Hungarian American Coalition News, 1993 (2. évfolyam, 1. szám)
1993 / 1. szám
Organization Aims to Support Hungarians in Délvidék by Steve Jesenski Hungarian American for Human Rights in Délvidék (HAHRD) was formed in 1992 in order to support the Hungarian people in northern Yugoslavia in the light of the current political turmoil in that country. (Délvidék translates to “southern territory" in Hungarian.) The formal objectives of our organization are briefly set forth below: 1. To assist the efforts of the native Hungarian in the Délvidék region of the former Y ugoslavia in their struggle for survival. 2. To demand the suspension of ethnic persecution of Hungarians by Serbs, and to call for the immediate halt to the illegal settlement by Serbs, and to call for the immediate halt to the illegal settlement by Serbs into vacated Hungarian domiciles in Délvidék. 3. To seek the restitution of citizenship with full rights and privileges to those Hungarian of Délvidék who refused to serve in the Yugoslav army during the civil war with Croatia, as well as the return of all confiscated property and just compensation for damages to those people. 4. To support the VMDK (Democratic Council of Hungarians in Délvidék) and the HMDSz (Democratic Society of Hungarians in Croatia) in their valiant efforts to secure fair representation by Hungarians in governmental bodies having jurisdiction over areas predominantly populated by Hungarian people. 5. To the extent that Serbia will not be capable of insuring the safety and equality of native Hungarians living in Délvidék, we will seek verification of the status and well being of these Hungarians by an unbiased international body. 6. To fully support the efforts of the people of Délvidék to seek self-determination. Past activities conducted by HAHRD include j a successful campaign to collect and ship a large amount of clothing and other necessities (totaling over 53 tons) to Hungarian refugees from Yugoslavia residing in Hungary, and the organization of visiting tours by prominent Hungarian scholars from Délvidék. Currently we are organizing a fall tour and lecture series in key American cities by Karoly Dudás, a noted sociologist from Délvidék. We welcome the participation of all individuals who support our cause. Update on Hungarians in the Former Yugoslavia by Hungarian Human Rights Foundation Caught in the crossfire of a civil war not of theirmaking, the Hungarian minority of the former Yugoslavia is suffering devastating human losses. Up to 30,000 ethnic Hungarians from Croatia and Serbia have been forced to flee their homeland. The rest live in growing terror as extremist Serbian war leaders turn against national minorities within Serbia. The plan for an ethnically pure Greater Serbia includes — in addition to parts of Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo — the territory of Vojvodina: an ethnically mixed, formerly autonomousregion of Serbia that is home to 350,000 Hungarians. The Hungarian minority, represented in tire Serbian Parliament by the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Vojvodina (Hungarian acronym: VMDK, for Vajdasági Magyarok Demokratikus Közössége), has consistently and vociferously opposed the Yugoslav war since its inception. VMDK, whose activist representation has made Hungarian concerns well known among human rights groups and government officials, has reported and documented □ forced alteration of tire ethnic composition of Hungarian towns and villages, through the resettlement by decree of Serbian refugees; □ large-scale forced conscription of ethnic Hungarians; □ a campaign of psychological and propaganda warfare which labels the Hungarian minority as the “enemy” of the Serbian people; □ continuing rights violations against language use, native-language media and schools of the Hungarian and other non- Serb minorities. The first victims of the war, with the invasion of eastern Croatia by Serbian troops and irregulars. included the Hungarian minority of Croatia, which tile 1991 census puts at 23,355. The war resulted in the destruction and pillaging of Hungarian-populated settlements, forcing 8,000Hungarians of the region to flee their homeland for Hungary and the West. ln Vojvodina, the forced settlement of Serbian refugees, combined with aggressive anti-minority propaganda, is an attempt “to modify, by force, the ethnic structure" of the whole province, and represents a "preparation for war," according to opposition Serbian leader Nenad Canak. Minority rights in Vojvodina, which earlier recognized five official languages, have been severely limited. After Belgrade revoked Vojvodina's autonomous status in 1990, together with that of Kosovo, authorities prohibited the use of minority languages in public affairs, even on bilingual signs, and replaced them with the Serbian language in Cyrillic script. A 1992 provision of the Education Law curtails minority education by requiring express permission from the Ministry of Education before a class in the Hungarian language may be started. The independence of the minority TV, radio and press have been severely curtailed. The Novi Sad (Ujvidék)-based daily Hungarian newspaper, Magyar Szó, has been under threat of being closed down through direct and indirect administrative measures. Not merely a Hungarian-language paper, Magyar Szó is a rare voice for moderation and peace in an increasingly belligerent and hostile atmosphere. (See related article below.) VMDK has worked out and distributed a "Memorandum on the Self-Government of Hungarians in the Republic of Serbia." a detailed proposal for far-reaching autonomy in a postwar Vojvodina. According to VMDK President András Ágoston, “A peace-minded community which has taken no part in inter-ethnic aggression—and w hich has, in fact, consistently opposed the use of force for exclusivist national gain — should not itself be allowed to fall victim to the horror of the very civil war it opposes. At no small risk to themselves the Hungarians of Vojvodina have actively demonstrated their support for the standards of peace, decency and human rights set by the international community.” (VMDK Statement to the London Conference, August 27, 1992) Hungarian Newspaper Deprived of Newsprint Publication of Magyar Szó, the only Hungarian-language daily newspaper in Vojvodina, was halted for four days in March by the nationalist regime of Slobodan Milosevic. Essential newsprint was withheld under the pretext of economic difficulties, although it was available to Serbian papers at the time. Slovak, Rumanian and Russian minority newspapers have been threatened with a similar fate. The editorial staff is calling for the privatization of the newspaper and the Forum Publishing House, which have been under the control of the Serbian regime since 1990. Magyar Szó maintains a high standard with its objective reports on the war in the Balkans and international reactions to it. Summer 1993 • Hungarian American Coalition News • 7
