About 75 mayors of cities and towns from the Slovak-Hungarian regions of Gemer, Malohont and Novohrad (Banská Bystrica region) signed an appeal on November 11 in which they condemned all forms of intolerance, nationalism and extremism.
Referring to what has been appearing recently in Slovak-Hungarian relations, the statement reads: "We're interested in good coexistence and development of mutual relations." According to one of its initiators and ethnic-Hungarian SMK MP Zsolt Simon, a further 12 mayors from Pohronie (Banská Bystrica region) are to join the appeal.
Gemer used to be a multicultural region without conflicts between nationalities, Simon said. "We need peace for good coexistence and it will only come about when representatives of both countries sit down and discuss matters in a constructive way," he said. "We also call on them to prevent from manifestations of mutual intolerance and the promotion of extremism.”
The appeal was submitted to Gejza Farkas, the Hungarian consul in Slovakia, who promised to deliver it to the Hungarian Government and parliament. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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