Hungarians Turn To U.S. About Slovak Language Law Amid Demos

The American-Hungarian Federation (AHF) has held discussions with members of the Obama administration, including the issue of the rights of Slovakia’s large Hungarian minority.

According to Politics.hu, Frank Koszorus Jr. Co-Chairman of the AHF addressed a meeting of the Central East European Coalition (CEEC) which represents 18 ethnic organisations in America. Present at the meeting were senior policy-makers of the Obama government, including National Security Adviser Anthony Blinken and Michael McFaul, senior director special adviser to the president for Russian and Eurasian affairs. The AHF website reported that Koszorus said:

It was important for the CEEC to hear from the President and Vice President’s foreign policy advisors about the administration’s approach to key issues relating to Russia and Central and Eastern Europe.

He added that the newly adopted Slovak language law was not in line with basic human rights:

It was equally important for us to reiterate that democracy and the respect for human and minority rights are critical for regional security and stability, especially in view of the highly objectionable and discriminatory language law adopted by Slovakia.

The report follows yesterday’s demonstration by thousands of ethnic Hungarians in Dunajská Streda (Dunaszerdahely in Hungarian). The demonstration of between seven and 10,000 Hungarians was aimed at elements in the law that banned the use of Hungarian, which has been in regular use in Hungarian-majority areas. Elements of the law which have angered Hungarians include the demand, according to a copy of the law obtained by Digital Journal, which states:

The state language is used for the indication of names of settlements and their parts

7a), names of streets and other public places and other geographic names.

7b) as well as the data contained in state maps including cadastre maps; the designation of settlements and the designation of streets and other local geographic signs in the languages of national minorities are regulated by particular provisions.

This annoys Hungarians, whose ancestors, along with other ethnic groups, built the cities in question and whose names were traditionally written in Hungarian, German or Slovak. This changed when Czechoslovakia was created in 1918. Later, the then Czechoslovak government ethnically cleansed German-speakers in 1945, so the German names are no longer used much. The deportation of tens of thousands of Hungarians at the same time did not change the demographics enough to wipe out the names. Slovak politicians condemned the demonstration, saying it was based on seeking political power, not rights, The BBC reports that the Hungarian government has turned to international human rights organisations for help. Péter Pázmány, a member of the opposition Hungarian Coalition Party in Slovakia, says the law:

Makes no sense... (it) only creates tension between people who have lived peacefully side by side.

People found misusing Slovak in a public place or office now face a fine of $7,000, which equals a year’s pay in the country.