Over 643,000 supported Minority SafePack in Hungary
A total of 643,791 in Hungary signed the Minority SafePack civic initiative for the protection of minorities throughout Europe, the secretary general of Rákóczi Foundation, which organised the collection of signatures in Hungary, said on Friday.
Some 385,623 signatures were collected on paper and 258,168 in electronic form, Csongor Csáky said after submitting the signatures to the National Election Office.
Hungary handled the initiative as a national issue and the collection of signatures was done with the involvement of churches, parties represented in parliament by a group, local governments, university students and many other well-meaning Hungarians, Csáky added.
Head of the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) Lóránt Vincze said the initiative had received 1.32 million supporting signatures overall,
so the issue of indigenous minorities in Europe “cannot be swept under the carpet” anymore.
Post-WWII deportees from Czechoslovakia remembered
Ethnic Hungarians deported from Czechoslovakia after the second world war were remembered at a special meeting of the municipal council of Komárom, in northern Hungary, on Saturday.
“The post-WWII deportations were tragic and senseless episodes of our history while Czechoslovak policy makers failed to attain their goal of creating a homogeneous nation-state,” Zsolt Semjén, Hungary’s deputy prime minister, said in a letter addressed to the meeting.
“The 20th century has trampled on us Hungarians, but the deportees never gave up hope for survival. Nor should we forget on this day those who were expelled from here, the Jews and the ethnic Germans,” the journalist Zsolt Bayer said at the meeting.
In 2012, Hungary’s parliament declared April 12 the memorial day of deportees from Slovakia, marking the anniversary of the start of deportations in 1947.
The Benes decrees passed immediately after the WW2 deprived Czechoslovakia’s ethnic Hungarians and Germans of their citizenship and property on the basis of collective guilt. The close to 170,000 ethnic Hungarians deported have never received compensation.
Photo: MTi
Hungarians celebrate Easter- PHOTO GALLERY
Hungarians have great traditions during Easter festivities, and we collected the best MTI photos from the Carpathian Basin:
Mezőkövesd
Lövéte
Budapest
Hollókő
Tinnye
Kiskunmajsa
Cikó
Szentendre
Csíkszereda
Csíkszépvíz
Minority Safepack over 1 million signatures!
Minority SafePack, an initiative seeking EU protection for the indigenous minorities in the bloc, has surpassed 1 million signatures, the amount necessary for the European Commission to put the scheme on its agenda.
The initiative was launched by the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN), which made the announcement in Cluj-Napoca/Kolozsvár on Thursday.
Minority SafePack calls on the European Union to “undertake legal action” to better protect ethnic minorities within the EU and support a multilingual, multicultural Europe, FUEN said.
Although the one million signatures are in place, further ones will be collected until the April 3 midnight deadline to offset potentially invalid signatures, the union said.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán congratulated Hunor Kelemen, head of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ), on the initiative surpassing 1 million signatures, the PM’s press chief said.
“I was happy to hear that enough European citizens have declared that they want a Europe which jointly stands up for indigenous national minorities living in the European Union,” Orbán said in his congratulatory letter. “We are proud that the number of signatories to the initiative for the protection of national minorities launched by the Federal Union of European Nationalities and RMDSZ has surpassed 1 million,” Orbán wrote. “Now it is up to the European Union to endorse the citizens’ initiative.”
Minority SafePack likely to clear 1 million signatures mark
The minimum required one million signatures will likely be collected in support of the Minority SafePack European Citizens’ initiative which seeks European Union protection for indigenous national minorities in the bloc, a senior government official said on Monday.
The initiative was launched by the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) in May last year requiring signatures by one million people in at least seven EU member states by April 3 for the European Commission to put the scheme on its agenda, the state secretary for Hungarian communities abroad told a conference focusing on the initiative.
The issue concerns about 60-70 million people across Europe,
Árpád János Potápi said, adding that Hungary had also joined the initiative.
The collection of signatures has gained momentum recently, Potápi said. He added, however, that the target is to collect more than one million signatures to ensure that the initiative does not fail due to errors in the filled out sheets.
[button link=”http://www.minority-safepack.eu/” type=”big” color=”red” newwindow=”yes”] Sign here the Minority SafePack![/button]
March 15 – Orbán and deputy PM Semjén mark national holiday for Hungarians abroad
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sent a message to Hungarian communities in the Carpathian Basin on Wednesday, the eve of Hungary’s March 15 national holiday, marking the anniversary of the 1848 revolution. Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén attended a commemoration marking the anniversary of Hungary’s 1848 revolution, in Cluj (Kolozsvár), in central Romania, on Wednesday.
In his address, the prime minister referred to the March revolution as a “rare flash of light, which has not lost its perfection or purity” and said that all its developments reflected “the unity and love of freedom of the Hungarian nation”. “Ever since the light of that day has lit our lives, including the darkest years of separation and dictatorship,” the prime minister’s press office quoted the letter in a statement.
“When we stand up for each other and fight shoulder to shoulder for our shared goals nothing will be impossible,” Orbán wrote, and went on to say that “today the time has also come to protect our freedom and thousand-year-old culture together”.
“We, Hungarians, want no more than to celebrate our heroes together and build a world in which we have freedom to speak our language, and live in the Carpathian Basin in strength and faithfulness and with a hope in the future,” Orbán added.
In his address at the ceremony, organised by the Hungarian consulate general, Semjén said that the Hungarian government’s ensuring fast-track citizenship to ethnic kin was in fact a “legal unification of the Hungarian nation”, similar to the 1848 revolutionary goal of achieving a union between Hungary and Transylvania. He added that granting citizenship was a kind of “compensation” to ethnic Hungarians for historical grievances.
He noted that citizenship was coupled with voting rights, which was instrumental in enforcing “the political will of the whole Hungarian nation” in the Hungarian parliament. He compared the nation to a “three-legged stool” of which one leg is Hungarians in the mother country, the second is Hungarians in neighbouring countries, and the third is Hungarians in communities across the world.
“The nation must rest upon all those three legs; once one weakens, the whole nation will be in jeopardy,” Semjén insisted.
featured image: MTI
Hungary voices regret over Romania’s banning Szekler official
Hungary seeks to build “civilised” ties based on “mutual respect” with Romania, but such moves as Romania’s recent banning an official of the Szekler National Council (SZNT), a Hungarian citizen, from that country “won’t help the process”, the Hungarian foreign minister told reporters on Saturday.
Péter Szijjártó spoke after Romanian authorities on Friday denied entry to Attila Dabis, foreign affairs commissioner of the Szekler National Council in Romania.
Szijjártó said that legal entrants could only be banned from a country upon a court ruling, and insisted that Romania‘s border police “had not referred to any such decision”. He added that Romanian authorities had declined to comment, and that the Hungarian government would send a diplomatic note to the Romanian interior and foreign ministries.
The foreign minister suggested that
Romania had violated a European citizen’s right to free movement within the community, and called it “unacceptable”.
Concerning events connected to the Day of Szekler Freedom in Marosvásárhely (Targu Mures), which Dabis was planning to attend, Szijjártó said that “nobody must be denied the right to commemorate heroes in history”, and voiced hope that Romania’s authorities will “proceed in a European manner”.
On another subject, Szijjártó criticised Ukraine’s authorities for their “passive stance” concerning continual attacks against that country’s Hungarian community, and insisted that Ukraine was “becoming unworthy” of joining the European Union or NATO. The Hungarian government will “face all debates and fight all battles” for Hungarian people, whether they are living in Hungary or in other countries, Szijjártó added. Hungary will not support any of Ukraine’s endeavours to join international organisations before that country drops its measures hurting ethnic minorities, the minister said.
Referring to recommendations by the EU and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, Szijjártó said that the Ukrainian government should enter into negotiations with ethnic minority representatives and change Ukraine’s education law, which currently restricts their access to education in minority languages. Szijjártó also referred to proposals now before Ukraine’s parliament to amend the language law, and said that the “nonsensical” bills were aimed at fully suppressing the Hungarian language in Ukraine.
Ukraine uses “false propaganda” to divide ethnic Hungarians and manipulate the international community, Szijjártó insisted.
Szijjártó noted that Hungary had repeatedly asked leaders of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe to extend the presence of OSCE observers from East Ukraine to western parts of the country in light of attacks against the Hungarian minority. According to recent, official information, OSCE has set up a 12-strong mission in Uzhhorod (Ungvár), Szijjártó said.
Photo by MTI
Molotov cocktail hurled at Hungarians Union building in Ukraine
Hungary’s foreign ministry on Sunday condemned a petrol bomb attack against the headquarters of ethnic Hungarian cultural association KMKSZ – Kárpátaljai Magyar Kulturális Szövetség in Uzhhorod (Ungvár), in western Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region.
The Ukrainian news portal said,
Ukrainian authorities are probing into an attack with the use of a Molotov cocktail that was hurled at the building of the Transcarpathian Hungarians Union in the west Ukrainian city of Uzhgorod (Ungvár). The Union’s building is located in the very center of Uzhgorod and neighboring buildings have video surveillance cameras. Police are examining related video footage.
Foreign ministry condemns attack on etchnic Hungarian org building in Ukraine
The ministry called on Ukraine‘s authorities to identify the perpetrators of the attack, committed in the early hours of Sunday, and guarantee security for Ukraine Hungarians.
In its statement, the ministry also urged that the observers of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, currently monitoring developments in the country’s east, should extend their presence to western Ukraine, too.
Photo: hir.ma
Hungarian pupils severely discriminated at the English language contest in Romania
In the past few weeks Hungarian teachers and educational experts alike have been outraged over a recently modified regulation, which states that starting this year the English language contest organized by the Ministry of Education will also test translation competences.
The regulation specifies that texts in English can be translated exclusively to and from Romanian. This is unconstitutional, as well as extremely discriminatory towards pupils belonging to national minorities, whose mother tongue is not Romanian.
This means that these students will face the added difficulty of having to translate English into another language and vice versa, none of which is their mother tongue.
The Covasna County School Inspectorate had previously asked for this regulation to be modified, on grounds that it violates the basic right and principle of equality before the law. However, the Ministry of Education refused to solve the matter, arguing that the national English contest is designed for students with a”knowledge above average”. This argumentation nonetheless ignores the fact that the English language contest is supposed to test the pupils’ knowledge of English, not their knowledge of the state language – for which there are separate contests -, and secondly, such a modification clearly puts students belonging to national minorities at a disadvantage compared to their Romanian colleagues.
Mikó Imre Minority Rights Legal Aid Service has submitted a complaint regarding this injustice to the National Council for Combating Discrimination (CNCD). They believe that in the 21st century discrimination is unacceptable under any circumstances, and it is especially worrisome that starting from an early age children must face discriminatory treatment and the adverse consequences of belonging to a national minority.
Minorities in Hungary #1 – Croatians
The Croatian minority in Hungary consists of at least seven (some claim even twelve) different subgroups that speak different languages and arrived at different times. The Croatian language has three main dialects (“sto”, “kaj” and “ca”) and several minor ones. They are one of the most diverse and varied minorities living in Hungary.
According to Magyarhorvatok.hu, multiple groups are living in Hungary. Croatians residing around Mohács are the Šokci, while those living alongside the Drava are mostly from Herzegovina. The Croatians living near Baja are primarily Bunjevci. In the area of Budapest and Szentendre, most of the Croatians came from Dalmatia. The Croatians residing in Western Hungary are mostly called Grádistye Croatians.
The different minor groups are still all connected by the fact that they are mostly Roman Catholics, which differentiates them from other Balkan Slavic people.
Croatian people came to Hungary in multiple waves during more than a thousand years, first of them being the settlers on the banks of Drava in the Árpád era. According to Sulinet.hu’s respective page, the largest masses of Croatians moved in before and during the Ottoman occupation of the country, and as the result of the migration processes after the liberation of Hungary from the Ottoman rule.
The golden age of the Croatians of Hungary is usually thought to be the era from the 18th century until the early 19th century.
Both their numbers and their status in the Hungarian society were at its peak at that time. A lot of settlements existed where Croatians made up the majority of the population. Most of them, unfortunately, have a much smaller Slavic presence today. There were Croatian villages in the northern areas of Somogy County in the 18th century. Búzsák, for example, is famous for its embroidery, which has Croatian origins. In the late 1700s, settlements with Croatian majority slowly became more mixed ethnically, and the Hungarian nation began to assimilate the Croatian groups.
The Treaty of Trianon meant a national catastrophe for the Croatians living in Hungary, too. First, their connection to their motherland ceased to exist due to diplomatic and sociographic reasons. Secondly, many Croatian groups were divided by the new borders, just as the Šokci and Bunyevci in Bácska and Baranya or the Grádistye in Western Hungary. The Grádistye were separated into three countries: Hungary, Austria and Czechoslovakia.
Croatians showed their loyalty to Hungary in both World Wars, fighting in large numbers in the armies of the Monarchy and the Kingdom of Hungary, respectively.
The years after the end of World War II and the short attempt for democracy changed the situation of the Croatian minority. Many Croatian schools were established in the settlements with high numbers of Croatians. Even a Croatian grammar school was built in 1946 and an instructor training college department in Pécs in 1949.
The end of communism brought more changes for the Croatians. According to Hrvatiizvan.hr, the Association of the Croatian Nationality in Hungary was founded in 1990, followed by the separation of Croatian institutions, schools and mediums from the common Balkan groups. Several independent Croatian institutions were founded, like the Croatian Theater in Pécs, the Scientific Institute of Croatians in Hungary or the Croatian literary journal titled Rijec. Croatians also have their own national municipal in Hungary since 1995. The relationship between the minorities in Hungary and their motherland (as well as the relationship between the two countries, even nowadays) became more intense with Croatia’s separation from Yugoslavia.
In 2010, 11,534 Hungarian citizens applied for being registered as Croatians in the national records of minorities.
The census of 2011 revealed that 8,900 Croatians live in Southern Transdanubia. Unfortunately, the population faces critical ageing. 9 percent of the Transdanubian Croatians are children, and only 28 percent are young adults. The most significant density is in Baranya County where 27 percent of the Croatians in Hungary live.
Their cultural life is quite rich: it has been a custom since 1993 that every year, a Grádistye settlement hosts a youth camp (“Omladanski Tabor”), where young people can learn about the Croatian culture and traditions, as well as the customs and attractions of the host settlement.
A talent show called “Glas Gradisca” has also been organised in Horvátzsidány since 2005 for the Croatian singers, musicians and other performers from Burgenland. They even welcomed contenders from Slovakia and Austria in 2012. For Croatians preferring a more elegant type of entertainment, the Croatian ball is hosted each in Szombathely since 1977, which is organised by different Croatian towns in Vas County.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Day of Hungarian Culture marked across country
The Day of Hungarian Culture — the anniversary of poet Ferenc Kölcsey’s completing in 1823 “Himnusz”, the poem which later became the national anthem — was marked by celebrations held countrywide and in the Hungarian diaspora on Monday.
Marking the day, Zoltán Balog, the human resources minister, handed over prizes in recognition of achievements in public education, and welcomed in his address that “culture reaches more and more people” and hailed the increase in ticket sales for theatre, cinemas and museums. He argued that last year a total 32 million theatre and cinema tickets were sold, 21 percent more than in 2010.
Defence Minister István Simicskó spoke at a commemoration organised by his ministry, and highlighted the importance of “religious foundations for civilisation”.
He warned “Brussels and the European Union” that removing those foundations would weaken civilisation and its “existence would be questioned”.
The opposition Socialist and Párbeszéd (Dialogue) parties called for restructuring cultural institutions so that they serve “multicoloured Hungarian culture rather than politics”.
Gergely Karácsony, PM candidate of the two parties, said in an address in Heroes’ Square that “cultural policy in recent years promoted divisions rather than unity in variety”. If they won power in the next election, the two parties would “reinforce autonomous cultural endeavours” and ensure a financing mechanism to promote “unity in variety”.
Government devotes special attention to Hungarian diaspora communities
The government devotes special attention to Hungarian communities living outside the Carpathian Basin, including those living in Ireland, the deputy state secretary for policy for Hungarians abroad said at the opening of the family festival for the Hungarian Culture Days event in Dublin.
Péter Szilágyi paid a three-day visit to Hungarians living in Dublin and Cork, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
Hungarian culture is the bond that ties Hungarians together even if they are seas or oceans apart, Szilágyi said at the event, and expressed his pleasure that the local Hungarians remain committed to their origins and culture.
Szilágyi said the state secretariat for policy for Hungarians abroad had decided to set aside funding specifically for supporting Hungarian education in the diaspora communities.
He said the government aimed to provide support to all Hungarians living abroad so that they do not lose the bonds that tie them to their homeland and their fellow compatriots.
Photo: MTI
If it’s February then it’s the Month of Furmint
Wine lovers can once again dedicate a whole month to one of the great varieties of the Carpathian Basin: furmint. Besides the many wine shows in February there is a growing number of restaurants offering furmint on their wine lists so this is the right time to give it a try.
This month for the ninth consecutive year is Furmint February when we are celebrating furmint. This was the first ever initiative in Hungary to turn the spotlight on a single variety with dedicated events all through the month. Starting last year 1 February is also the date of the International Furmint Day and in 2018 it coincides with the Big Furmint February Tasting to be held at Vajdahunyad Castle in the City Park of Budapest.
At the Big Furmint February Tasting visitors can taste at least 150 wines from close to 100 wineries. The wines on offer will definitely include sparkling wines and the lovers of sweet wines and aszús are going to have a field day as well. The majority of the exhibitors will represent Tokaj the wine region with the greatest tradition in growing furmint however thanks to new plantings of the variety in the last decade more and more wine regions join the furmint camp. Besides Somló, another region with longstanding furmint tradition, the wineries of Eger, Balaton, Pécs and other regions in neighbouring countries will be offering their wines to visitors.
Due to the limited capacity of the special location visitors are well-advised to buy tickets in advance. The Big Furmint February Tasting is a great opportunity to get a comprehensive picture of the variety and to make an imaginary journey covering the best wine regions of the Carpathian Basin with glass in hand.
The Big Furmint February Tasting
Date and time: Thursday 1 February 2018, 16:00-21:00 CET
Place: Museum of Hungarian Agriculture (City Park of Budapest, Vajdahunyad Castle)
Tickets booked in advance: HUF 9.900
List of exhibitors as it stands in early January (expect an increased number by February):
A Préselők, Erdőbénye
Angyal Borászat, Rátka
Árvay János Családi Pincészete, Rátka
Áts Családi Pincészet, Tokaj
Babits Pincészet, Tolcsva
Balassa István, Tokaj
Bardon, Erdőbénye
Barkland Pincészet, Miskolc
Barnabás Kézműves Pince, Somló
Barta Pince, Mád
Basilicus Szőlőbirtok, Tarcal
Bihari Borászat, Mád
Bíró Borászat, Mád
Bodrog Borműhely, Bodrogkisfalud
Bott Frigyes, Muzsla
Bott Pince, Bodrogkisfalud
Czemiczki Pincészet, Tolcsva
Csite Családi Birtok, Erdőbénye
Demetervin, Mád
Dénes Hegybirtok, Ság-hegy
Dereszla Pincészet, Bodrogkeresztúr
Disznókő Szőlőbirtok, Mezőzombor
Dobogó Pincészet, Tokaj
Dorogi Testvérek Pincészete, Tarcal
Erzsébet Pince, Tokaj
Espák Pince, Hercegkút
Ferdinánd Pincészet, Mád
Füleky Pincészet, Bodrogkeresztúr
Garamvári Szőlőbirtok, Balatonlelle
Gilvesy Pincészet, Szent György-hegy
Gizella Pince, Tokaj
Grand Tokaj, Tolcsva
Gróf Degenfeld Szőlőbirtok, Tarcal
H2 Pince, Nagyréde
Hangavári Szőlőbirtok és Pincészet, Bodrogkisfalud
Hímesudvar, Tokaj
Holdvölgy, Mád
Hollókői Pincészet
Homoky Családi Pincészet, Tállya
Kardos Szőlőbirtok, Mád
Katona Borház, Balatonboglár
Kikelet Pince, Tarcal
Királyudvar, Tarcal
Kolonics Károly Családi Pincészete, Somló
Kovács Nimród Winery, Eger
Laposa Borbirtok, Badacsonytomaj
Majoros Birtok, Tarcal
Montium, Szerencs
Myrtus Pince, Tarcal
Obzidián Bormanufaktúra, Hercegkút
Orsolyák Attila, Tokaj
Pálffy Pince, Köveskál
Patricius Borház, Tokaj
Paulay Borház, Tokaj
Péter Pince
Petrányi Pince, Csopak
Royal Tokaji, Mád
Rózsa Pince
RWZ, Mád
Sanzon, Erdőbénye
Sauska Tokaj, Tokaj
Serpens Pince, Sárospatak
Skrabski Pincészet, Balatonudvari
Spiegelberg Kézműves Borpince, Somló
Szabó Zoltán, Hosszúhetény
Szalóczi Pince
Szarka Pince, Mád
Szent Donát, Csopak
Szent Tamás Szőlőbirtok, Mád
Szignárovits-Makai Pince ,Gyöngyöspata
Szóló, Tállya
Tokaj Nobilis, Bodrogkeresztúr
Tokaj Oremus Szőlőbirtok és Pincészet, Tolcsva
Tokaj Pendits, Abaújszántó
Tokaj-Hétszőlő Szőlőbirtok, Tokaj
Tokajicum Borház, Tarcal
Tomcsányi Családi Birtok, Somló
TR Művek, Tállya
Vincze Tamás, Sárospatak
Zombory Pince, Rátka
Zsadányi Pincészet, Tállya
Romania’s Prime Minister threatens to hang Hungarians
Mihai TUDOSE, Romania’s Prime Minister threatened to hang those Hungarians from Transylvania, who hoist the Szekler flag, the unofficial regional symbol of three Romanian counties.
The Prime Minister said this after the presidents of the three Hungarian parties from Transylvania signed a joint statement regarding autonomy. The declaration adopted in Cluj-Napoca/Kolozsvár by UDMR/RMDSZ, PCM/MPP and PPMT/EMNP briefly enumerates the principles meant to clarify their common stance on the various notions of autonomy. The Romanian politicians and public figures reacting to this story completely rejected the idea, saying that it is unacceptable and unconstitutional to speak about autonomy in Romania.
In a talk-show entitled Jocuri de putere (Power games) on Realitatea TV, which aired on the 10th of January, Prime Minister Mihai TUDOSE shockingly suggested the hanging of those who support autonomy. He declared that, as Prime Minister, his stance on autonomy is the same as his view on people hoisting the Szekler flag:
“I clearly stated that if the Szekler flag will wave, then those who put it up will also wave next to the flag.”
Romanian Prime Minister Mihai Tudose threatens to hang Hungarians from Transylvania
The Hungarian organisations in Romania unanimously condemned the statement of the Prime Minister. In a press release the Szekler Council of Local Representatives called it an outrageous provocation and asked the Prime Minister to apologise from the Szekler people for offending their dignity and threatening their physical wellbeing.
Moreover, the Prime Minister’s statement was also condemned by UDMR/RMDSZ, its executive president, Bálint PORCSALMI calling it primitive and medieval. “The Prime Minister can agree or disagree with a political statement or a political project, but he cannot send those with whom he disagrees to hang” – said PORCSALMI.
The Mikó Imre Minority Rights Legal Services Assistance considers the Prime Minister’s statement to be intimidating and unworthy of his office. We believe that under no circumstances can the prime minister of a democratic state threaten the national communities living in that country with barbaric and medieval aggression and physical annihilation.
Regarding the issue, Erika BENKŐ, the president of the Mikó Imre Minority Rights Legal Services Assistance declared:
“Although we had expected that in the year of the centennial Hungarians in Transylvania would be exposed to ever more violent attacks, the Prime Minister’s threats to hang Hungarians surpass all limits.
This tone is frightening, unworthy, primitive and it shakes the Hungarian community’s sense of security. Romania is a country governed by the rule of law and the Prime Minister must conduct himself accordingly. The Mikó Imre Minority Rights Legal Services Assistance will notify the competent authorities and the international community regarding the Prime Minister’s menacing behaviour towards the Hungarian community. We find the dark remarks of the Prime Minister, reminiscent of the medieval age, to be extremely worrisome and frightening.
[button link=”https://dailynewshungary.com/foreign-minister-romanian-pms-remarks-regarding-hungarian-autonomy-unacceptable/” type=”big” newwindow=”yes”] HUNGARY’S FM: ROMANIAN PM’S REMARKS REGARDING HUNGARIAN AUTONOMY ‘UNACCEPTABLE’[/button]
Historical moment: One millionth ethnic Hungarian takes oath of citizenship
“We are now celebrating the unity of our political nation,” President János Áder said in his address at the ceremony in which the one millionth ethnic Hungarian was granted Hungarian citizenship under the government’s dual citizenship programme, in Budapest on Saturday.
The ceremony in the presidential Sándor Palace, in which Vojvodina farmer Miklós Lajkó and his wife took their oath of citizenship, was attended by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and House Speaker László Kövér.
Lajkó and his wife “have shown us what being Hungarian means;
they wanted to be Hungarian citizens because they consider themselves as Hungarian, their mother tongue is Hungarian, they went to a Hungarian school and their ancestors were Hungarian”.
“We, in the mother country, should do no more than thank them for all that, thank them for preserving the faith and love of the homeland from generation to generation; for loving in Hungarian, working in Hungarian, speaking Hungarian to their children and having Hungarian dreams,” the president said.
The Hungarian parliament passed a government-initiated dual citizenship law in 2011, aimed at ensuring fast-track Hungarian citizenship for Hungarians living abroad, mostly to ethnic Hungarians in neighbouring countries.
As we wrote before, a 99-year-old Szekler woman may become a Hungarian citizen for the third time in history. She has recently applied for Hungarian citizenship in Barót (Baraolt), Romania. (Read more HERE)
Also interesting news about Hungarian citizenship: Two Syrian Orthodox Church leaders took the Hungarian citizenship oath in Hungary’s Erbil Consulate in Iraq reported the State Secretariat of the Ministry of Human Capacities in september, 2017. (Read more HERE)
Photo: MTI
Fidesz: Left wing hurt ethnic Hungarians 13 years ago, DK revives ‘hate campaign’
An official of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party said on Tuesday that the left wing had “unforgivably” hurt ethnic Hungarians in the referendum on dual citizenship 13 years ago, and now the Democratic Coalition (DK) was again waging a “hate campaign” against them.
Balázs Hidvéghi, Fidesz’s communications chief, said in a statement that Ferenc Gyurcsány, the former Socialist prime minister who now leads DK, had turned Hungarians against Hungarians, and for that reason the referendum on whether to allow dual citizenship for ethnic Hungarians living beyond the border held in December 2004 had failed.
“Thirteen years after that shameful day, we can say that thanks to the Fidesz alliance with the Christian Democrats, belief in the Hungarian nation and the number of our citizens has grown.
One million Hungarians abroad have once again legally become a part of the Hungarian nation … we are a million stronger,” the statement said.
At the same time, the Hungarian left wing has not changed at all, Hidvéghi said. “Gyurcsány’s lot have once again launched a hate campaign against Hungarians beyond the border, and they want to allow in masses of migrants…” he said.
The statement added that radical nationalist Jobbik would “stoop to anything for money and power” and betray ethnic Hungarians. Jobbik leader
Gábor Vona is now seeking favours from the left wing and Jobbik politicians are hurting Hungarians of the Carpathian Basin, it added.
Gyurcsány has argued that ethnic Hungarians who are not resident in Hungary should not have the right to vote in Hungarian general elections. A Fidesz-sponsored law allows Hungarian citizens residing beyond the borders to vote for party lists in the general election.
featured image: MTI
The lack of bilingual inscriptions in Romania: not regarded as discrimination
The High Court of Cassation and Justice, Romania’s supreme court, in a final judgement annulled a decision of the National Council for Combating Discrimination (CNCD) from 2014. The decision in question was a milestone as far as minority rights protection is concerned, since it stated that the lack of bilingual street name signs in Târgu Mureș/Marosvásárhely constitutes discrimination and suggested that the Mayor’s Office placed the street name signs in two languages: Romanian and Hungarian. As a reaction to this, the Mayor’s Office brought the CNCD and the NGO that put up the bilingual street signs to court, asking for the Council’s decision to be annulled, Mikó Imre Minority Rights Legal Services Assistance said.
The supreme court’s decision comes after the Mureș Court of Appeal’s first degree ruling in favour of the Mayor’s Office. It is worth mentioning that the Romanian Law on the Local Public Administration clearly states that in the territorial-administrative units where the citizens belonging to the national minorities account for over 20% of the inhabitants, the public local authorities must ensure the use of that language in relations with them. Interpretations of these provisions lead to applying the law exclusively in the case of the name signs of the settlements and the inscriptions of the respective authorities, but not the street name signs.
Moreover, Romania has ratified the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages in 2008, in which it undertook to use the place-names in regional or minority languages in conjunction with the name in the official language.
In a 2012 report on the application of the Charter, several recommendations were included, interpreting the term “place-name” as meaning not only the name of settlements, but also street names, for example. Nota bene, Târgu Mureș/Marosvásárhely is a city in Transylvania, Romania, having a 45% Hungarian population.
Carpathian Convention – 3-year Hungarian presidency begins
Hungary has assumed the three-year presidency of the Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians (Carpathian Convention), which is operated by seven countries under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The presidency was officially transferred within the framework of a three-day, high-level conference in Lillafüred, near Miskolc, with the participation of the parties to the Convention, at which Minister of Agriculture Sándor Fazekas received the baton representing the performance of presidential duties from the representative of the Czech Republic.
“Two thirds of Hungary’s territory is being used for some kind of agricultural farming, and accordingly it is symbolic that the declaration of our cooperation aimed at the sustainable development of agriculture and rural areas should occur during this event to launch the Hungarian presidency”, the Minister declared before the conference’s participants. “In supplementation of the Conventions many, previously adopted protocols, the document on sustainable agriculture and rural development was also adopted during the current conference”, Mr. Fazekas highlighted.
The Minister declared that in addition,
the Hungarian presidency also wishes to place greater attention on cooperation within the fields of education relating to sustainable development, environmental safety, cultural heritage and traditional knowledge, and climate protection.
“Climate change also represents one of the greatest challenges of our age within the Carpathian basin, and accordingly it is important that the conference has also adopted the amendment of the Convention with a new Article on climate”, the Minister told the press.
Mr. Fazekas stressed that in addition to the Carpathian Convention, Hungary is also an active participant of cooperation within the Visegrád Group and the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, and the current period is a huge opportunity and challenge in view of the fact that Hungary currently holds the presidency of all three organisations.
During its presidency, Hungary has undertaken, amongst others, to organise a regional conference on its experiences relating to education and increasing public awareness with relation to the environment and sustainability, and on opportunities for cooperation in the region within this filed, with particular focus on presenting Hungary’s green nursery school and eco-school programmes.
We will also be organising a conference on cultural heritage and traditional knowledge.
Hungary is continuing to undertake the coordination of the climate adaptation field and are doing everything possible in the interests of facilitating the implementation of the protocol on sustainable agriculture and rural development.
The Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians was signed in Kiev in 2003 by the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine.
The goal of the Convention is for the countries involved to cooperate and contribute to the protection and sustainable development of the Carpathians:
to preserve the region’s natural and cultural treasures, improve the quality of life of the people living there, and to reinforce the local economy and local communities.
In the interests of achieving these goals, the countries of the Convention and a host of partner are working together in working groups and other forms of cooperation within the fields of sustainable tourism, sustainable forest management, sustainable agriculture and rural development, preserving biodiversity and landscape diversity, climate adaptation, cultural heritage and traditional knowledge, sustainable industry, energy, transport and infrastructure, and environmental safety.
The next Convention conference will be held in Poland in 2020.
Ukraine education law – Ukrainian foreign minister visits Hungary
Hungary and Ukraine have “completely different” positions concerning Ukraine’s recent education proposal which would deprive older students from ethnic minorities of education in their mother tongue, the Hungarian foreign minister said on Thursday after talks with his Ukrainian counterpart in Budapest.
Péter Szijjártó said Ukraine’s Hungarian community did not support the contested package.
“Hungary does not want a fight but an agreement,” he said.
Hungarians in Transcarpathia/Kárpátalja, in western Ukraine, should be handed back their rights, he added.
“As long as the local Hungarian community is unhappy with the situation” Hungary will insist on its decision not to support Ukraine in international organisations, Szijjártó said. Provisions which affect the Hungarian minority should be dropped, he added.
Szijjarto said that
the new law, under which the language of tuition in secondary schools and higher education would be exclusively Ukrainian, was like “a stab in the back” for Hungary,
which had “taken a number of risky decisions” to help Ukraine. For example, he mentioned Hungarian gas supplies to Ukraine, treating injured Ukrainian soldiers in Hungary, various aid programmes, and
Hungary’s encouraging the EU to grant a visa-free status to entrants from Ukraine.
The minister said that further draft amendments affecting minorities submitted to the Ukrainian parliament on Monday, would jeopardise the existence of 71 schools for the Hungarian minority. He added that the package was in conflict with the EU-Ukraine association agreement, and said that Hungary would request a review of the agreement next Monday.
Pavlo Klimkin, the Ukrainian minister, said at the press conference that the draft was “not aimed at people”. It was designed to help all Ukrainian citizens to success; “if a Ukrainian national cannot speak Ukrainian well, they will miss out on a lot of opportunities,” he said. He also insisted that
no schools would be closed and “not a single teacher will be dismissed” because of the new law.
Also we wrote in the same topic, the Council of Europe must make a firm stand for the protection of minority language education, since Ukraine’s new education law affects not just a single community but minority education systems in general, the head of parliament’s foreign affairs committee said after talks with the secretary-general of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on Wednesday.
We wrote on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Szijjártó would initiate the review of the agreement at next Monday’s meeting of EU foreign ministers.
Photo: MTI