Slovak News Back to the news
Fico Calls Solyom's Statements Malicious and Plotted Attack on Slovakia
Monday 15 March 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, March 15 (TASR) - According to Prime Minister Robert Fico, the statements made by Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom over the weekend are a malicious and plotted attack on Slovakia. Fico said that in response to Solyom's words that Hungarians living in Slovakia, Serbia and Romania should be learning the respective state languages only as a foreign language.
"We find these statements to be a coarse attack aimed against Slovakia's integrity ... a whittling away of Slovak citizens' command of the state language - regardless of their nationality - means to whittle away Slovakia. This represents a destruction of the Slovak Republic and all elements of its statehood," said Fico, adding that the claims made by Solyom is at the same time harming the Hungarian minority in Slovakia. Because it has become hamstrung – unable to participate in civil and economic activities all around Slovakia," explained Fico.
The premier underlined that if Solyom's claim was actually accepted, it would cause further deepening of ignorance of the Slovak state language (by Hungarian minority), and there would be a great number of people living in Slovakia, having not even an elementary command of the state language. "Which is unthinkable, and unacceptable for the Slovak Government," closed Fico.
Also nationalist and co-ruling SNS commented on Solyom's statements, saying they expect the Slovak Government, in protest, to call on Brussels to take away the planned Hungarian EU presidency until "irredentist tendencies continue".
All rights reserved. Any publishing or further dissemination of press releases and photographs from TASR's resources without TASR's prior written approval constitutes a violation of the Copyrights Act.
