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Chmel: State Language Act Must Be Amended
Monday 02 August 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, August 2 (TASR) - Slovakia's State Language Act, amended last year much to the consternation of ethnic-Hungarian organisations and political parties, needs to be re-amended, Deputy Premier for Minorities Rudolf Chmel (Most-Hid) said on Monday.
New provisions should be placed not only in sections concerning sanctions and the supervisory (oversight) authority, but also in all the other provisions smothering freedom of speech, the right to privacy, copyright, intrinsic functioning of individual communities and associations, and those that feature any elements of retroactivity, according to Chmel.
The vice-premier also pointed on the need to make sure that the State Language Act is balanced with another related law - that on the use of minority languages. In Chmel's opinion, these two legal norms must effectively secure equality among all Slovak citizens, with a due regard to those living in ethnically-mixed areas in particular.
The State Language Act, effective as of September 2009, installed the Culture Ministry to oversee whether the rules of the Slovak language in official communication are used correctly. The broadly-discussed law has also re-introduced sanctions for not following the rules of standard Slovak. Sanctions may climb up to €5,000.
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