Organisation founded

Silesian Autonomy Movement (RAŚ) founded, 1990

A movement seeking to restore Silesian autonomy, later shifting toward advocating a regionalised Polish state, was founded.

What happened

The Silesian Autonomy Movement (RAŚ) was founded as an organisation in January 1990 and formally registered as a voluntary association on 27 June 2001, led by Jerzy Gorzelik and headquartered in Rybnik.[1] It originally sought to restore the autonomy the Silesian Voivodeship held from 1920 to 1945, proposing a separate Silesian treasury, parliament, constitution and elected president, and considers Silesians a separate nation.[2]

Since around 2010, RAŚ has shifted toward advocating a regionalised unitary Polish state with devolved powers for Silesia and other regions.[3] It entered the Silesian regional assembly for the first time in 2010 (3 seats, growing to 4) and again in 2014 (4 seats), though it and rival regionalist groups failed to win seats in 2018.[4][5]

Sources for this page

Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.

  1. 1.

    Claim: The Silesian Autonomy Movement (Ruch Autonomii Śląska, RAŚ) was founded as an organisation in January 1990 and formally registered as a voluntary association on 27 June 2001, led by Jerzy Gorzelik and headquartered in Rybnik.

  2. 2.

    Claim: RAŚ originally aimed to restore the autonomy the Silesian Voivodeship held from 1920 to 1945, proposing a separate Silesian treasury, a Silesian parliament, a Silesian constitution and an elected president; it considers Silesians a separate nation.

    • Silesian Autonomy Movement (Wikipedia) link, Aims and ideology section. Source record
  3. 3.

    Claim: Since around 2010, RAŚ has shifted from seeking a restoration of the historic 1920-1945 autonomy toward advocating the creation of a regionalised unitary Polish state with devolved powers for Silesia and other regions.

    • Silesian Autonomy Movement (Wikipedia) link, Programme evolution section. Source record
  4. 4.

    Claim: RAŚ entered the Silesian Voivodeship regional assembly for the first time in 2010, winning 3 seats (growing to 4 during the term), and again in 2014 with 4 seats from the outset.

    • Silesian Autonomy Movement (Wikipedia) link, Electoral history section. Source record
  5. 5.

    Claim: At the 2018 regional election, contesting as the Silesian Regional Party, RAŚ (3.1%) and the rival Ślonzoki Razem (3.23%) both won seats short of the electoral threshold, and no regionalist group entered the regional parliament.

Source note

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