1987. április (33-52. szám) / HU_BFL_XIV_47_2
süíMlfli 24/D Líttle Rutsel! Street, LOMDOM, WC.i ■ Te/. 0<-4»o H 26 • G. Kras-sá 51/1987 /E/ 28th April, 1987 Letter of Charter *77 to the Committee to Defend the Rights of the Hungárián Ethnic Minority in Czechoslovakia /Document No. 24/87/* Dear Friends, Thank you -far your letter marking the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Charter 77. It is dated January 1987 bút it was nőt until the middle of March that we learned the contents of your letter from a copy. The post failed to deliver the original. You will therefore excuse us fór the delay with which we reply. Recently, there have been incidents perpetrated in Bratislava on which we have already commented in our Document No. 23 of 27 March 1987. Together with previous acts of anti-Hungárián hatred and the cases of bullying directed against Hungárián citizens, these latest manifestations of stark intolerance throw an uncompromising light on somé problems mentioned in your letter. It is apparent that the minorities' experiences may provide a useful incentive to a thorough assessment of the problems related to the complex composition of a society and the tensions arising from a limited tolerance which is inadequate to natural needs of all the groups coexisting within that society. We alsó regard as important your reminder of the fact that nowadays, when the authorities are beginning to speak out about mistakes which nőt so long ago were to remain under the cover of silence, we have to devote more attention to the rights of community. Charter 77 has already spoken on behalf of the rights of the Hungárián minority in Czechoslovakia in the pást. We support unconditional1y the protest against cultural diserimination made by the members of theHungarian minority. The opportunities of a university level education in the Hungárián language are diminishing, so too is the number of primary and secondary schools, and even nursery schools where children are taught in Hungárián. This kind of cultural diserimination is reflected in terms of the educated and professionals within the Hungárián minority structure. The 1984 report "Information and facts about nationalities living in Czechoslovakia" released by the Nationalities Council of the Slovak government States that among the economically active part of the populatian in Slovakia, the number of Hungárián manual workers — 467. — is the highest among all other The English text of this letter was given to us by Palach Press Ltd. /London/. x
