yeni
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gulash freak
Posts: 327
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Post by yeni on May 19, 2010 15:16:18 GMT -5
waz.euobserver.com/887/30088Slovakia incensed at Hungarian double citizenship plan GYÖRGY FOLK 18.05.2010 @ 09:01 CET Hungary's conservative Fidesz party, run-away winners in last month's parliamentary elections with a two thirds majority, has proposed making double citizenship available to inhabitants of territories formerly belonging to Hungary. The proposal prompted a vehement reaction from the government of neighbouring Slovakia, which threatened to strip Slovak citizenship from those who applied for a Hungarian passport. In order to disarm their right-wing rivals, the conservative Fidesz put the subject on the new parliament's agenda (Photo: EUobserver.com) * Print * Comment article The Fidesz government treats the issue as a priority mainly for symbolic reasons. It still causes tension today that the country lost a large part of its territory in the Trianon Treaty signed in Versailles after World War I 90 years ago. The "Great Hungary" issue is one the most effective rhetorical weapons of the minority radical right party Jobbik. In order to disarm their right-wing rivals, Fidesz put the subject on the new parliament's agenda. The Slovak government under prime minister Robert Fico immediately condemned the plan, pointing to national security concerns. After János Martonyi, Hungary's foreign minister-designate, announced the double citizenship scheme in a meeting in Bratislava with Slovak foreign minister Miroslav Lajcak last Wednesday, Slovakia recalled its ambassador to Budapest for "further consultations." According to a spokesperson for Mr Lajcak, Mr Martonyi refused to enter into discussions about the issue. Mr Fico signalled he would table new legislation taking away Slovak citizenship from everybody applying for Hungarian citizenship as well. This could, however, contravene European law, legal experts said. The Slovak prime minister is in the final stretch of the parliamentary election campaign before the country goes to the polls on 12 June. His Smer party can ill afford to lose votes to the radical right Slovakian National Party. Fidesz' vice party president Lajos Kósa rejected suggestions that his party simply wants to boost its voter base with the popular double citizenship issue. While the law would allow everybody with proven Hungarian family origins to apply, it had nothing to do with voting rights which were defined in a separate electoral law, Mr Kósa argued. Of Hungary's six other neighbouring countries, Austria and Slovenia did not react in a visible way to the Fidesz proposal. Romania, Croatia and Serbia officially allow double citizenship. Ukraine does not, but a legal ban is widely ignored, without penalty. Some 80-90 percent of members of the Ukrainian parliament carry a second passport.
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Post by szorostalpu1 on Jun 1, 2010 15:34:20 GMT -5
Finally a Hungarian govern't that cares about all the Hungarians in the Carpathian basin. Those damn slovaks can kiss our Hungarian ass, they know what this will eventually lead to. Notice those serbs and rumans are keeping their mouths shut, they pass out citizenship like free suckers in a dentists office.
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Post by lvl100 on Jun 6, 2010 3:37:24 GMT -5
It seems that Hungarians from Slovakia ( or at least a part of them) are not really thrilled by all this double citizenship thingy.
An article who analyzes different reactions from Hungarians in Slovakia. Its kinda long but worth a reading.
Three Hungarian reactions from Slovakia
by Eva S. Balogh
Three well-known Slovak-Hungarians have written or talked about the new Hungarian citizenship law in the last couple of weeks. The first article that appeared in Élet és Irodalom (May 21, 2010) was by Péter Morvay, a commentator for the well respected and much read Slovak paper, SME. The second appeared only today in Hírszerző; it is by László Barak, editor of parameter.sk, an on-line paper that is apparently the most popular Hungarian-language site in Slovakia. And finally, I will mention an interview with Miklós Duray, a Slovak-Hungarian activist and actually a promoter of the unification of the Hungarian nation without border changes.
Let's start with Morvay. His article, entitled "No, They Will Not Get Used To It," starts with a clash between Slovakia and Hungary that occurred in the final months of the first Orbán government. Let's keep in mind that in those days the Hungarian Foreign Ministry was also led by the János Martonyi-Zsolt Németh duo. Then the cause of the friction was the so-called status law. It was called the status law because if offered a special status to those Hungarians who lived in the neighboring countries. This special status included such privileges as job opportunities in Hungary for a limited period of time, a monthly stipend for families who send their children to Hungarian-language schools, and perks like cheaper transportation in Hungary. Both Romania and Slovakia strenuously objected, primarily on the ground that the law provided certain privileges within their own countries to Hungarians only and that was discriminatory. Eventually Hungary had to back down and alter the provisions of the law.
Morvay begins his article by saying that at the beginning of the controversy he was told by a high official in the Hungarian Foreign Ministry that Slovakia and Romania "will get used to" the status law. Moreover, the Hungarian diplomat added, why are these countries complaining when the Hungarians are "consulting" with them? As Morvay found out from a Czech diplomat, "consultation" for the Hungarian Foreign Ministry simply meant giving "information" to the countries about their plans. Only after both Slovakia and Romania made it clear to the Hungarians that this kind of "consultation" will not do was Budapest willing to sit down and negotiate.
Morvay hopes that eventually the same thing will happen in the case of the citizenship law. János Martonyi is inclined to call simple information "consultation." Zsolt Semjén at least tells the truth. Hungary will not consult with Slovakia because the question of granting citizenship is the prerogative of any sovereign country. Hungarians in 2010 will likely blame Robert Fico and the election campaign for the Slovak reaction, completely forgetting that although in 2002 the prime minister of Slovakia was Mikulás Dzurinda and MKP (Magyar Koalíció Pártja) was a coalition partner, Slovakia's reaction was pretty tough even then.
According to Morvay Slovakia's reaction is not at all surprising if one takes a look at Slovakia's demographic situation. The proportion of Hungarians in Slovakia is the highest among Hungary's neighbors, over 10 percent, and the Hungarians live very close to the Slovak-Hungarian border. Therefore in the eyes of the Slovak majority this half a million people could easily become a kind of fifth column in the service of a foreign country and therefore could endanger the territorial integrity of the country. Thus Slovakia has reasons to be suspicious.
Morvay adds that no sane person could possibly think that Hungary would try to revise her northern borders, but at the same time the Hungarians must understand that the country's new prime minister is constantly talking about "the unification of the nation" and at one point had a decal of Greater Hungary on his car. Moreover, there is a party in parliament that received 17% of the votes at the last elections that openly discusses revising the Treaty of Trianon.
According to Morvay the question of the Slovak-Hungarian minority's position will be decided in Slovakia, and any change requires the assistance or at least the goodwill of the Slovak majority. "Budapest can do whatever it wants, it can flex its muscles, it can be aggressive, it can run to various international organizations, it cannot change this fundamental truth."
László Barak's article entitled "Whose Shame?" (Kinek a disznósága?) which appeared in today's Hírszerző comes to the conclusion that the shame is on the Hungarian side because Hungarian politicians knew full well what the Slovak reaction would be but they didn't care. Raising the level of nationalist fervor almost always works, especially when someone wants to divert attention from other issues. Because surely it will become clear soon enough that the new Orbán government will face the same problems the Bajnai government did: there will be no money to fulfill all those expectations Fidesz politicians hinted at.
How irresponsible to pass a law that at least for the time being has no tangible benefits, only symbolic significance, while the Slovak reaction may contain concrete provisions that are disadvantageous to the Hungarians of Slovakia. The Slovak-Hungarians "have become the hostages of the selfish politicians of Hungary and Slovakia."
And finally, it was Miklós Duray who surprised me most. Already during the Czechoslovak one-party dictatorship he was the champion of Hungarian nationality rights. He was in the 90s the chief protagonist of the unification of the Hungarian nation across borders. Therefore I was astonished to hear him in an interview today announce that he has no intention of taking out Hungarian citizenship. He explained that all his life he fought for the rights of the Hungarian minority, first in Czechoslovakia and later in Slovakia. Slovakia is his country and he is a member of the Slovak-Hungarian minority.
My impression is that the Hungarian government doesn't have the support of the Slovak-Hungarian minority. But then why grant citizenship to people who most likely would gain no advantage from it and risk serious negative consequences for the Hungarian minority in Slovakia, even if they don't take advantage of it? Indeed, it is a shame. Budapest's shame.
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Post by szorostalpu1 on Jun 6, 2010 19:09:58 GMT -5
Slovakia's Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK) welcomed the adoption of the amended Citizenship Act by the Hungarian Parliament.
"The SMK considers the hysteria stemming from adoption of the bill from the side of the Slovak cabinet as inappropriate and exaggerated," the party wrote in a statement, as quoted by SITA agency.
Romania’s mild reaction to the FIDESZ initiative can be explained by the severe economic crisis Romania is currently facing. Even more important may be the fact that, although it is a small political party, UDMR plays a key role in preserving the majority of the current government in the Romanian Parliament. In order to calm down the neighboring countries, Hungarian politicians evoked 'the Romanian model of citizenship acquisition', referring to the way Romania offered citizenship to Moldavians. The new beneficiaries of Hungarian citizenship would enjoy this status from 20 August, a national day for Hungary. Romanian newspapers underlined the point that Romania would be governed by Ministers who would be Hungarian citizens as well.
The Hungarian Parliament Monday passed a bill submitted by the new center-right government to introduce a National Unity Day on June 4 to commemorate the anniversary of a traumatic treaty that left much of the Hungarian nation outside the country’s borders after Hungary lost two thirds of its territory following World War I.
Hungary will have a voice in all of our stolen territories
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Post by szorostalpu1 on Jun 13, 2010 7:09:04 GMT -5
Ahead of the poll, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico denounced neighbouring Hungary as an "extremist country that exports its brown plague," in reference to World War II Hungarian fascists.
With its citizenship law, Budapest stands accused of "rocking the boat" ahead of the Slovak election, diplomats told EurActiv.
Speaking to EurActiv on condition of anonymity, they lamented the limited leverage – if any – of the European Union in this context.
Even sources in the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) expressed concern at the turn of events, which was orchestrated by Fidesz, the EPP-affiliated ruling party in Hungary.
The Hungarian parliament, which is overwhelmingly dominated by centre-right party Fidesz following national elections in April, passed on 26 May a law making it easier for ethnic Hungarians living abroad to obtain Hungarian citizenship. The move sparked an angry response from neighbouring Slovakia.
Diplomats expressed dismay at the law, which makes it extremely easy for foreigners to obtain Hungarian citizenship and could become a source of abuse, making it easier to travel throughout Europe's Schengen area and to the USA. According to some reports, the US authorities have already asked for clarification from Budapest.
Hungarian politicians have spoken of a "peaceful change of borders," "building the New Central Europe," "universal Magyarhood" and a Hungarian state of 15 million people. At present the country has 10 million inhabitants.
Zsolt Németh, state secretary at the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that "double citizenship is one part of the effort to build the New Central Europe".
Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén said that Hungary did not have to "pay attention to the opinion of the EU" concerning its policy of building "universal Magyarhood".
"The double state citizenship can create an overall Hungarian instrument, so that the Hungarian state will be the state of all Hungarians, numbering 15 million people," he said.
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kun
Membrum
Posts: 52
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Post by kun on Mar 13, 2012 11:31:41 GMT -5
Hungarian politicians have spoken of a "peaceful change of borders," "building the New Central Europe," "universal Magyarhood" and a Hungarian state of 15 million people. At present the country has 10 million inhabitants.
Agree!
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Post by smicky on Jan 1, 2014 1:06:55 GMT -5
you're not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you hellboy87?
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Post by hellboy87 on Jan 1, 2014 3:01:31 GMT -5
you're not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you hellboy87? That's true. I was an academic failure. By the way, I think you are responding to the wrong thread. I'm glad I checked this one out.
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