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Culture Ministry: Hungarian Language Fund Is Inferference
Friday 29 January 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, January 29 (TASR) - The Slovak Culture Ministry regards the Hungarian Government's decision to set up a language fund designed to support ethnic-Hungarian organisations and people fined for using their mother language in Slovakia as interference in Slovakia's domestic affairs, the Culture Ministry press department said on Friday.
"The State Language Act doesn't restrict minorities from using their language; it only secures the right of all Slovak citizens to obtain information in the state language regardless of their nationality," said the ministry.
Hungarian Premier Gordon Bajnai said on Thursday (January 28) that his Government will set up a language fund with 50 million Hungarian forints (more than €184,000) to provide financial help to Hungarian organisations and people fined for using the Hungarian language in Slovakia. Legal aid and other forms of assistance will also be available, he said.
To this end, the Hungarian Government has asked the politically independent Round Table of Hungarians in Slovakia and Forum Institute organisations to co-operate in providing legal counsel. Bajnai expects Hungarian civil organisations and enterprises to support the language fund.
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