Secondary school leavers set fire to a Hungarian flag in the centre of Szabadka on Friday, according to an eyewitness account reported by the Vojvodina-based news outlet Szabad Magyar Szó.
According to the report, graduating pupils in recent years have traditionally paraded through the streets on their final day of classes waving Serbian flags. This year, however, the school’s headteacher also permitted the use of the Hungarian flag. One male student took up the opportunity, but his actions were met with hostility from two Serbian youths.
“They tore the flag from around my neck and then set it alight on the Korzó in full view of everyone,” said the student, who requested anonymity. He added that the remains of the flag were later recovered by pupils from another class, who continued to wave it. When the aggrieved Serbian students returned, teachers intervened to prevent further escalation.
The student also noted that there had previously been no ethnically motivated incidents at the school, and that he had not experienced any disadvantage due to his Hungarian nationality. The episode, he said, came as a shock both to him and his peers.
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The school has filed a complaint against the two Serbian students, and the burnt flag has been handed over to the police as evidence. The alleged perpetrators have been detained, statements have been taken, and an investigation is ongoing.
While ethnically driven incidents were relatively common during the 1990s, such occurrences have been rare in Vojvodina in recent years.
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