Minority Hungarians Form New Body
Under the name of “Forum for Minority Organizations of Hungarians Abroad”, a new body was formed by Hungarian political parties active in the neighboring countries at the parties’ meeting in Subotica, Serbia, last week.
The meeting was organized by József Kasza, minority leader of Hungarians in Serbia, and Béla Bugár, leader of Hungarians living in Slovakia, and was focused on the issue of dual citizenship that recently failed in a referendum in Hungary.
Participants of the meeting, also including representatives of the Hungarian Democratic Alliance of Romania, requested the Hungarian government to call for the Permanent Assembly of Hungarians, and asked Parliament to draft a law on dual citizenship.
For his part, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány timed an announcement of his proposals affecting Hungarians abroad for the first day of the meeting of Hungarian parties. In his proposals, Gyurcsány suggested introducing a “national visa” and starting a “Motherland Program” for Hungarians abroad.
At the Subotica meeting, the participants did not comment Gyurcsány’s proposals, but said they found it impolite that the PM did not consult with them before announcing his proposals. In his response, Gyurcsány said that he is ready to negotiate the proposals with representatives of Hungarian parties abroad.
