Daniel Kluvanec, Rector of Konstantin University in Nitra/Nyitra, declined support for the recently adopted resolution of the government [see report of January 24], allocating 10 million Slovak Korunas for the establishment of an independent Hungarian-language faculty at the university, saying that he wants to prevent Hungarian students from studying in a "linguistic ghetto." The Hungarian-language faculty, a major aspiration of the 560,000-strong ethnic Hungarian community, would include Hungarian-language teachers training, as well as other subjects in humanities such as sociology and anthropology. In an interview with the Slovak-language daily, Sme, Kluvanec rationalized that the university already provides ethnic Hungarian students with adequate native-language instruction and that the conditions for introducing, for example, anthropology are lacking since there are not enough Hungarian-speaking professors. The lack of adequate teachers is precisely why the Hungarian community aspires to establish such a faculty. [Magyar Nemzet (Budapest), 2001. Jan. 31]

The leaders of Slovakia’s Greek Catholic and Orthodox Churches agreed on a division of churches, schools and lands between the two institutions with both parties abandoning some claims in favor of monetary compensation by the state [see report of December 20, 2000] The source of the tensions was the forced merger in 1950 of the Greek Catholic Church with the Orthodox which assumed the former’s assets. [OMRI Slovak Daily Digest (Prague), Jan. 29, 2001]

At its meeting in Galanta/Galánta, the National Council of the Hungarian Coalition Party (HCP) agreed to unanimously support amendments to the Constitution during the upcoming parliamentary session. Constitutional amendments, a necessary prerequisite for the country' EU accession, require a two-third majority (or 90 votes) of the 150-seat Parliament, which the current four-party government coalition exceeds by only two votes. Previously, the ethnic Hungarian party conditioned its support for constitutional changes on the following three requirements: (a) establishing an independent Hungarian-language faculty at Konstantin University in Nitra/Nyitra (b) signing the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and (c) transferring title of unclaimed lands belonging to state but located near villages to the localities concerned [see report of December 14, 2000]. All three objectives are included in the government's program adopted in 1998. In its statement, the National Council pointed out that even though further deliberations are necessary on the issue of unclaimed lands, progress made in the first two requirements provides enough ground to support the constitutional changes. [www.mkp.sk (Bratislava/Pozsony), Jan. 26, 2001 and MTI - Hungarian Telegraph Agency (Budapest), Jan. 26, 2001]

Should the Hungarian-language faculty at Nitra/Nyitra's Konstantin University be established [see report of January 25 and 22], the Youth Movement of the Slovak National Party (SNS) will forcefully occupy the building of the university, warns a statement issued by the organization. Toeing the SNS line, the Youth Movement also demands that the Mikulás Dzurinda-led government, which it has labeled "traitorous" resign because it threatens the territorial integrity of the country. In addition, the statement called on President Rudolf Schuster to strip OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Max van der Stoel of the distinguished medal awarded him on grounds of his alleged intervention in favor of the Hungarian-language faculty. Another youth organization, the Party of Young Democrats, posted bilingual notices on a billboard near Konstantin University saying “Why waste 10 million Korunas for a mere hypothetical faculty while we are freezing in the dormitories?” The statement goes on to claim that the government's recommendation of a Hungarian-language faculty is not grounded in reality while it creates upheaval among professors and students. [Új Szó (Bratislava/Pozsony), Jan. 26, 2001]

The government adopted a resolution recommending that an independent Hungarian-language faculty at the Konstantin University in Nitra/Nyitra be established. The government also allocated 10 million Slovak Korunas ($215,100) for this purpose. Ministers from the Party of the Democratic Left, including Education Minister Milan Ftácnik, voted against the resolution. Even though the government's resolution is not binding, the Rector of Konstantin University, Daniel Kluvanec, said that the institution cannot ignore it. He confirmed that the University Council will have the final say over the Hungarian-language faculty, which will be preceded by a lengthy legal process. OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Max van der Stoel commended the government for the adoption of the resolution and expressed his hope that agreement will be reached with the university. In his recent visit to Slovakia, the High Commissioner facilitated talks between university leaders and the government over the faculty [see report of January 23]. [Új Szó (Bratislava/Pozsony), Jan. 25, 2001]

In an interview with the Hungarian-language daily, Új Szó, ethnic Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister for Human Rights, Minorities and Regional Development Pál Csáky commented on the government's decision to sign the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages [see report of January 17]. “Even though the proportion of the ethnic Hungarian community [10.7 percent of the total population] should have warranted a more extensive version of the Charter, overall, I think we reached a fair compromise," pointed out Csáky. One of the key provisions of the Charter mandates Hungarian-language instruction at the higher educational level. In the explanatory text—which supplements the Charter—the government recommended that Hungarian-language instruction be conducted mainly in the humanities, for example teachers' training, theology and cultural subjects. Csáky also mentioned the Charter's twofold significance: (1) it broadens minority language rights thereby improving the minority's sense of security vis-a-vis the majority, and (2) it brings implementation of the linguistic rights set down in the document under the jurisdiction of the Council of Europe. The allegations made in a recent television broadcast by Slovak National Party President Anna Maliková that the Charter discriminates against ethnic Slovak citizens is totally unfounded, Csáky stated. [Új Szó (Bratislava/Pozsony), Jan. 23, 2001]

During his two-day visit to Slovakia, OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Max van der Stoel continued talks with leaders of the Nitra/Nyitra-based Konstantin University, including Rector Daniel Kluvanec, Head of the Hungarian section Béla László, and Deputy Rector Tibor Kmet on establishing a Hungarian-language faculty at the university. After the closed-door meeting, Max van der Stoel did not disclose any information to the press and urged university leaders to follow suit. Anna Maliková, President of the extremist Slovak National Party, accused the High Commissioner of “exerting political pressure to the detriment of freedom in higher education, and intervening in the domestic affairs of the Slovak Republic.” [Új Szó (Bratislava/Pozsony), Jan. 23, 2001 and MTI - Hungarian Telegraph Agency (Budapest), Jan.23, 2001]

The Agriculture Ministry spokesman announced that Minister Pavol Koncos is amenable to returning lands to the heirs of Holocaust victims. The Minister also expressed support for using rents collected on lands leased by the state that were originally the property of these victims to be used for preserving Slovakia’s Jewish cultural heritage. [OMRI Slovak Daily Digest (Prague), Jan. 22, 2001]

The government approved Slovak-Romany language census questionnaires for the May-June 2001 national census following protests by Roma organizations for being excluded [see report of December 20, 2000]. In accordance with the Minority Language Law of 1999, the questionnaires will be used in those localities where Roma make up at least 20 percent of the population. The census determines, among others, the amount of future state financial assistance to national minority organizations and churches. [OMRI Slovak Daily Digest (Prague), Jan. 19, 2001]

Following months of heated debate, the government decided to sign the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The Charter will apply to nine languages, and provide for minority language use in public services and administration in localities which are at minimum 20 percent minority inhabited. Ratification of the Charter is one of the prerequisites for Slovakia to join the European Union. It was also one of the three conditions on which the Hungarian Coalition Party lent its support for amending the Constitution [see report of December 14, 2000]. In a last-minute attempt to restrict the effects of the Charter, Education Minister Milan Ftacník proposed an amendment to Article 10, which would have harmonized the Charter with "current" domestic legislative standards. The government rejected this amendment. The Minority Language Law [see report of July 10, 1999] adopted in 1999 failed to reverse many discriminatory provisions of the 1995 State Language Law, and fell short of the expectations of national minority communities. [Új Szó (Bratislava/Pozsony), Jan. 18, 2001]

In a message addressed to the Sudeten Deutsche Academy, Slovak President Rudolf Schuster called the postwar deportation of Germans East Central European countries a tragic mistake. The president added, however, that he was not questioning the 1945 Slovak Benes Decrees, which were the instrument of ascribing collective guilt to ethnic Germans and Hungarians and deporting them from the country, but said it “was necessary to reassess what was done rightly, and what not.” The Slovak Foreign Ministry stated it sees no reason to apologize for the deportation of the so-called Sudeten Germans. [OMRI Slovak Daily Digest (Prague), Jan. 17 and 18, 2001]

104 mayors of ethnic Hungarian majority inhabited localities in Southern Slovakia expressed unanimous support for the creation of one county from the region’s six districts that contain significant Hungarian populations: Dunajská Streda/Dunaszerdahely, Sala/Vágsellye, Galánta, Komarno/Komárom, Nové Zámky/Érsekújvár and Levice/Léva. The move contradicts Viktor Niznanský, Minister-at-Large for Public Administration Reform’s claim that creation of the so-called “Komarom District” doesn’t enjoy local support and is merely the aspiration of the Hungarian Coalition Party (HCP), stated József Kvarda, Chairman of the HCP’s Council on Self-Government. Kvarda added that this new district would enhance the region’s development. Public administration reform is European union membership requirement for Slovakia. [Új Szó (Bratislava/Pozsony), Jan. 13, 2001]

Vitazoslav Moric’s views on the Roma minority were once again broadcast, this time on Radio Twist where he elaborated on his proposal to set up “reservations” for “unadaptable Roma.” Here these “unadaptable citizens” would have “all necessary conditions for life except money” which they would get only if they “fulfill certain conditions” such as work “in the public service” or in “education for ethics and morals,” said the deputy from the nationalist Slovak National Party. Charges against Moric for disseminating racial and religious intolerance were brought last October by the Bratislava Attorney General’s Office and subsequently dropped. [OMRI (Prague), January 8, 2001]