MINELRES: RFE/RL on minority issues (29 September - 1 October 2003)

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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 7, No. 185, Part II, 29 September 2003 

SLOVAK MAYORS ACCUSE GOVERNMENT OF INTENTION TO LIQUIDATE RUTHENIAN
MINORITY. The mayors of 51 eastern Slovak settlements sent a letter to
Premier Dzurinda and parliamentary speaker Pavol Hrusovsky on 26
September to protest a cabinet decision to move a district seat from
Svidnik to Stropkov, CTK reported. The signatories called the decision
"cynical and discriminatory," and say it is intended to "completely
liquidate the ethnic Ruthenian minority." A copy of the letter was also
sent to diplomatic representatives of the European Union, Germany, the
Netherlands, the United States, and Russia. The signatories asked
parliament to change "the government's irrational, discriminatory, and
nationalist-oriented proposal." MS

HUNGARIAN VOJVODINA POLITICIAN CRITICIZES BUDAPEST OVER HANDLING OF DUAL
CITIZENSHIP. Jozsef Kasza, chairman of the Federation of Vojvodina
Hungarians, told a Hungarian-language newspaper in the Autonomous
Province of Vojvodina in northern Serbia and Montenegro that the recent
furor in Budapest over granting dual citizenship to ethnic Hungarians
abroad has "created a rift in the Hungarian nation" by whipping up
public opinion in Hungary. In the Novi Sad-based "Magyar Szo," Kasza
accused Hungarian government officials of creating a dispute that makes
ethnic Hungarians in Serbia and Montenegro feel like "aliens or
undesirable elements," "Nepszabadsag" reported on 29 September. Kasza
said the 50,000 ethnic Hungarians who left Vojvodina and settled in
Hungary enriched the latter with their intellectual and financial
capital. Dual citizenship would help stem the emigration of Vojvodina
Hungarians, Kasza concluded. MSZ


RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 7, No. 186, Part I, 30 September 2003 

ATTACKS AGAINST ETHNIC CHECHENS ON INCREASE IN SOUTHERN REGIONS.
Instances of racially motivated attacks against Chechens in Russian
cities outside of Chechnya are increasing, presidential envoy for human
rights in Chechnya Abdul-Khakim Sultygov told a human rights conference
in Moscow on 29 September, "Izvestiya" reported on 30 September.
Anti-Chechen incidents have taken place most frequently in Krasnodar
Krai and Kabardino-Balkaria. In Nalchik, assaults against Chechens on
15-17 September left one person dead and 54 injured. Participants in the
conference noted that there were no anti-Chechen incidents in Moscow
after the October 2002 theater hostage drama, and blamed the policies of
Krasnodar Krai Governor Aleksandr Tkachev and Kabardino-Balkaria
President Valerii Kokov for the incidents in their regions. JAC


RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 7, No. 186, Part II, 30 September 2003 

REPORT SAYS 10,000 SLOVAK ROMA LIVE IN CZECH REPUBLIC. A survey
conducted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for the
Czech Foreign Ministry found that some 10,000 Slovak Roma have moved to
the Czech Republic, CTK reported on 29 September. The Slovak Roma are
also among the most frequent applicants for asylum, but none of the
applications has been approved. Roman Kristof from the IOM's Prague
branch told CTK that in recent years, some 900 Slovak Roma applied for
asylum annually. Most of these Roma live in very poor conditions,
without electricity or drinking water. MS

HUNGARY SEEKS COLLECTIVE RIGHTS IN EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION. Laszlo Kovacs
proposed at a conference of foreign ministers in Brussels on 29
September that the European Constitution include the legal protection of
ethnic minorities and equality of rights for all EU member states,
"Nepszabadsag" reported. Kovacs said it is a success that the Italian
presidency said they would consider placing the topic on the agenda of
discussions. Slovak Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan countered that it
would be unfair to reopen the issue simply because "a certain country or
a small group could not find support for its proposals," TASR news
agency reported. Hungary is still seeking partners among EU countries on
the collective-rights issue, Kovacs suggested to "Nepszabadsag." MSZ


RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 7, No. 187, Part II, 1 October 2003

UN COMMITTEE ADVISES LATVIA TO ALLOW RESIDENT NON-CITIZENS TO
PARTICIPATE IN LOCAL ELECTIONS. The UN Committee on the Elimination of
Racial Discrimination recommended that Latvia should allow legal
residents who are not citizens to participate in local-government
elections and extend the period for bilingual education, LETA reported
on 30 September. The recommendations were included in the committee's
evaluation of a report Latvia made to it in August regarding its
implementation in 1998-2002 of the UN Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The committee lauded Latvia's
creation of a ministerial office to oversee societal integration, its
adoption of a Society Integration Program, a Constitutional Court ruling
that abolished restrictions on foreign-language broadcasts contained in
the radio and television law, and noted the lack of opposition to
educational reforms. The government asked Societal Integration Minister
Nils Muiznieks to establish a working group to evaluate the committee's
recommendations. SG

ROMANIAN PREMIER REJECTS AUTONOMY BASED ON ETHNICITY. Addressing a
session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on
30 September, Prime Minister Adrian Nastase said that he cannot accept
any local government autonomy based on ethnic criteria, Mediafax
reported. Nastase was answering a question by a Hungarian member of
PACE. He said that a "local community" in Romania always includes
several ethnic groups and it would not be right to place management of
local affairs in the hands of a single ethnic group. Responding to
another Hungarian PACE member's question, Nastase said that his
government and the Hungarian government will attempt to bridge
differences and reach a compromise over the Liberty Monument in the
Romanian city of Arad by December this year (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15,
16, 17, and 24 September 2003). Nastase said that the "sensibility of
Romanians" over the significance of the controversial monument must be
taken into consideration "no less than the sensibility of others." He
added, "We must not return to the past." MS

BULGARIAN UNIVERSITIES TO TRAIN TEACHERS FOR ROMANY CHILDREN. St. Cyril
and Methodius University in Veliko Tarnovo and Thracian University in
Stara Zagora have started special training courses for teachers who will
teach Romany children, "Standart" reported on 1 October. According to
docent Hristo Kyuchukov of St. Cyril and Methodius, 30 prospective
teachers will learn the Romany language, culture, and history as well as
special techniques to teach the Bulgarian language to children whose
first language is Romany. UB