[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 23]
[Senate]
[Pages 31808-31809]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     SLOVAKIA AND HUNGARY RELATIONS

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, in 1991, then-Czechoslovak President 
Vaclav Havel brought together his counterparts from Poland and Hungary. 
Taking inspiration from a 14th century meeting of Central European 
kings, these 20th century leaders returned to the same Danube town of 
Visegrad with a view to eliminating the remnants of the communist bloc 
in Central Europe; overcoming historic animosities between Central 
European countries; and promoting European integration.
  Today, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia are together 
known as the Visegrad Group, and all four have successfully joined NATO 
and the European Union. They are anchors in the Trans-Atlantic 
alliance, and I am pleased to have had the opportunity to travel to all 
four of these countries where I have met with public officials, non-
governmental representatives and ethnic and religious community 
leaders.
  Unfortunately, it appears that some additional work is necessary to 
address one of the principal goals of the Visegrad Group; namely, 
overcoming historic animosities. In recent months, relations between 
Hungary and Slovakia have been strained. Having traveled in the region 
and having met with leaders from both countries during their recent 
visits to Washington, I would like to share a few observations.
  First, an amendment to the Slovak language law, which was adopted in 
June and will enter into force in January, has caused a great deal of 
concern that the use of the Hungarian language by the Hungarian 
minority in Slovakia will be unduly or unfairly restricted. 
Unfortunately, that anxiety has been whipped up, in part, by a number 
of inaccurate and exaggerated statements about the law.
  The amendment to the state language law only governs the use of the 
state language by official public bodies. These state entities may be 
fined if they fail to ensure that Slovak--the state language--is used 
in addition to the minority languages permitted by law. The amendment 
does not allow fines to be imposed on individuals, and certainly not 
for speaking Hungarian or any other minority language in private, 
contrary to what is sometimes implied.
  The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities has been meeting 
with officials from both countries and summarized the Slovak law in his 
most recent report to the OSCE Permanent Council:

       The adopted amendments to the State Language Law pursue a 
     legitimate aim, namely, to strengthen the position of the 
     State language, and, overall, are in line with international 
     standards. Some parts of the law, however, are ambiguous and 
     may be

[[Page 31809]]

     misinterpreted, leading to a negative impact on the rights of 
     persons belonging to national minorities.

  Since the law has not yet come into effect, there is particular 
concern that even if the law itself is consistent with international 
norms, the implementation of the law may not be.
  I am heartened that Slovakia and Hungary have continued to engage 
with one of the OSCE's most respected institutions--the High 
Commissioner on National Minorities--on this sensitive issue, and I am 
confident that their continued discussions will be constructive.
  At the same time, I would flag a number of factors or developments 
that have created the impression that the Slovak Government has some 
hostility toward the Hungarian minority.
  Those factors include but are not limited to the participation of the 
extremist Slovak National Party, SNS, in the government itself; the SNS 
control of the Ministry of Education, one of the most sensitive 
ministries for ethnic minorities; the Ministry of Education's previous 
position that it would require Slovak-language place names in Hungarian 
language textbooks; the handling of the investigation into the 2006 
Hedvig Malinova case in a manner that makes it impossible to have 
confidence in the results of the investigation, and subsequent threats 
to charge Ms. Malinova with perjury; and the adoption of a resolution 
by the parliament honoring Andrei Hlinka, notwithstanding his notorious 
and noxious anti-Hungarian, anti-Semitic, and anti-Roma positions.
  All that said, developments in Hungary have done little to calm the 
waters. Hungary itself has been gripped by a frightening rise in 
extremism, manifested by statements and actions of the Hungarian Guard, 
the ``64 Counties'' movement, and the extremist party Jobbik, all of 
which are known for their irredentist, anti-Semitic, and anti-Roma 
postures. Murders and other violent attacks against Roma, repeated 
attacks by vandals on the Slovak Institute in Budapest, attacks on 
property in Budapest's Jewish quarter in September, and demonstrations 
which have blocked the border with Slovakia and where the Slovak flag 
is burned illustrate the extent to which the Hungarian social fabric is 
being tested.
  Not coincidentally, both Hungary and Slovakia have parliamentary 
elections next year, in April and June respectively, and, under those 
circumstances, it may suit extremist elements in both countries just 
fine to have these sorts of developments: nationalists in Slovakia can 
pretend to be protecting Slovakia's language and culture--indeed, the 
very state--from the dangerous overreach of Hungarians. Hungarian 
nationalists--on both sides of the border--can pretend that Hungarian 
minorities require their singular protection--best achieved by 
remembering them come election day. Meanwhile, the vast majority of 
good-natured Slovaks and Hungarians, who have gotten along rather well 
for most of the last decade, may find their better natures overshadowed 
by the words and deeds of a vocal few.
  In meetings with Slovak and Hungarian officials alike, I have urged 
my colleagues to be particularly mindful of the need for restraint in 
this pre-election season, and I have welcomed the efforts of those 
individuals who have chosen thoughtful engagement over mindless 
provocation. I hope both countries will continue their engagement with 
the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, whom I believe can 
play a constructive role in addressing minority and other bilateral 
concerns.

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