Doc. 8273
30 November 1998

Discrimination against the Italian minority in Istria
(Croatia)

Written Declaration No. 286

This written declaration commits only the members who have signed it

The undersigned, members of the Assembly, denounce the following:

—       the Croatian government recently ordered the President of the county of Istria, which has been declared a "multi-ethnic, multi-lingual region", to remove the bilingual sign displayed at the entry to the Regional Assembly in Pisino;

—       in addition, serious threats continue to be made against the writer Giacomo Scotti, a member of the Italian minority who has always been a keen proponent of the co-existence of Italian and Croat communities in Istria, including through an article published in the country's biggest daily newspaper, "Vjesnik", which speaks directly for President Tudjman's regime.

      They also point out that:

—       defending the use of bilingual signs must be seen as an expression of a more extensive right to use of Italian as an official language within the structures of the Istrian region;

—       the Italian and Croat Republics have concluded a treaty on the Italian minority's rights. Drawing inspiration from resolutions of the Council of Europe, the OSCE and other international organisations, this treaty acknowledges that minority's unity and specific characteristics and guarantees its established rights.

      They therefore invite the Committee of Ministers to urge the Croat government to take the necessary steps in order to honour the commitments which it has entered into vis-à-vis the Council of Europe.

Signed : ¹

Squarcialupi, Italy, SOC

Amoruso, Italy, EDG

Arnau, Spain, SOC

Bianchi, Italy, EPP/CD

Calleja, Spain, SOC

Durrieu, France, SOC

Gnaga, Italy, NR

Gross, Switzerland, SOC

Ponsonby, United Kingdom, SOC

Selva, Italy, EDG

Van der Maelen, Belgium, SOC

Volcic, Italy, SOC

_____________________

Total = 12

¹        SOC: Socialist Group

      EPP/CD: Group of the European People’s Party

      EDG:European Democratic Group

      LDR : Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group

      UEL : Group of the Unified European Left

      NR : Not registered in a group