(Un)Conditional Loyalty

By

Viktoria Veszelei	Márta Evelin Szilágyi

This week the Slovakian Parliament after years of reluctance and fierce battles passed an act on the public use of minority languages. Though both the majority and the minorities had reservations, still it can be regarded as a great achievement. However, as compromises were inevitable in order to reach consensus, this occasion as many previous others brought to the surface the issue of loyalty.

From the point of view of a minority perhaps the best proof of its loyalty towards the state it lives in is its active participation in and sense of responsibility for the overall affairs of the country. At first sight it would seem that the easiest way to act so can be from decision-making position, as part of the government. Though this is the situation in Slovakia, still the picture is a bit shadier.

The role of the Hungarian political actors in the government has been debated among the Hungarian constituents both before and after the elections. What could be considered more realistic? The fears of the skeptical or the expectations of the optimistic wing?

Some were anxious that the Hungarian parties would be obliged to sacrifice part of their program on the altar of the affairs of the whole country, which would distract their attention from the minority issue. However, this common concern was exactly what gave the Hungarian politicians strength to represent the minority interests in the forefront of the political battlefield. Those who opposed the idea of this engagement viewed the situation as if a hungry tiger smelling the raw flesh jumped on it without hesitation, not being aware of the danger that the meat might as well be rotten.

Those belonging to the other camp in their eu(ro)phoric mood were captured by the vision of the opportunity of putting into practice at least segments of the lots of ideology.
The opposition of the two currents can still be perceived, though their proportions keep changing in the light of the success of the governmental measures.

This brief analysis shows that the Hungarian minority is not completely loyal, not even in governmental position.

What are the factors that could bring a change? In our personal - consequently unreliable - opinion the Hungarians for various reasons are going to spend the next period in opposition. It would offer a perfect chance for their internal strenghtening, since as part of the government it is much harder to concentrate on the interests of a narrower layer of the society. Anything be the case, we think that the ultimate objective is the realization of the inner cohesion. Only a strong and united minority can effectively fight for its rights.

Several other factors seem to promote the success of this process. Slovakia has come to a ramification. After the collapse of the communist era, most of the satellite countries of the 'Eastern block' were obliged to choose between two paths. Either to follow the example of Western democracies, or become isolated both in political and economic sense.

To support it with a concrete example, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe made it compulsory for every single state applying for membership, including Slovakia, to accept the famous Recommendation 1201. of the Parliamentary Assembly, in this way transforming its character from soft law into a legal obligation.

Consequently, it is now obvious for every 'sober-minded' political force that a state not granting appropriate protection to its minorities is persona non grata in the international communities. Slovakia was forced by this political interest of its own to jump in another legal trap as well, by signing the Framework Convention of the Council of Europe which is the first legally binding international instrument aimed at the protection of national and ethnic minorities.

These favourable developments of international affairs can also contribute to the real strenghtening of the Hungarian minority that is to be manifested in concrete rights granted to them.

Only and exclusively if you feel at home in the country you live in can loyalty be reasonably expected from you, and not earlier.