A/49/415/Add.1
English
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62. The Government of Yugoslavia pointed out that the cultural activities of
the members of the Bulgarian national minority were of a long-standing tradition
and played a special role in the preservation and fostering of national
identity. Cultural and artistic work unfolded through the cultural centres in
Dimitrovgrad and Bosilegrad. There were two cultural and art societies of the
Bulgarian national minority, as well as the "Hristo Botev" amateur theatre,
which offered plays in Bulgarian. The municipal library of Dimitrovgrad has a
stock of about 30,000 titles in Bulgarian, while the municipal library in
Bosilegrad has about 14,000 titles. International cooperation was traditionally
the interchange of cultural programmes and guest performances with cultural
institutions in Bulgaria.
63. Bearing in mind what has been said above, it may be stated that the
aforesaid States took measures to guarantee the right of persons belonging to
minorities to equal participation in cultural activities. It is difficult to
form an accurate estimate of guarantees of this right by those States because
some of them (Denmark and Germany) described in detail the measures aimed at the
promotion of this right, one State (Belarus) pointed out only some of those
measures, while another State (Sweden) did not mention them at all. It may be
stated, however, that the States guarantee equality of cultures and provide
access to the culture of both the majority population and ethnic groups.
C.
The right to profess and practise their own religion
64. The Governments of Denmark and Germany pointed out that the members of the
German minority in the rural communities belonged to the Evangelical-Lutheran
Nordschleswigsche Kirche (North Schleswig Church), an evangelical free church
under Danish law, which is financed by its own income and by funds from the
Nordelbische Kirche (Protestant Church) in Germany. In the four towns in the
area inhabited by the minority, the Government of Denmark met on a legal basis
the personnel and material costs for four German parishes within the scope of
the Danish national church.
65. Church activities of the Danish minority are organized by the Dansk Kirke
in Sydslesvig (Evangelical-Lutheran Danish Church in South Schleswig). As a
registered association under Germany law it is a free church, with 44 parishes
and 24 pastors. It is independent of the North Elbe Evangelical-Lutheran Church
in Germany and of the Folkekirke (national church) in Denmark, but cooperates
closely with the Dansk Kirke i Udlandet (Danish Church Abroad), a private
organization in Odense, Denmark.
D.
The right to use their own language
66. The Bonn/Copenhagen Declarations of 1955 contained provisions concerning
the right of pertinent minorities to use their own languages. The relevant
paragraphs of the Declarations read as follows:
"Members of the two national minorities and their organizations may
not be impeded in the spoken or written use of their chosen language.
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