Calvin Synod Herald, 1986 (86. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1986 / 5-6. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 15 — REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA Restrictive Practices of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic Concerning Human Contacts MEMORANDUM submitted to THE BERN MEETING OF EXPERTS OF HUMAN CONTACTS of the Signatory Governments of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe by The National Committee of Hungarians from Czechoslovakia in North America The National Committee of Hungarians from Czechoslovakia (incorporated in the State of New Jersey, USA) supports the view that the promotion of human contacts and the resolution of humanitarian cases is essential to the growth of East-West confidence and to the maintenance of international peace. Consequently, the Committee noted with satisfaction the amnesty granted by the Government of the Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia on May 10, 1985, to the ailing human-rights/ minority-rights activist Miklós Duray, a member of Charter 77, on humanitarian grounds. Likewise, the Committee was pleased to learn of the expansion of the U.S. Fulbright Exchange Program with Czechoslovakia as a result of successful negotiations held in Prague on March 4-7,1986, by government representatives concerning a bilateral cultural, educational, and scientific exchanges agreement. It is the fervent hope of the Committee that in administering the expanded exchange program the Government of the Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia will refrain from discriminating against persons of Hungarian descent, a behavior which characterized Czechoslovak practice until recently, and regretfully continues to do so. It is with a view of improving human contacts for the sake of international peace that the Committee points out, in what follows, certain restrictive practices of the Czechoslovak Government concerning human contacts, and respectfully request the Meeting of Experts on Human Contacts to scrutinize these practices in order to eliminate or modify the same. 1. While the Helsinki process had led to freer travel policies in some countries, the travel of Czechoslovak citizens continues to be severely restricted. Moreover, certain paragraphs of Law 63/1965 and Government Decree 114/1969, regulating the issuance of passports and exit visas make it possible to discriminate against particular groups of people, including citizens of Hungarian descent. The Law and Decree cited authorizes the rejection of passport application when (a) the proposed travel conflicts with the interest of the State, and (b) when someone has harmed the reputation of Czechoslovakia abroad. Passport application may be rejcted also when the purpose of the travel is to visit a person living abroad without the permission of the Czechoslovak authorities (dissidents, refugees), or when there is suspicion that the applicant will not return to Czechoslovakia after the proposed travel. It should be obvious from this enumeration that the discretionary power conferred by the Law and the Decree on the passport issuing authorities invites a political determination of the merit of applications and gives rise to frequent discrimination. Examples of this are to be found in the Czechoslovak press itself; see the column Legal Counsel in the weekly newspaper Hét (Week), published in Bratislava (Pozsony) in the Hungarian language. Issue No. 49, 1985 (December 6) discusses the rejection of the passport aplication of Jolán S. of Dunajska Streda (Dunaszerdahely). 2. While many U.S. citizens obtain visas to visit Czechoslovakia without difficulty, other U.S. citizens of Czechoslovak origin continue to be refused visas with no explanation, sometimes after receiving several visas in the past. Replies received on inquiry from the Czechoslovak authorities are often equivocal, and sometimes ridiculous. The Rev. H. K., an American citizen of Hungarian origin from Czechoslovakia, was refused visa by the Czechoslovak Embassy in Budapest, Hungary, to attend a class reunion in Komarno/ Komárom, on the ground that such application should have been made to the appropriate Czechoslovak Consulate in the United States. Denial on this ground is contrary to common international practice. 3. The movement of Czechoslovak citizens of Hungarian nationality to and from Hungary is also severely restricted, with the number of permissible border crossings recently having been reduced to two. This imposes undue burden on families separated by the border. 4. A particularly harmful, even vicious, form of limitation on human contacts is the deliberate cutting off of persons from their cultural heritage by denying them access to appropriate sources or manipulating the access to the same. In the Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia this takes the form of deliberately reducing cultural and literary opportunities for citizens of Hungarian nationality; strict control of publishing outlets in the Hungarian language; reduction in the number of books imported from the Hungarian People’s Republic; complete exclusion of Hungarian books published in the Rumanian Socialist Republic, in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the U.S.S.R., or in other countries. Customs authorities hinder the importation of books from the West, especially from the dollar area, in violation of the Helsinki Agreements. 5. In relation to #4 above, special mention should be made of the approximately 53% surcharge placed on the price of books in Czechoslovakia imported from Hungary, and last year’s 100% to 400% price increase of certain periodicals from Hungary, amounting to a “cultural blockade.” While some would consider this as “indirect” human contact, it is nevertheless in clear contravention to humanitarian norms, and at the same time contrary to international conventions of which the Government of the Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia is a signatory. Under these circumstances the Committee feels constrained to register its protest and ask the Meeting of Experts on Human Contacts to scrutinize the practices of the Czechoslovak authorities so as not to jeopardize harmonious relations among peoples and the maintenance of international peace. Respectfully submitted by Kristóf Hites, Chairman National Committee of Hungarianfrom Czechoslovakia in North America
