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Foundation Stone of Slovak House in Mlynky to Be Laid on April 21
Wednesday 14 April 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Mlynky, April 14 (TASR) - The issue of the Slovak House in Mlynky (Pilisszentkereszt) in Hungary is resolved, with the foundation stone of the new Slovak House due to be laid on April 21, TASR has learned from Chair of the Slovak community in Mlynky Marta Demjenova.
"Before the ceremony of laying the foundation stone, we'll sign the contracts. We've received financial resources from the Hungarian and Slovak Governments," said Demjenova, adding that building permits for the new Slovak House have been already granted.
The Slovak community in Mlynky is proud of its nationality, with its members arriving at polling stations dressed up in Slovak folk costumes to cast their votes.
The ethnic Slovaks would like to help improve Slovak-Hungarian relations. "In the past year, when the suspense between Slovakia and Hungary escalated, we came up with a hike to Pilis under the title 'on a Joint Path' - to point out that our two nations share the same history, roots, live together in the Carpathian Basin, and that Slovaks and Hungarians can co-exist in friendship," she said.
Older people speak the Slovak language quite well, unlike the younger generation. "The problem is that the Slovaks in Hungary are scattered about. As soon as we leave our village, we speak only Hungarian everywhere," explained Demjenova, adding that all ethnic-Slovaks speak only the Hungarian language in high schools.
Village mayor Jozsef Lendvai said that there have been no problems with the co-existence of Slovaks and Hungarians in Mlynky, which has the highest concentration of Slovaks in Hungary. "If an incident occurred, the opinion exchanges have been always provoked by politicians," emphasised the mayor, adding that he believes the peaceful co-existence is here to stay.
Mlynky has a population of 2,275 people, of which 54.6 are Slovaks. Slovak House has been a bone of contention for the past two years, as the municipal authorities decided to evict the Slovaks – and much diplomacy preceded today's development.
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