“The Hungarian Coalition Party’s (HCP) demand for maintaining the integrity of the Csallóköz region is inconsistent with our plans to establish a 12 county system,” said Viktor Niznansky, the government’s commissioner for public administration reform. HCP President Béla Bugár stated that regardless of whether there will be 12 districts or 13, it is crucial that the historical Csallóköz region remain intact. [Új Szó (Bratislava/Pozsony), Jun. 28, 2000]

At a meeting in Stúrovo/Párkány, the Hungarian Coalition Party’s (HCP) main decision-making body released a statement saying that in addition to the 12-county proposal in the government’s plan for public administration reform, a 13^th county should be established, which unites the existing southern districts of the country, where a significant number of ethnic Hungarians, into one unit. [Új Szó (Bratislava/Pozsony), June 26, 2000]

According to the Chairman of the Hungarian Coalition Party’s Council on Self-Governments József Kvarda, HCP should take up a clear position on the issue of unclaimed lands, a revised preamble to the constitution [see report of May 17] and public administration reform. HCP recommended a while ago that the preamble of the Constitution be changed from “We, the Slovak nation…” to “We, the citizens of the Slovak Republic…” thereby including ethnic minorities living in the country. On the issue of public administration reform, Kvarda pointed out that the Interior Ministry has prepared an alternative plan consisting of 13 counties as opposed to Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Miklos’s twelve. “This [13 county] plan would infringe upon ethnic Hungarians’ rights by dividing the [ethnically compact] territories they inhabit,” Kvarda said. According to the Interior Ministry’s plans, Bratislava/Pozsony would become a county and the overwhelmingly ethnic Hungarian-inhabited district of Dunajská Streda/Dunaszerdahely would be attached to it thereby eliminating a Hungarian majority in that district. Speaking to the Bratislava/Pozsony-based Hungarian-language daily Új Szó, Kvarda pointed out that should the plan go through, the percentage of ethnic Hungarians would also fall under the 20 percent threshold in the Nitra/Nyitra district, thus endangering implementation of the minority language law and the soon to be ratified European Charter on Regional or Minority Languages. [Új Szó (Bratislava/Pozsony), Jun. 22, 2000]

Jenő Görföl was elected Secretary General of CSEMADOK — the cultural umbrella organization of Hungarians in Slovakia. Beginning his term on July 1, Görföl plans to reorganize CSEMADOK and secure proper funding for the organization. [Új Szó (Bratislava/Pozsony), Jun. 12, 2000]

In an interview with the Hungarian-language daily Krónika, published in Rumania, Hungarian Coalition Party (HCP) Vice President Miklós Duray stated that since becoming a member of the country’s governing coalition his party has put off promoting cultural autonomy for the community. At the same time, the ethnic Hungarian party’s share in governing has helped it build local self-governments since HCP now has a greater role in the law-making process. Duray conceded that ethnic Hungarians, both in Rumania and Slovakia, “have given more than they have received from their respective governments.” According to Duray, both governments have gained in respectability by Western democracies mainly because ethnic Hungarians are an integral part of them. “Our presence in the government reduces anti-Hungarian sentiments in our coalition partners thus lessening anti-Hungarian feelings in society as well,” Duray concluded. [Új Szó (Bratislava/Pozsony), Jun. 6, 2000]

An urologist at a private clinic in Sala/Vágsellye, Ivan Krizan, was charging ethnic Hungarian patients for speaking in their native language. Following an investigation by the Hungarian-language daily Új Szó, the “We Speak Hungarian—Language Fee 50 Korunas” sign disappeared from the doctor’s office, who admitted that by speaking to ethnic Hungarians in Hungarian he was providing an extra service that warranted the equivalent fee of $1.30. [Új Szó (Bratislava/Pozsony), Jun. 6, 2000]

Deputy Prime Minister for Human Rights, Minorities and Regional Development Pál Csáky appointed Jana Kviecinská to head the government's separate Department for Human Rights, Minorities and Regional Development. Kviecinská, a former employee of the department, succeeded Juraj Hrabko, who resigned from his post in May 2000. Anna Danielcáková will lead the human rights section, ethnic Hungarian Katalin Kádek heads the minority section. [Új Szó (Bratislava/Pozsony), Jun. 6, 2000]

At the 45^th session of the Federalist Union of European Nations (FUEN) held in Komárno/Komárom, Béla Bugár, Vice President of the Parliament and the Hungarian Coalition Party’s President, commented on the European Charter on Regional or Minority Languages, soon to be ratified by Slovakia. Bugar pointed out that while the Charter does differentiate between languages, it limits the way specific countries can implement its provisions. Once a country has ratified the Charter, it can classify its minorities’ languages into different categories, thus specifying the limits of their usage. “This enables governments to place a given language in a lower category despite its homogeneity, widespread territorial dispersion, or complexity, in order to prevent the state language from suffering damage,” Bugár warned. In his view, the Charter should be ratified and implemented in the spirit of the recommendation it contains. [Új Szó (Bratislava/Pozsony), Jun. 3, 2000]