Semjen calls autonomy human right at community level

Martovce, Slovakia, July 11 (MTI) – Granting autonomy is not a favour done by the majority nation but the observance of human rights, because ethnic minority rights are human rights at community level, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjen said on Friday.

Addressing the second Martovce (Martos) Free University in Slovakia, Semjen and Gyula Bardos, the first candidate nominated for Slovakia’s president by the ethnic Hungarian community, spoke about the autonomy endeavours of Hungarians beyond the border, the Hungarian law on fast-track citizenship and Slovakia’s citizenship law.

Concerning autonomy endeavours and citizenship, Semjen said that ethnic Hungarians demand nothing for which there is no precedent within the European Union.

Semjen said that each ethnic Hungarian community beyond the border should develop its own tailor-made draft for autonomy and, in the meantime, have it accepted by its opponents, who are usually the “subjects of political manipulation”.

“Autonomy is not aimed against the majority nation,” Semjen said. Once approved, autonomy triggers unprecedented development, benefiting both the majority and the minority, he said.

“I do not think that it poses any danger to Hungary if its Slovak community exercises its right to self-government,” he said.

The Hungarian law on granting citizenship to ethnic kin in a fast-track procedure is “unassailable”, as Romania and Slovakia had already similar laws in place when it was approved, Semjen said.

Concerning Slovakia’s citizenship law, the politician said that in the long run it would not be possible to sustain the ban on dual citizenship since the country would thereby lose its own citizens.

Photo: MTI – Csaba Krizsan

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters