SUMMARY
Sorbian National Party / Lusatian Alliance as a National Minority and Regional PartyLusatian Sorbs are the smallest Slavic ethnic group. They live in Lusatia, which is part of the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg. The Lusatian Sorbs engage in political activities at the local, regional, state and national levels. In 2005, the Sorbian National Party (in the Lower Sorbian language: Serbska ludowa strona, SLS) was founded, and in 2010 its name was changed to the Lusatian Alliance (Lužyska alianca, LA). The Party’s leader is Hannes Kell. The organisation is both a national minority and a regional party. The Party’s programme includes the introduction of equal status of both German and Lusatian languages within the Sorbian territory, promotion of the Lusatian language in Lusatia, obtaining political autonomy for Lusatian Sorbs, as well as striving for the reduction and eventual closure of open pit lignite mining, which causes damage to the environment and destroys the region’s villages. The Lusatian Alliance desires to hold a democratic election and appoint Sorbian authorities that would have a budget at their disposal to financially manage and oversee Sorbian education.