Madeleine Lnn

[Skriv text]

Student number: 2502284

Plea in favor of the Kongui Christians

Being a part of the Colombian society means that you are a citizen with Colombian rights. These rights include all Colombian people no matter what you look like, believe in or act like. Among these rights in the Colombian constitution is the right of citizen freedom and especially religious freedom 1. If this is to be seen from the perspective that minority groups need special protection to keep up with the majority, the maintenance of this citizen freedom is according to the famous Canadian politic philosophe Kymlicka strong connected to culture and free exercise of culture2. The special treatment of minority groups he continues is though depending on internal liberality within the minority groups. This leads us to the question regarding if Kongui meets Kymlickas requirements of special rights. If the Christians cant practice their religion, which is a part of their culture, the Kongui tribe should not have the right to special treatment from the government. As you can see, this is a perfect indication of a group that is not internally liberal and furthermore there is no incitement for special rights if the government wants to follow Kymlickas line of research made on this area. Another question is what does it take to be classified as a member of a minority group? The Christians in the Kongui tribe could also be called a minority group in the bigger minority group of Kongui, and as the Colombian Constitution states have the right to special protection3. On the other hand the argument for special protection from the government could be discussed to increase elitism or nationalism in the society. It could easily become a conflict about who is considered a member and who is not. Furthermore if the members have special rights dont that mean that those citizens are more worth than other citizens. That could not be said being about preserve an endangered culture but instead violating basic human rights, that all humans are equal. By noting that the Christians dont have the right to religious freedom as all other citizens of Colombia is more or less to invalidate what have been Colombian policy since they became a member of The United Nations in 1945 4. Madeleine Lnn

1 2 3 4

http://confinder.richmond.edu/admin/docs/colombia_const2.pdf, kap 2, 21-11-2011 http://confinder.richmond.edu/admin/docs/colombia_const2.pdf, kap 2, 21-11-2011 http://www.worldometers.info/united-nations/, 21-11-2011

Kymlicka, Will, Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995)