On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with representatives of Hungarian civil society organizations in Transcarpathia (western Ukraine), local government and church leaders, and soldiers. They discussed issues related to mother-tongue education for the community, support for Hungarian culture, and creating the necessary conditions for people who fled abroad due to the war and intend to return home.
At the start of the nearly hour-long meeting, Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude for the resilience shown during the harsh winter and for supporting the lines, and thanked the soldiers for defending Ukraine. The president emphasized that preparations for the coming winter must begin now. He highlighted that numerous businesses and companies have relocated to Transcarpathia, which is important for preserving jobs and creating new ones, as well as for supporting the Ukrainian economy as a whole.
László Zubánics, president of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Ukraine (UMDSZ), attended the meeting and told an MTI reporter by phone that the head of state had initiated a direct dialogue with the meeting’s participants. In this context, Zubánics raised the issue of operational challenges facing Hungarian-language secondary education, with particular regard to the demographic situation, which has been exacerbated by the war. The politician pointed out that in many cases, it is impossible to meet the minimum class size requirements in Hungarian communities. He therefore proposed that, in order to ensure the next generation of Hungarian intellectuals, a special procedure be established to enable the financing of at least one high school per micro-region.
Zelenskyy awarded state honors to soldiers, and posthumously awarded the Order of Merit, 3rd Class, to József Barta, the late vice president of the Hungarian Cultural Association of Transcarpathia (KMKSZ) and former deputy chairman of the county council (general assembly). “The significance of the meeting lies in its reaffirmation of dialogue, while simultaneously highlighting the complex realities faced by minority communities in the context of a prolonged armed conflict,” wrote the Hungarian Human Rights Foundation in a Facebook post.
Fact
In recent years, numerous incidents have come to light, ranging from discriminatory language laws to the removal of monuments and the dismissal of institute directors, all the way to tragedies related to forced conscription. The language issue is considered a particularly sensitive topic. As a result of the 2019 Language Law, the use of the Ukrainian language became mandatory in nearly all areas of public life, while opportunities for minority languages were gradually restricted. Hungarian communities interpret this process as an erosion of their existing language rights.
Via Facebook/Hungarian Human Rights Foundation; Featured photo: Wikimedia Commons
