THE PARLIAMENTARY mandate and immunity committee has recommended that disciplinary proceedings be launched against ethnic Hungarian politician Miklós Duray over comments he made in favour of former Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán.
Duray, who had said that "Felvidék", the old Hungarian name for Slovakia, supported Orbán, did not attend the committee meeting.
MPs for the nationalist SNS opposition party on May 14 hung a sign in parliament declaring "No entry to the Slovak parliament for Hungarian chauvinists. Your parliament is in Budapest." The MPs also encircled Duray's desk in chains to prevent him taking his seat; Duray eventually sat at the nearest free desk, and parliament resumed without further incident.
The SNS had sworn to bar Duray from entering parliament at all, but later contented itself with signs and chains.
SNS chair Anna Malíková said that the action was aimed at making Duray "kneel and beg for pardon in exchange for our taking the chains away".
Duray said he still felt more Hungarian than Slovak, but added that he had "promised my [Hungarian Coalition - SMK] party that until [elections at] the end of September I won't make any political statements to the media".
