HUNGARY/SLOVAKIA: Hungarian Liberal Party protests against police investigation amid tensions over Slocak National Party jan Slota's anti-Hungarian statements

Record ID: 766750

  • Title: HUNGARY/SLOVAKIA: Hungarian Liberal Party protests against police investigation amid tensions over Slocak National Party jan Slota's anti-Hungarian statements
  • Date: 2nd August 2006
  • Summary: (CEEF) BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (AUGUST 1, 2006) (REUTERS) CITY CENTRE
  • Embargoed: 17th August 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: International Relations,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA7GOG8201P6K6TD7IU7PLLHJI0
  • Story Text: Tensions continued to rise on Tuesday (August 1) between politicians from Hungary and Slovakia, after anti-Hungarian comments made by a Slovak politician.
    The comments made by the leader of the extremist Slovak National Party (SNS), Jan Slota in a Czech newspaper in July, shocked the Hungarian government who urged the Slovak government to distance themselves from them. Slota's party is in coalition with the recently elected Social Democratic SMER party, lead by Robert Fico. Slota had said that Slovaks were oppressed by ethnic Hungarians in southern Slovakia and that he envied Czechs for having been able to deport ethnic Germans from the former Czechoslovakia, and Slovakia should have handled the Hungarian minority the same way.
    On Tuesday, Hungary's liberal junior governing SZDSZ party firmly condemned the launching of a Slovak police investigation against a politician who had spoken out against the Slovakian government.
    "Bitter historical memories make us say that terrible things always begin with words. But I go further," said SZDSZ MP and member of the European Council, Matyas Eorsi.
    "The Slovak government says that we should judge them not by words but by actions. But here it is. They have already arrived at the actions. Because when Slota says stupid things, dangerous stupid things then those are words. But when the Slovak police begins an investigation against a politician because he expressed his views, then this reminds us of the political practices of the communist era Czechoslovakia and the communist Hungary," he added.
    The investigation has been launched against Miklos Duray, Executive Deputy Chairman of the Hungarian Coalition Party of Slovakia, who spoke out against Slota's party at a conference in Budapest. In a recent Hungarian radio interview, Duray called SNS a party with fascist manifestations, adding that Slota generated ethnic hatred and called for armed action against another country, Hungary.
    Eorsi said the police action was incompatible with the criteria the EU sets for Slovakia as a member. He said he was considering raising the issue in the European Council.
    "Nothing is easier than to play this nationalistic card and to put the oil on the fire. And what I regret, that the European Union seems to be silent about this. I would like to prevent that it becomes a Slovak-Hungarian issue. We had suffered enough of these bilateral conflicts. In my perception, if there is such a radical party that gets to government then I think all European Union should make its voice heard," Eorsi said.
    Despite the tensions, Slota made further comments on Saturday (July 29) in the Vienna newspaper Die Presse. He said there was a 'brutal Hungarianisation going on in his country.
    "In South Slovakia, Hungarians own thousands of firms. Anyone looking for work there hasn't got a chance if he can't speak Hungarian,' the newspaper reported Slota as saying. He added that "an overwhelming majority of Slovak Hungarians are loyal" to the Slovak state. But he had "very great reservations" against those who were not loyal and regarded the Republic of Hungary as their home.
    Analysts say that all these words can potentially lead to greater conflicts. Professor Julius Horvath, who is himself from Slovakia and teaches at the Central European University in Budapest, said both sides needed to calm the conflict.
    "All this trouble really begins because of his (Slota's) statements. And he deliberately looks for conflicts... Generally, I would say the conflict is not large, it's a little bit artificial and it should be a responsible response from the communities in Hungary and Slovakia to try to push the conflict down. Because such unnecessary conflicts of course, sometime might evolve into larger conflicts," Horvath said.
    Slota's party has faced widespread European criticism since it joined the government. Fico's European Social Democratic colleagues have also threatened Smer with ostracism for accepting Slota as a coalition partner.
    The Hungarian government has repeatedly asked the Slovak government to distance itself from Slota, while Slovakia has asked that it be judged on its actions, not its words. The Slovak foreign ministry has since written to Hungary saying it refutes any statements or steps that would harm bilateral relations, and categorically condemns such statements.
    Other statements reportedly made by Slota include his calling Hungarians the cancer of the Slovak nation, and saying Budapest should be flattened by tanks.
    There are around 500,000 ethnic Hungarians, who make up about ten percent of Slovakia's population, mostly inhabiting southern Slovakia alongside the border with Hungary.
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