Re: Hungarian university faces nationalist fears, By Martina Pisárová,Nov 3 - 9, Vol 9, No 42
I am somewhat puzzled about how quickly emotions flare up when touching the subject of the Hungarian minority. I was born and grew up in Switzerland. Now do not worry, I am not going to tell you about how wonderfully we do things over here and what you should do. It took us a long time to put into practice the notion that "the quality of a democracy can be judged by its treatment of its minorities."
Whenever there is criticism directed at Slovaks or demands put forward in connection with the Hungarian minority, there seems to be some sort of knee- jerk reaction that consists of listing all the bad things Hungarians are said to have committed against Slovaks. There is no point in tit for tat; an injustice is an injustice - even if committed as revenge. Revenge, as we all know, has never done anything good.
In my view, the best way to discuss these matters is to cool down and look at things in a very practical way. To ensure the loyalty of ethnic Hungarians to the Slovak state and provide harmonious coexistence, it is indispensable to grant the sort of rights that are common practice all over Europe. Giving the Hungarians a university certainly does not constitute the threat of "Hungarianisation". It is simply a step in the right direction, and much better than rearranging the voting districts in a way that makes sure that Hungarian voters and their demands carry little or no weight.
