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Minorities Discuss Proposals to Tackle Their Status in Slovakia
Tuesday 29 June 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Kosice, June 29 (TASR) - Several non-political organisations purporting to represent Czechs, Hungarians, the Roma, Ruthenians and Ukrainians living in Slovakia on Tuesday resumed their talks on draft laws governing the status and rights of national minorities.
Following up on talks held March 22-23 in the village of Vinica (Banska Bystrica region), Czech Society chairman Pavel Dolezal said the organisations intend to meet Premier-designate Iveta Radicova to ask her to have their proposals included into the Cabinet's manifesto. "We have prepared three points - discussion of a law on ethnic minorities, which is sorely missed in Slovakia, a law on the use of ethnic minority languages and a law on the financing of minorities.
Kalman Petocz, Speaker for the Roundtable for Hungarians in Slovakia, noted that since the Velvet Revolution of 1989 Constitutional Article 34 (under which ethnic groups are assured the right to be involved in decision-making about them) has been flouted.
Ruthenian Awakening head Vladimir Protivnak says that national minorities must be considered an integral part of a society and not as a burden. "They should be making decisions ... they live and pay taxes here and set out priorities to be tackled including language, culture, religion and other matters," he said.
The organisations claim loyalty to the state and they do not want to be drawn into politics. In order to have their issues addressed, they propose setting up a standing commission and a Conference of Ethnic Miniorities.
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