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Lajcak Discusses State Language Act with OSCE Commissioner
Monday 08 February 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, February 8 (TASR) - Slovakia expects Hungary to stop spreading lies and misinformation about an amendment to the State Language Act, Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak said following his discussions with Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) High Commissioner for Minorities Knut Vollebaek on Monday in Bratislava.
The ministry invited Commissioner to judge for himself the legislative amendment that raised protests from Hungarian minority in the country claiming it views the measure as curtailing its language rights.
Lajcak voiced Slovakia's desire for all-round co-operation with Hungary and its willingness to discuss the imbalance between the use of ethnic minority and state languages. But he added that Slovakia is not ready to countenance the constant questioning and criminalising of the language law.
Speaking of the amendment, Vollebaek welcomed the initiative to strengthen the usage of the state language, but he stressed the need for doing so in a way that would not curtail the exercise of minority rights.
Referring to what the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK) had said earlier in the day (that it would submit to him its draft bill for the usage of minority languages by March-end, Vollebaek said he saw scope for further amendments to the current state language legislation. In Vollebaek's view this cannot be done prior to June's parliamentary election, but the process of studying the ways for doing so should begin.
Hungary has expressed support for their compatriots living with their northern neighbour, and its premier Gordon Bajnai recently announced having set up a fund to pay for the fines incurred under the measure for violation of the State Language Act.
Lajcak described the fund's creation as unorthodox conduct, adding that he is also seeking the European Union executive European Commission's opinion on the matter.
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