1987. április (33-52. szám) / HU_BFL_XIV_47_2
up and threatened with death only because they are o-f Hungárián nationality. When we -further consider that pupils and students attending Slovak schools are nőt taught tolerance bút rather hostility towards Hungarians, that the authorities suppress ecanomic and cultural development o-f the Hungárián ethnic minority, hindering the use o-f its mother tongue, degrading the minority's school system and standing in the way o-f contacts with its mother nation in Hungary, that they attempt to liquidate everything that testi-fies to the existence o-f an autonomous Hungárián minority, re—writing history textbooks in the spirit o-f hatred toward Hungarians, then the -f ascist—1 i ke actions taken on the night o-f 9th March are nőt at all surprising. Considerations such as these inevitably extend still further. Those who at -first merely harboured silent feelings o-f hatred toward Hungarians and perhaps went on painting abusive anti-Hungárián gra-f-fiti on buildings, have now come to use arson and vandalism. It can be expected that these same people will soon take to murdering Hungarians only because they happen to be Hungarians. Haw can Hungárián nationals feel secure under such circumstances? Any anti-Hungárián action, e-f-f ecti vely carried out in public and gane unpunished, can only encourage and stimulate -further similar incidents. We have to ask: where does it lead to? Is the situation going to worsen? Behind the incident o-f Sunday might lies more than what lies behind those offences about which one may read dispassionately in the newspapers' crime chronicle. I-f the authorities -fail to apprehend the o-f-fenders and clari-fy the reál motivations behind these crimes, in-farming the public about them accurately and in detail, the uncertainty, mistrust and -fear among the Hungárián ethnic minority will continue to deepen. Is this perhaps what somé authorities may be aiming -fór? Finally, we would like to draw your attention to the -fact that apart írom these latest cases there is the need to deal with an increasing number o-f localised militant anti- Hungárián attitudes and mani-festations which have so -far gone unchecked either by law or by means o-f school ing and education in political awareness. Bratislava, 16 March 1987 Committee to De-fend the Rights o-f the Hungárián Ethnic Minority in Czechoslovakia Signed: Miklós Duray Jaskovy Rád 161 831 01 Bratislava 4Jf- 2 -
