MINELRES: Romania: Ethnic Diversity Briefs, No. 46

[MINELRES moderator]

Original sender: Mediafax <divers@mediafax.ro>


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No. 46 / March 10, 2003

DIVERS
- reporting ethnic diversity -

SUMMARY

1. BUCHAREST AND BRATISLAVA CRITICAL OF HUNGARIAN STATUS LAW
2. PEOPLE ADVOCATE IN HUNGRY FOR MINORITIES OUTSIDE BORDERS
3. CREANGA'S STORIES TRANSLATED INTO ROMANES LANGUAGE
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BUCHAREST AND BRATISLAVA CRITICAL OF HUNGARIAN STATUS LAW
Romania and Slovakia have criticized Hungary for failing to live up to
its promise to amend a law that gives benefits to ethnic Hungarians
living abroad. Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase and his Slovak
counterpart Mikulas Dzurinda said the law is unacceptable and urged
Budapest to change it or scrap it. Nastase, who last week concluded a
two-day visit to Slovakia, came out strongly against the law. By Eugen
Tomiuc (RFE/RL)

Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase and his Slovak counterpart
Mikulas Dzurinda are calling on Hungary to respect a pledge to change a
law granting privileges to ethnic Hungarians living abroad. Romania and
Slovakia, home to the largest ethnic Hungarian minorities in Europe,
have repeatedly criticized the measure, known as the "Status Law," which
offers employment, education, health, and travel benefits to ethnic
Hungarians living abroad. Both countries have insisted that the law,
which came into force last year, must be amended to eliminate what they
call its "extraterritorial character." Slovakia also maintains that it
infringes upon its sovereignty and promotes inequality among its
citizens on ethnic grounds.Hungary has long promised to amend the law.
The Council of Europe in 2001 criticized the law as not being in
accordance with European principles of nondiscrimination.

Dzurinda and Nastase, appearing at a joint news conference last week in
Bratislava, criticized Budapest for delaying amendments to the law.
Dzurinda said: "Of course we expect the law to be amended, and we expect
that in the interest of international rules - discussion and agreement
with neighboring states being among them -- changes in this law will
take place in Hungary, and agreement with our countries will follow."

Nastase was harsher in his criticism, saying the law was unacceptable in
its current form and is in conflict with European democratic practices.
"There is a very clear [European] convention regarding this issue
[rights of ethnic minorities]. Besides, to the extent to which all the
countries in Europe have progressed toward democracy, we cannot assume
that democratic countries that are members of the Council of Europe are
not capable of ensuring conditions for ethnic minorities' existence on
their territories and that [such minorities] must be placed under some
kind of outside protection," Nastase said.

The law, adopted by Hungary's previous center-right government led by
nationalist Viktor Orban, refers to ethnic Hungarians in five
neighboring countries: Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine, the former
Yugoslavia, and Slovenia.

The measure initially covered Hungarians living in EU member Austria but
subsequently excluded that group to comply with EU rules against ethnic
discrimination among EU citizens. However, the Council of Europe's chief
legal consultative body, the Venice Commission, has warned that the
Status Law still does not comply with the EU's rules on
nondiscrimination.

Nastase went a step further last week, calling for the abolition of the
law, which he labeled a relic of the past. "In Romania, and in Slovakia
as well, the Hungarian minorities' organizations are part of the
government structures or support the government through cooperation
protocols [and] are represented in parliament.

Therefore, I don't think there is a fundamental problem regarding their
rights in terms of freedom of expression or identity. I have the
impression that we are dealing here more with problems coming from the
19th century, and I believe that we all have the duty, by cooperating
with the Hungarian government and with European organizations, to find a
solution to close down as fast as possible this chapter, which came out
of an electoral initiative of the Orban government," Nastase said.

Under a memorandum signed in December 2001, Romania and Hungary agreed
to initiate amendments to the law after six months. But Nastase
yesterday said he did not understand why Budapest has not made more
progress on changing the law.

Hungarian Foreign Ministry spokesman Tamas Toth explained that
amendments are being drafted but that the process is complicated. Toth
told RFE/RL: "This is quite a difficult task, because this is a
Hungarian piece of legislation, or I can put it that this is an internal
affair of Hungary, or it would be an internal affair of Hungary [if it
did not have] external implications. So that's the core of the problem.
That's why it's difficult, because this is a Hungarian law, but we want
to make it in a way that it would be acceptable for the neighbors. So
this is what we are working on, and I hope that this is quite clear for
both [Romanian and Slovak] governments, and I very much hope in the near
future - and I'm not speaking about months but maybe weeks - the new
draft can be finalized and presented to the Hungarian parliament."

Both Slovakia and Hungary are set to join the European Union in 2004,
and Toth said the law will be amended to comply with EU rules. "After
joining the [European] Union, not only Hungarians living in Slovakia
will be eligible for support, but support will [be available to all]. So
if the Hungarian government, let's say, decides to support the learning
of Hungarian or the studying of Hungarian culture or history, and for
this objective support will be granted, that support will not be limited
to ethnic Hungarians but also to Slovaks, and I would say also to Swedes
or Portuguese, to anybody, to all the citizens of the EU wishing to
participate in this action," Toth said.

But Bucharest will only join the EU in 2007 at the earliest, and it
remains unclear how Budapest will amend the law to fulfill both EU
requirements and its desire to support the 1.7 million-strong ethnic
Hungarian minority there.


PEOPLE ADVOCATE IN HUNGRY FOR MINORITIES OUTSIDE BORDERS
CLUJ-NAPOCA - Hungarian Parliament's chairman, Szili Katalin, stated on
March 1, in Cluj, that the Hungarian authorities assess the possibility
to set up a new institution, of "ombudsman" (People Advocate), in the
purpose of monitoring the observance of the rights held by Magyars
living beyond the borders. Szili Katalin also stated that he had
informed the Prime Minister Adrian Nastase, within a meeting they had on
Friday, that the Hungarian State is willing to bring contribution by
means of experts and finances in order to restore and reinstall Statuia
"Libertatii"(Liberty Statue) in Arad. At the meeting with the
representatives of UDMR Executive Presidium, Szili Katalin, assured them
the changes, which are to be implemented in the status Law of the Magyar
living beyond borders will contribute to the welfare of Magyar community
from Romania. (DIVERS)


CREANGA'S STORIES TRANSLATED INTO ROMANES LANGUAGE
ALBA IULIA - "Montana Motilor" Association of Alba Iulia accomplished
the work "Paramica", which is the translation into Romanes language of
"Povestiri" (Stories) book written by Ion Creanga, one of the greatest
Romanian writers. The publication was released as part of the project
called "Preventing schooling and relational non-acclimatization of Roma
and non-Roma children within multiethnic community of Vasile Goldis
Primary and Secondary School", financed as part of Phare Access
Programme - micro projects sector. The work has been elaborated by the
Ministry of Education and Research and certified as "Auxiliary
educational subject for the education of Roma students". (DIVERS)

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