BRATISLAVA, March 10, (WEBNOVINY) – Representatives of the non-parliamentary SMK will attend a session of the Forum of Hungarian Representatives of the Carpathian Basin in Budapest on Friday. The ruling coalition party MOST-HID will not be present as it has not been invited again.
The session will debate changes to the Hungary’s constitution. The delegation of SMK will present its own proposal at the meeting. The Hungarian constitution presently dedicates merely a single sentence to Hungarians living abroad. “The Republic of Hungary feels responsible for what happens to Hungarians living outside Hungary, according to the constitution. We suggest changing this sentence to ‘The Republic of Hungary takes responsibility for the lives of Hungarians living abroad’,” SMK leader Jozsef Berenyi told SITA on Thursday. In addition to this, his party plans to propose that Hungary perceives issues related to rights of Hungarians living abroad and the institutional guarantees of their lives as matters of international law and not only of legal norms of a certain country.
Berenyi reasons that the proposal of his party is important because the constitution cannot be changed every day. “Such a change will probably not be possible in the future,” he underscored. He called the above sentence in the current wording of the constitution insufficient and vague because it can be interpreted in various ways. “Our proposal increases the commitment not only of the Hungarian government but of the entire Hungarian society. If I’m not wrong, the Constitution of the Slovak Republic contains a similar sentence”, he concluded.
MOST-HID Chairman Bela Bugar is not concerned that his party has not been invited. “It is a decision of the Hungarian side. We do not deal with it. We have enough sessions on laws here”, Bugar said in reaction. However, he would be happy if all attendees at the forum bear in mind that any decision may influence the lives of the citizens of the Slovak Republic. “So, I wish them such decisions that will not heighten tension. Every one must consider what decisions can mean. We do not need to transform problems of the Hungarian political scene here. It would not be good if Hungarians in Slovakia were involved in the election campaigns of Hungarian parties in Hungary,” he announced.
SITA