Swiss Canton Model for Self-Determination
File photo of Switzerland
Collective rights are needed to avoid assimilation, said Katalin Szili, the prime minister’s chief advisor, at the launch of a book entitled The Autonomy of the Swiss Canton of Jura, the Struggle for Self-Determinationin Bratislava on Wednesday.
She stressed that we need to talk about how to create a future for Hungarians in Slovakia today and that this involves practices that have proved successful in Europe, where self-government has been established and the creation of the Canton of Jura, a practically autonomous province in Switzerland, is an example of this. She added that it would be good if everyone knew what this meant because it is not at all about secession or autonomy but about what is linked to the principles of European subsidiarity, i.e. that the community which has the most information and the most interest in deciding its own destiny, should decide on its own destiny.
Katalin Szili said that the book launch and its timing is both a tribute to the Hungarians who were deported from Czechoslovakia after the Second World War, and to those who have not received any apology for what happened, and also to create a common knowledge of the self-governance practices in Europe.
The prime minister’s chief adviser stressed that at the very least, there should be a dialogue with the majority of society on the issue, on what we think about European subsidiarity, and how decentralization can be achieved, i.e. how certain central powers can be devolved to the regions.
“We do not want to turn back the clock of history, we just want partnership and dialogue, we want 21st century solutions, and we don’t want to talk about collective guilt today, we prefer to talk about collective rights,” said Szili.
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Katalin Szili, the prime minister’s chief advisor, has said that collective rights are necessary to avoid assimilation. Speaking at a book launch in Bratislava, Szili stressed the importance of discussing how to create a future for Hungarians in Slovakia «that involves practices that have proved successful in Europe where self-government has been established». She cited the creation of the Canton of Jura, a practically autonomous province in Switzerland, as an example of successful self-governance. Szili said that the book launch was a tribute to those who were deported from Czechoslovakia after the Second World War and also aimed to create common knowledge of European self-governance practices.
