of state and mass media information. The modern Scanian Movement has been active for ten years. If it is a correct assumption that it takes 25 years to peacefully and democratically sway the majority of the Scanian population to favour devolution, as in Scotland and Flanders, we have 15 years to go. It may seem a long time, but we are sure that we will get there. The key is patience and persistence, as well as the boldness to strive for a vision of a better world - and the realisation that even global changes start at home! Let’s end with a quotation by Jo Coudert from the book, "Leadership": "If you defy the system long enough, you will be rewarded. At first life takes revenge and reduces you to a snivelling mess. But keep snivelling, have the madness, the audacity, to do what interests you, forget about your person, and eventually life will say, all right we’ll let you do it." Marieholm, Sweden Göran Hansson Chairman SSF / Vice Chairman UNPO © SSF

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