"It must be clearly seen that the war in Ukraine might not have broken out if minority rights had been respected in the country. Therefore, peace can only be envisioned with security guarantees given to everyone and the rights of all minorities are ensured," Zsolt Semjen emphasized. On Friday, Hungary's deputy prime minister gave an interview to Hir TV at the 32nd Balvanyosi Free Summer University and Student Camp in Baile Tusnad (Tusnadfurdo), Romania, in which he was asked, among other topics, about the deprivation of rights of Transcarpathian Hungarians.
Deputy PM Semjen stressed that Hungary did everything it could for Ukraine after the regime change.
As he said, Hungary was among the first to recognize Ukraine as a sovereign country, he personally succeeded in having Ukraine's Great Famine (Holodomor) recognized by the Hungarian Parliament, and Viktor Orban did a lot to ensure that Ukrainians could travel to the European Union without a visa.
By contrast, the Hungarian minority is systematically being stripped of their rights both linguistically and educationally,
he pointed out, stressing that precisely because of the Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine, it is an uncircumventable precondition – according to the international document, the bilateral Ukrainian-Hungarian Basic Treaty and the Ukrainian Constitution – to ensure the rights of minorities. The only way to achieve this is to reinstate the rights already acquired, Zsolt Semjen opined, adding that since the Hungarians were the first state-establishing nation in the Carpathian Basin, Kiev must recognize the Transcarpathian Hungarians as a native minority.
That would solve much of the problem,
he noted.
In response to the assumption that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will not restore the rights of Transcarpathian Hungarians, the deputy PM underlined: there are conditions for joining NATO and the European Union, which were not invented by Hungary, but which our country will hold them to account over.
Without minority rights, there is no NATO and no EU integration,
he emphasized, recalling that PM Viktor Orban even put forth a proposal for Kyiv, which called for Ukraine to recognize the languages of the EU member states.
In the interview, Mr Semjen also touched on the situation of the Hungarian minority in Romania, as well as the departure of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSz) from the Romanian government coalition.
Cover photo: Zsolt Semjen, Hungary's deputy prime minister for national policy, at the 32nd Balvanyos Free Summer University and Student Camp in Baile Tusnad (Tusnadfurdo) Transylvania, Romania at the panel discussion entitled "How did public life operate during the regime change?", on 19 July 2023 (Photo: MTI/Nandor Veres)
