Sorbian/Wendish settlement area needs high attractiveness and is to be determined by the Sorbian/Wendish people themselves

The Sorbian/Wendish parliament has the following to say about the will of some Brandenburg municipalities to leave the Sorbian settlement area: „The Sorbian/Wendish settlement area should be able to develop dynamically. It shall be defined by the Sorbian/Wendish people, taking into account verifiable criteria."

Hanzo Wylem-Keł, Lower Sorbian deputy of the Serbski Sejm and spokesman of the regional committee demands: „The affiliation should offer advantages for the inhabitants and be attractive for the municipalities. It is therefore necessary that the municipalities are fully relieved of costs and expenses by the state and the county and that the potentials of affiliation to the settlement area (e.g. from ILO169 rights and regional self-determination) are proactively publicised.“

However, the arguments of the municipality should give pause for thought: A resulting high effort cannot be decisive, but must be solved by support. The statement that there are no people of Wendish/Sorbian confession on site is not recorded or cannot be verified, and furthermore is refuted by the public confession of at least one person. If there are no Wendish/Sorbian traditions locally because of a lack of funds for community facilities and knowledge about the issue of regional self-determination, this distorts the situation and can also be resolved through support.

The Law on the Arrangement of the Rights of the Sorbs/Wends in the State of Brandenburg (Sorben/Wenden-Gesetz - SWG) has so far stipulated: „Ancestral settlement areas within the meaning of this law are [...] those communities and parts of communities [...] in which a continuous linguistic or cultural tradition can be proven up to the present.“