The Cornish go to court

[Ceilteach]

I wonder what is the percentage of people who calls themselves Cornish rather than English and vise versa.

Fairplay to them for reviving Cornish.

[cornubian]

KERNOW - 'FRAMEWORK CONVENTION' FIGHT GOES ON

The failure of a 'fighting fund' to reach its financial target, created
to take the British Government to court, has not deterred Cornish
campaigners from continuing in pursuit of their goal.

The Cornish Fighting Fund was launched in May 2008 with the aim of
reaching a £100000 target to take the British Government to court
over their refusal to include the Cornish under the terms of the Framework
Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCPNM). However
the fund closed last month having only raised just over £40000, but
organisers of the fund said that this amount was remarkable in itself
"…given the traditional low pay of Cornwall coupled with the lack
of publicity and the credit crunch". The organisers went on to argue
on their website that:

"It should also be said that no other minority cultural group has
matched this amount of community support - as in all other cases legal
recognition and rights have been acquired through legal action brought
about via direct or indirect government funding. Only the Cornish
have been left to fund their own case."

Despite a distinct lack of media attention about Cornwall's 'fighting
fund', several comments and reports about the campaign reached the
London based media and was written about in a positive way, including
in a widely read article in the Guardian newspaper by human rights
campaigner Peter Tatchell. Now the fighting fund campaigners have
been invited to meet with the Equalities and Human Rights Commission
(EHRC) tomorrow in London to discuss matters further. Even though
the meeting has been arranged ahead of the draft publication of the
3rd UK Compliance report to the Council of Europe to explain what
the UK Government has done to meet its obligations under the FCPNM,
campaigners don't expect much to come out of the meeting. One of the
Cornish campaigners who will be at the meeting, told the League:

"It's a positive step, but we are not optimistic."

Campaigners have resigned themselves to the fact that for the Cornish
to gain any official legal status and recognition for their cultural
and national identity within the UK, they are going to have to continue
fighting every step of the way.

The Celtic League has written to the EHRC ahead of the meeting tomorrow
to request its support in recommending the UK Government that the
Cornish are included under the terms of the FCPNM. The full text of
the letter can be found below:

"Regional Manager
Equality and Human Rights Commission

09/02/09

Dear Sir

Inclusion of the Cornish under the Framework Convention for the Protection
of National Minorities (FCPNM)

I am writing to you on behalf of the Celtic League and ahead of your
meeting tomorrow with campaigners from Cornwall about the inclusion
of the Cornish under the Framework Convention for the Protection of
National Minorities.

We are aware that the UK Government is due to publish its 3rd compliance
report to the Council of Europe over the next few months about the
progress that has been made under the terms of the FCPNM. As an international
human rights organisation, the Celtic League would like to urge you,
to seriously consider the case for recommending to the UK Government
that the Cornish national minority be included under the terms of
the Convention.

We realise that the Commission for Racial Equality - with whom the
League and our members communicated with on this very topic on numerous
occasions - argued that for the Cornish to be included or officially
'recognised' under the terms of the Convention, a case in UK civil
law needed to have been won successfully. However we now know that
this is false, because a number of ethnic groups that are protected
by the Convention have never brought a civil case to court. We therefore
hope that the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), in its
new role, will be able to look more objectively at the Cornish case
and realise that the argument to include the Cornish national minority
under the FCPNM has a justified and solid basis.

As you will know, a 'Cornish Fighting Fund' was set up in May 2009,
in an attempt to raise £100 000 to take the UK Government to court
for dismissing the Cornish case for national minority status. Even
though only £40 000 was raised by the fund by its close in January
2009, it nevertheless demonstrates a massive commitment and strength
of feeling on the part of the Cornish community, to have their cultural
and ethnic identity officially recognised.

The Celtic League has stated (and restated) its commitment to the
recognition of the Cornish as a national minority at its annual general
meetings over the past few years and has unanimously agreed to resolutions
on this very topic. Enough time has lapsed since the UK Government
ratified the FCPNM without the recognition of the Cornish national
minority. We believe that with the support of the EHRC, we can rectify
this.

cc. Council of Europe, Directorate General of Human Rights and Legal
Affairs (DG-HL) Secretariat of the, Framework Convention for the Protection
of National Minorities

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