“Csíksomlyói Búcsú” is the largest catholic celebration of the year for Hungarians. Yesterday hundreds of thousands of Hungarians gathered to be together on the occasion of Pentecost. Here you can see the exclusive Photo Gallery with 34 pictures:
Related post: “Csíksomlyói Búcsú” – The Largest Catholic Celebration Of The Year For Hungarians On June 7
Photo: Daily News Hungary
(MTI) – The Hungarian nation can be proud of having survived the Trianon Peace Treaty of June 4, 1920, Zsolt Semjen, the deputy prime minister in charge of Hungarian communities abroad, said on Wednesday.
June 4 is the day of mourning, remembrance and a historical lesson at the same time, he said. It is a day of mourning, because the Trianon Treaty was the greatest tragedy of the nation after the division of historical Hungary in 1541, Semjen said. It is the time of remembrance, as well, because forgetting about one of the most tragic events in Hungarian history would amount to national suicide, he said. A historical lesson can be drawn from the events of 1920: Trianon could have been avoided with a completely unified nation, argued Semjen.
“We should be proud of Hungarian heroes, who, living outside the borders of Hungary, have remained true Hungarians under all circumstances,”
In his message marking Cohesion Day, Arpad Potapi, the chairman of parliament’s national cohesion committee representing ruling Fidesz, said that a strong cohesion within the nation makes the country stronger.
He said that commemorations had been held over the past four years and as a result Hungarian communities abroad had become an “inseparable part” of the Hungarian nation.
Addressing a commemoration in Budapest, Zsolt Nemeth, the foreign affairs state secretary, stated support to Transcarpathia’s Hungarian community, their dual citizenship, the use of their mother tongue and their representation in Ukraine’s parliament. He noted that some 600,000 people had obtained Hungarian citizenship in a fast-track procedure introduced four years ago.
Marking the day, the opposition Socialists said Trianon was a wrong and unjust peace treaty which is remembered by all Hungarians as an unforgettable tragedy.
Radical nationalist Jobbik said that only commemorating the Trianon anniversary was not enough, lessons of that event must also be learnt.
The opposition LMP party called for territorial autonomy for Szekler Land, as a precondition for building strong and viable Hungarian communities.
Opposition E-PM said in a press release that the Trianon Treaty was unjust and was a tragedy of all Hungarians. The party called for a new approach, a “change of era” in addressing Hungary’s great 20th century national tragedies such as Trianon, the communist dictatorship and the Holocaust.
Ethnic Hungarian communities in neighbouring countries also held commemorations to mark the day.
Addressing an event in Backi Vinogradi (Kiralyhalom) near Subotica in northern Serbia, Istvan Pasztor, head of the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians, said local Hungarians form a viable community that can and wants to contribute to building a strong Hungary and a strong Hungarian nation.
The head of the Hungarian People’s Party of Transylvania (EMNP), Tibor T Toro told a commemoration in central Romania’s Targu Mures (Marosvasarhely) that National Cohesion Day is an occasion for the ethnic Hungarian community to address its future instead of mulling over the past.
Zsuzsanna Repas, deputy state secretary for Hungarian communities abroad, said in southern Slovakia’s Levice (Leva) that June 4 marks the day when members of the Hungarian community in the Carpathian Basin declare responsibility towards one another.
Hungary observes National Cohesion Day on June 4. The day commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Trianon, in 1920, under which two-thirds of Hungary’s territory was ceded to neighbouring countries. The day has been marked since 2010.
Photo: MTI – Lajos Soos
Charles, the Prince of Wales was visited Transylvania and he tried the Hungarian “pálinka” and the chimney cake and he was dancing for the music of the Heveder Band – itthon.ma reported.
During his visit in his real estate in Zalánpatak (Valea Zalanului) the duke went out to meet and get acquainted with the locals. He was an invited guest in one of the houses in the village where he could taste and try the local drinks and meals.
According to Romanian TV news, Prince Charles also visited that Szekler flower garden which was given as a gift to the youngest member of the British royal family in October. Prince George, the youngest member of the British royal family received this flower garden from the family of Count Tibor Kálnoky as his gift of baptism. The Price of Wales is a returning guest in Romania, and often mentions how special the relationship is between the people and environment of Transylvania. He also thinks that this connection is unique and there is no other place in Europe where we could find this kind of close relationship.
The British Royal Family can boast with Transylvanian-Hungarian family roots: the great-great grandmother of II. Queen Elisabeth – namely Klaudia Rhédey – was born in Erdőszentgyörgy in 1812 and she grew up in the Rhédey castle.
based on article of itthon.ma
translated by Valentina Leanyfalvi
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and tourists are going to visit the Csíksomolyói Whitesun, the biggest religious and Christian event in Transylvania in 2014. This year the traditional pilgrimage will be held in the area of the Transylvanian town called Csíksomlyó between the 6th and 10th June.
Csíksomolyó is a famous place of pilgrimage of Székely-Hungarian Catholics. The historical event has been held since 1990 and hundreds of thousands of religious people and tourists pilgrimage to the “Csíksomolyói búcsú” to take part in the celebration. Each year lots of Hungarian Catholics take part in this big ceremonial event and give their respect before the Blessed Virgin Mary in Transylvania. A night Mass and vigil opens this enormous ceremony on each Pentecost Friday.
According to karpateuropa.hu website, there are special trains which take the passengers and tourist to the venue. The number of the special trains has increased since 2008. At present there are 3 different types of trains – the Székely Gyors and Csíksomlyó Expressz as well as the Boldogasszony Zarándokvonat – which carry the tourists from Budapest to the final destination each year. Interestingly, the Hungarian State Railways (MÁV) and the Carpathian Europe Travel Agency decorate the trains with motifs which are related to the history of Hungarians. Train tickets can be purchased online or at the Travel Agency. Moreover, there are some packages for tourists and pilgrims in which meals and lodging are included in the tickets. Thus, those pilgrims who come by train could sleep at Székely-Hungarian families – as part of the country tourism – and get full meals during the whole event.
The event will start at 7pm on 6th June with a holy mass and then an all-night-long vigil will be held in the Pilgrim Church in Csíksomlyó. The event will be continued with confessions and holy masses on Saturday morning. The climax of the event is the Ceremonial Holy Mass which will be held at “Hármashalom oltár” from 12:30 on Saturday. The “Hármashalom oltár” is a venue in the saddle between the mountains of “Kissomlyó” and “Nagysomlyó”.
After the big Holy Mass night vigils and holy masses will continuously be held in the Pilgrim Church in Csíksomlyó. The “Csíksomolyó Farewell and Pilgrim” officially finishes with the Holy Mass on Sunday morning and with the departure of the groups of pilgrims and tourists. However, on Monday and Tuesday (9th-10th June) holy masses will be held three times a day at the Pilgrim Church.
The “Csíksomlyói búcsú” program will take place from 6th June to 10th June and lots of travel agencies and websites organize special tickets for the ceremony which includes the transport, meals and lodging as well.
For those who would like to travel there by car and spend one or two days only in this wonderful place it’s highly recommended to watch the roads and traffic changes carefully sduring the whole event.
based on article of szekelyfoldiinfo.ro, karpateuropa.hu
translated by Valentina Leanyfalvi
Photo: Daily News Hungary
According to mediafax and szekelyhon.ro websites, Prince Charles has already arrived to Transylvania for a private visit.
The private jet of the British heir Crown prince landed on Marosvásarhely airport on Tuesday afternoon. Prince Charles travelled to the village in the province Brassó called Viscri where he checked and visited his private country house. Then he went to Miklósvár to spend the night at the grof Tibor Kálnoky’s residence.
Székelyhon.ro and the mediafax news agency also noted that the duke was going to travel to Zalanpatak (Valea Zalanului). Interestingly, in this village he has a real estate with several buildings where he keeps animals such as mangalica and naked-neck chickens.
The Price of Wales is a returning guest in Romania; last June he was in Transylvania then after spending a couple of days in Zalánpatak he went to Bucharest where he had a meeting with Prime Minister Victor Ponta and President Traian Basescu.
Moreover, the duke often mentions how special the relationship is between the people and environment of Transylvania. He also thinks that this connection is unique and there is no other place in Europe where we could find this kind of close relationship.
Interestingly, the British Royal Family can boast with Transylvanian-Hungarian family roots: the great-great grandmother of II. Queen Elisabeth – namely Klaudia Rhédey – was born in Erdőszentgyörgy in 1812 and she grew up in the Rhédey castle.
based on article of szekelyhon.ro
translated by Valentina Leanyfalvi
Photo: magyarhirlap.hu
Budapest, May 28 (MTI) – The policy for Hungarian communities abroad is at the start of a new era and symbolic acts can now be followed by practical tasks that require innovation and major resources, parliamentary speaker Laszlo Kover said today.
He told the founding meeting of the committee for national cohesion that “the fabric of the nation” must be rewoven and the right means must be identified to ensure that every Hungarian in the Carpathian Basin gets connected to health, education and economic services.
The policy for Hungarian communities abroad is not a task of foreign policy but one of domestic policy, Kover said. Working with “severed parts of the nation” must be regarded as a domestic issue, he added.
Kover asked the members of the new committee to assess the results of the general election in the context of which policies had received support from new Hungarian citizens living abroad.
Photo: MTI – Lajos Soos
(MTI) – The report by Hungarian lawmaker Ferenc Kalmar on the situation and rights of traditional national minorities in Europe, which was the basis for a resolution recently adopted by the Council of Europe’s (CoE) Parliamentary Assembly, gives Hungarian diplomacy greater room for manoeuvre in the area of protecting minority rights, a government official said on Thursday.
Zsolt Nemeth, foreign ministry state secretary, told a news conference that the CoE had called upon all member states of the organisation to put territorial autonomy solutions into practice. The resolution and recommendations expressly refers to the importance of collective minority rights, and also of key importance for Hungarian diplomacy is the expectation formulated on guaranteeing official minority language use, establishing a special educational institutional system and ensuring the freedom of minority media, he said.
After the CoE adopted the report on April 8, Hungary’s ministries of foreign affairs and justice welcomed the organisation’s “firm statement in support of the rights of European national minorities.”
The report is all the more relevant given the current conflict between Ukraine and Russia, clearly stating as it does that endeavours towards violent secession weaken stability, Nemeth said today. Both the CoE report and Hungarian diplomacy strive towards strengthening stability through decentralisation and autonomy solutions, he added.
The report highlighted the situation of national minorities who have been living on the same territory for centuries and share a common identity, as well as the importance of protecting their rights.
The CoE’s parliamentary assembly also said territorial self-governing can also contribute to effectively protecting minority rights with a collective dimension and avoiding assimilation.
The assembly called on member states to sign and ratify, if they have not yet done so, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages as soon as possible. It also urged member states to promote the official use of languages spoken by traditional national minorities in the territories in question.
Photo: MTI
(MTI) – Hungary’s new ambassador to Bucharest on Wednesday presented his credentials to the Romanian president, Traian Basescu.
Botond Zakonyi told MTI that among Hungary’s bilateral ties, that with Romania is perhaps the most complex. He added that during his mandate Hungarians living in Romania will be able to vote in the Hungarian elections for the first time, marking a historic moment. Romanian authorities will have to be kept abreast regarding the vote, which should be organised in line with democratic, international norms.
Zakonyi said better communication could help resolve a dispute that emerged in 2013 around the use of symbols in Hungarian-Romanian relations.
“It is an expectation on both sides that more information should be supplied regarding the other country; of visits, plans and ideas,” Zakonyi said. Both countries are open to pursue this [dialogue], he added.
A regards the dispute over using the Sekler flag or speaking in Hungarian in Transylvania, Zakonyi said the issue makes Romanian authorities turn against their own citizens. Hungary is under an obligation by its constitution to represent the interests of Hungarians living outside its borders, he said.
Under Romanian laws, a foreign diplomat becomes a full-fledged official upon presenting his credentials to the president.
Zakonyi (43) was previously director of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, and he also worked as a diplomat in Brussels, Bucharest and Moldova.
Photo: erdely.ma
GellertHungary product: Hungary is popping up in the international media a lot these days. If we’re fortunate, it’s about sports — football, handball, swimming. Or maybe culture and lifestyle – architecture, mineral waters, wines – our bikes!
More often recently, though, it’s about our economics and politics. And you can find all kinds of commentary about Hungary from abroad, sometimes quite colorful. In this video post, I ventured out to ask Hungarians what they think about what they’re saying about Hungarians.
Photo: csaladhalo.hu
Budapest, January 10 (MTI) – Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his Slovenian counterpart Alenka Bratusek on Friday signed a declaration of intent on developing road infrastructure and creating six border crossing points between the two countries.
At their meeting in Apatistvanfalva, one of Hungary’s westernmost villages bordering Slovenia, Hungary’s trade chief Peter Szijjarto, acting as the event’s moderator, said that in order to boost central European competitiveness, it was indispensable that borders should link people together rather than separating them.
Orban said after the signing that there were currently eight points to cross into Slovenia from Hungary which means that the average distance between crossings is still 12.5 kilometres, as compared to a European average of 2-4 kilometres. Under the agreement signed today, six more crossings will be built by 2020, he said.
The two premiers also attended the opening of a new road to link Felsoszolnok and Ketvolgy, two villages in western Hungary with a Slovenian minority.
“Completing this road is a victory over our weaknesses,” Orban said, noting that planning began eleven years ago. The groundstone was laid in 2007, but then “nothing happened”, construction stalled due to bureaucratic problems and technical and environmental misregulation. He said it was a problem characteristic to Hungary that a project is blocked by legal procedure.
Bratusek said the road symbolised Hungary’s attention to the Slovenian national minority, which has been successful over the past years. As an example he mentioned the state overtaking the bilingual primary school and the successful operation of the Alliance of Hungarian Slovenians, as well as other projects.
He said he trusted that in the next Hungarian parliament to set up after the spring election, the national minority representative to be elected to parliament will be given all assurances needed to secure minority rights and that local Slovenian self-governments would be retained, and funding for institutions will become regular through the central budget, “regardless of the minority community’s size.”
He added that relations between Hungary and Slovenia were “dynamic and based on genuine dialogue” and they are linked by parnership in the European Union and NATO. Deepening political and economic cooperation at a regional level such as through the Central European Initiative (CEI) and the Visegrad Group were in the two countries’ mutual interest, he added.
The crossings will be built using funds available in the EU’s 2014-2020 development programme.
Photo: MTI – Szilárd Koszticsák
Jobbik says that the Hungarian government can show but one achievement (simplified nationalization) in the area of national policy, and the change that Fidesz promised in 2010 failed to take place. These were the words of Jobbik MP István Szávay, the chairman of the party’s national policy cabinet, in Budapest on Wednesday.
In his press conference, the opposition politician criticized the statements made by Foreign Minister János Martonyi and political State Secretary Zsolt Németh at the end of last year.
István Szávay said that, contrary to the statements of the Minister, the government did indeed sweep problems related to neighbouring countries under the carpet, and gave priority to good relations and dialogue with neighbouring governments over the interests of Hungarian communities living in those countries. He added that the situation of all Hungarian communities living abroad deteriorated in the past year, with more and more violations of civil rights.
Concerning Slovakia, he pointed out that the bilateral meetings of the Ministers failed to achieve any improvement in the problematic and scandalous matters. With regard to Serbia, he said that historic reconciliation was uneven, since Serbs did not apologize for the genocide in the Voivodina region. In terms of the Euro-Atlantic integration of the Ukraine, the Hungarian government would have a chance to take measures in the interest of the Hungarian community, yet the government does not wish to consider the aspects of national policy during the Euro-Atlantic integration process of Serbia or the Ukraine, either, as communicated by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán – he said.
István Szávay added that preferential naturalization is said to be marred by several cases of maladministration, the neighbouring countries have built up a whole network of organized crime to obtain Hungarian citizenship for unqualified persons. In his words, the Hungarian government allowed the Ukrainian and Serbian mafia to enter the EU.
The opposition politician also criticized the election act for forcing expatriate Hungarians, who had fled to Western Europe due to economic reasons, i.e. “partly because of Fidesz’ policies”, to travel hundreds of miles to cast their ballots.
He also mentioned that the subsidies for Hungarian communities living abroad did not increase significantly, their real value in 2013 was equal with the amount that the Bajnai government had allocated for such purpose.
He added: Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén failed to answer his questions related to the institutions of key national significance, so he would submit a data request of public interest to the Ministry of Interior to find out who proposed to provide subsidies for each particular organization and what other proposals were submitted.
Photo: magyarhirlap.hu
(MTI) – Hungary will no longer be disloyal to Szeklers and will never again turn against the nation, Parliamentary Speaker Laszlo Kover said on Tuesday at the 250th anniversary of the massacre of Madefalva (now Siculeni in Romania).
Kover told a memorial event held at the site of a mass murder committed against Szeklers by the Habsburg army in 1764 that the memory of Szekler refugees who fled after the massacre “obliges us not to trust our affairs to disloyal leaders ever again.”
It must not be allowed that “others decide about us, but without us, in Bucharest, Budapest or Brussels,” he said adding that he was speaking on behalf of the Hungarian state leaders elected in 2010.
The lesson of history is that “if the leaders of the Szeklers are disloyal to their people and the Hungarian state leaders are disloyal to the Szeklers, then more and more Madefalva massacres are on the way,” he said.
Addressing a commemoration in the cultural centre of Targu Mures (Marosvasarhely), Kover encouraged the Szekler community to speak for territorial autonomy to convince the Romanian society about its benefit.
“If you manage to convince them that allowing territorial autonomy for Szeklerland would not hurt but instead benefit Romania, [….], if you manage to convince the Romanian society that Szeklerland as an autonomous region would ensure better living for all, then they will as well start a march of their own,” Kover said, referring to the great march organised for Szekler autonomy by the Szekler National Council on October 27 last year.
The last census in 2002 showed Szeklerland was a historical region of about 13,000 sq/km with a population of 809,000, of whom 612,043 were Szekler-Hungarians.
Photo: MTI – Sándor Haáz and Gergely Boda L.
(MTI) – Friendship between Hungary and Croatia can best be strengthened by deepening scientific and cultural ties, which is the purpose of the new Hungarian Institute opening in Zagreb, Deputy Prime Minister Tibor Navracsics said on Friday.
Navracsics told the opening ceremony that, by opening the institute, the Hungarian state is servicing an old debt, since all other neighbouring countries already have such Hungarian cultural centres.
The Hungarian Institute of Zagreb will operate in a building at the heart of the Croatian capital, where the European Union representation is also housed.
In a speech delivered in both Croatian and Hungarian, Navracsics said: “in order to get to know one another’s cultures, and for a real friendship to form between the peoples, this kind of institute is indispensable.” He noted that the Hungarian and Croatian cultures had been bound by many centuries of close relations and interaction, but in the 19th and 20th centuries, due to a divergence, “our acquaintances with each other faded”.
Ever since the democratic elections and our countries’ independence over the past twenty years “we can truly call relations between our two countries friendly, and culture can also spread this,” he said.
The main purpose of the Zagreb Hungarian Institute is to disseminate information on Hungarian cultural and scientific achievements. Croatian-Hungarians are also welcome under the roof of the institute, he said.
The event was also attended by Croatian Justice Minister Orsat Miljenic, Zagreb Deputy Mayor Vesne Kusin, Pal Hatos, director of the Balassi Institute, which is the governing body of Hungarian institutes abroad, and Denes Sokcsevits, the head of the new institute.
Photo: MTI – György Varga
Budapest, January 2 (MTI) – The head of Parliament’s national cohesion committee called it a success of the government’s policy towards Hungarian communities abroad that over half a million people have been granted Hungarian citizenship under a fast-track procedure since 2010.
Of them, over 87,000 registered for this year’s general election until December 20, Arpad Janos Potapi of ruling Fidesz told MTI. The number of such voters could reach 200,000 by the election scheduled for spring, he added.
Voters residing beyond Hungary’s borders will decide on not more than two or three mandates and will by no means influence the outcome of the election, he said.
Addressing the situation of ethnic Hungarians in neighbouring countries, Potapi said that Slovakia stubbornly rejected dual citizenship, which has been duly reflected by the low number of applicants there.
Although Ukraine also considers the institution of dual citizenship unconstitutional, it refrains from imposing sanctions on ethnic Hungarians who assumed Hungarian citizenship, he said.
Potapi welcomed the Hungarian parties’ approach to Hungarians abroad becoming increasingly uniform since 2010.
“There has been a willy-nilly shift in the position of the left-wing parties. They supported the citizenship law and started to compete for the votes of ethnic Hungarians abroad,” Potapi said.
No matter what government is formed in 2014 or 2018, the interests of Hungarians abroad will have to be taken into account, he said.
Photo: retrofm.hu
The Szeklers demand autonomy in Romania. Check out this video that shows the real situation in English.
Today, on the 27th of October 2013, Szeklers who have gathered between Bereck and Kökös, with the support of Hungarians of Transylvania and the Carpathian-Basin expressing their solidarity, being aware of the supporting manifestations of the Hungarian communities all around the globe, hereby strengthen their historical claim expressed on the Szekler National Assembly in Gyergyóditró:
They would like to implement the right to self-determination, and according to this right they demand the self-governance of Szeklerland within the host country!
They demand the prevalence of European norms within Romania, and to experience their self-determination through the autonomy of Szeklerland, similarly to other autonomous communities of Europe.
They adhere to temporary borders of Szeklerland, settled by the Szekler National Assembly in Gyergyóditró, consisting of 8 Szekler Seats and 153 municipalities, and they demand these borders to be finalized through local referendums.
Szeklerland is a common home to all its citizens irrespective of their national, ethnic, linguistic origins, thus the self-governance within the state, the territorial autonomy will mean the institutional guarantee of full and effective legal equality for all the citizens of Szeklerland.
Self-governance within the state means exercising power on a regional level, through a democratically elected decision-making body which possesses widespread autonomy in the democratic implementation of its competences, and at the same time disposes over the tools necessary for the fulfillment of its tasks.
On the 10th of March, this year, On the Day of Szekler Freedom, Szeklers who have gathered on the Postarét in Marosvásárhely turned to the government of Romania with a petition, in which they demanded that Szeklerland, which possesses historical, geographical, political, cultural and economic characteristics, should form a separate development region. They demanded that Szeklerland should form a separate administrative unit. They demanded the assurance of Szeklerlands autonomy through legislation! They demanded that a dialogue with the legitimate leaders of the Szekler people, the Szekler National Council and the Szekler Municipalities, should commence!
After eight months we still haven’t received an answer to this petition!
We turn to the general public of the world to say: we still believe that dialogue is the base of social rest, and Szeklers demand peace and dialogue. In front of the general public of the world we repeatedly ask Romania not to neglect the will of seven hundred thousand of her citizens, whom are also citizens of the European Union! We would like to call the attention of the government, however, that looking down upon the dialogue, neglecting the will of the Szekler people, the constant persecution of Szekler symbols will neither break, nor weaken the Szekler autonomy aspirations. From this day on either a substantive dialogue commences with Szekler representatives on the will of the Szekler people and on the future of Szeklerland, or the demonstrations will be multiplied and strengthened including civil disobedience.
We ask the Hungarian government to ask the government of Romania to respect the Fundamental Treaty contracted between the two countries, with special regards to Article 15/9. We Szeklers have a fundamental interest to see, that Hungary and Romania have good relations in the spirit of peaceful and constructive cooperation and the common constitutional heritage of the member states of the European Union.
Kökös, Uzon, Szentivánlaborfalva, Réty, Eresztevény, Maksa, Dálnok, Csernáton, Ikafalva, Kézdivásárhely, Nyújtód, Lemhény, Bereck, the 27th of October 2013
Izsák Balázs
President of the Szekler National Council
(MTI) – In the long run, autonomy could be the solution to issues around the Hungarian community in Romania, Hungary’s state secretary for nation policy Zsuzsanna Repas said in Cluj (Kolozsvar) on Saturday.
Repas addressed a gala evening marking the 10th anniversary of the Hungarian National Council of Transylvania (EMNT) and said that open issues included Romania’s questioning of the fundamental rights of ethnic Hungarians, obstructing the operations of their institutions, as well as the tendency of a shrinking community.
Repas added, however, that a political will was not enough to achieve autonomy for ethnic Hungarians; the community needs to be convinced and cooperative actions taken.
MEP Laszlo Tokes, the head of EMNT, said that autonomy was “the only alternative to changing the borders”.
Tokes called for a “new political regime change” based on autonomy. He said there was a consensus among Hungarians that autonomy was necessary, but added that Romanians, especially those living in Transylvania, had yet to be won over.
Tokes criticised the ethnic Hungarian RMDSZ party for “leaving the path of autonomy”. He insisted that winning power was RMDSZ’s only objective.
Photo: erdely.ma
The students gathering on the main square of the city marched to the Hungarian and Slovak consulate-generals and presented there petitions addressed to the governments of the EU member states.
In the petition, the students thanked the European Parliament for its recent declaration on the Ukrainian situation and expressing solidarity with those demonstrating for Ukraine’s future in Europe.
Photo: MTI – János Nemes
Croats will hold a referendum to raise the minimum rate of ethnic minorities in Croat towns required for the official use of their languages from the current 30 per cent to 50. The initiative primarily targets Vukovar’s Serbs and the bilingual signs in the town, but Hungary’s ambassador says that it will have a negative impact on Hungarians living in Croatia as well.
Currently, a particular ethnic minority needs to make up 30 per cent of a town to be able to exercise its rights for the official use of its language, but the referendum aims to raise this rate to 50 per cent. Gábor Iván, Hungary’s ambassador in Croatia declared in Croatian national television that this measure would mean a negative development compared to the current situation and is also contradictory to Croatia’s international commitments.
Gábor Iván says it would be difficult to accept, for example, that the people of Hercegszőllős (Knezevi Vinogradi) district, where the rate of Hungarians is over 30 per cent, would no longer be allowed to use their language the way they do now. The ambassador reminded that Hungarian regulations allow ethnic minorities living in the territory of Hungary to exercise their rights to use their language in towns where the rate of such minorities reaches 10 per cent. There are over 50 settlements with Hungarian and Croatian bilingual signs – Gábor Iván pointed out.
The referendum about language use was initiated by an organization which was formed to protect the rights of Vukovar’s Croats and which steps up against the Serbian minority. Their goal with this referendum is to prevent bilingual signs with Cyrillic and Latin letters from being set up in Vukovar, East Croatia. Protests against bilingual signs began in the summer in Vukovar, the signs were removed several times. Protesters were saying that the Cyrillic signs reminded them of the demolition during the Southern Slavic wars (1991-1995). Nevertheless, the current constitution allows for the placement of such signs since the rate of the Serbian minority in Vukovar exceeds 33 per cent.
Other diplomats warned on Croatian TV that if the referendum is passed, it would not only curb the rights of the Serbian minority, since the new regulation would pertain to other minorities as well, including the Hungarian, Czech, and Slovakian communities living in Croatia. Quoting diplomats, Croatian daily Vecernji List wrote that not only would Croatia breach minority rights but would ignore the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages as well.
Written by David Harper
based on the mandiner.hu
Photo: alfahir.hu
