Threats to expel „Hungarian dogs” from Transcarpathia

Hungarians in the Transcarpathian region have suffered a string of harassment from anonymous letters threatening persecution and destruction, bomb threats, and to top it off, a counter-terrorism drill. Even the Governor of Transcarpathia suggested these attacks were aimed at provoking the Hungarian minority. The attacks from Ukrainian extremist nationalists may also have something to do with municipal elections in Ukraine that will be held soon, if the pandemic allows it.

Ungvár, 2017. március 18. A Karpatszka Szics szélsőjobboldali alakulat szervezésében kárpátaljai ukrán nacionalisták a "nemzetek Európája" mellett és a liberalizmus ellen tartanak fekete ruhás felvonulást Kárpát-Ukrajna kikiáltásának 78. évfordulóján Ungváron 2017. március 18-án. MTI Fotó: Nemes János Fotó: Nemes János Forrás: MTI

„They can send us to the motherland or our historical homeland. Thank you very much, this is our home. We’ve been home for a thousand years”—Marianna Pallagi, editor-in-chief of Kárpátalja.ma, responded in an opinion piece.

But this isn’t the end of the atrocities against the Hungarians in Transcarpathia. On St Stephen’s Day, three bomb threats distressed the community; a caller claimed to have placed bombs in the Catholic church in Berehove (Beregszász), as well as in Tyachiv (Técső) and Solotvyno (Aknaszlatina). The areas had to be evacuated, but the bomb squad did not find any explosive devices. Further disturbances were caused by the Security Service of Ukraine (SZBU) on August 19 and 20 when they performed largescale counter-terrorism exercises in the Mukachevo (Munkács) and Berehove (Beregszász) districts; in these areas that are otherwise usually surrounded by Ukrainian soldiers, it was not clear whether the surplus armed men were really part of the drill or not. Later, Oleksiy Petrov, governor of Zakarpattia Oblast, stated that he believed the bomb threats were intended to destabilize the local Hungarian community and an attempt to provoke the minority group. He suspects that the scandal was organized from abroad; according to him, the current false alarm was planned by the same group that in February, set fire to the headquarters of the Hungarian Cultural Federation in Transcarpathia (KMKSZ) in Uzhhorod (Ungvár).

These threats may also have something to do with the Ukrainian elections which, if the coronavirus epidemic allows, will be held in October. Already in July, Ukrainian nationalists voiced adamant complaints about an administrative reform which involved the establishment of a new district in Berehove (Beregszász); this may be what the aforementioned letter-writers were alluding to.

Extremists feared that a „Hungarian district” was born, but in reality, the proportion of Hungarians actually decreased. Incidentally, Ukraine celebrated their independence on Monday.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sent a letter on this occasion to his colleague Denisz Smihal. „Since the beginning, Hungary has stood up for the preservation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and you can count on this in the future”—he wrote. The Prime Minister expressed his satisfaction that the Ukrainian government was willing to discuss outstanding issues in bilateral relations. In conclusion, he reassured his Ukrainian colleague that the Hungarian government would be a partner in cooperation based on mutual respect and good neighborhood relations. Hungarian-Ukrainian relations have been rather frigid since Kiev voted in 2017 for a new education policy which suppressed Hungarians in Transcarpathia. Until this dispute is resolved, Hungary continues to block NATO ministerial meetings with Ukraine. In recent months, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Peter Szijjártó, managed to breathe new life into the two countries’ relations, meeting twice over the summer with his Ukrainian counterpart. Thus far, the Hungarian government has made no secret of the fact that they look forward to the presidency of Volodymyr Zelensky, who was elected over a year ago. Although hopes for a longawaited meeting with Viktor Orbán emerged in July, the coronavirus epidemic, among other things, cancelled these plans. However, the Hungarian PM’s visit to Kiev is still on the agenda.