Hungarian American Coalition News, 1999 (8. évfolyam, 1-3. szám)
1999 / 2. szám
STATEMENT BY THE HUNGARIAN AMERICAN COALITION April 24,1999 In achieving its long-sought goal of NATO membership, Hungary has joined a military alliance which is currently at war. At present, Hungary’s contributions to the NATO action are indirect, and stem from its geographic location as the only NATO country bordering Serbia. But Hungary faces another, much more immediate involvement: the threat of Serbian aggression against the 360,000 ethnic Hungarians living in the Yugoslav province of Voivodina. Hungary’s links to this ethnic community, and to other Hungarian minorities in border regions, go far beyond the accident of speaking the same language. The dismemberment of Hungary after the First World War severed real family contacts and crippled real communities. Despite the sealed borders and draconian prohibitions against human and cultural contact under communist rule, Hungarians on both sides of the borders retained their solidarity and sense of common identity. Since 1990, when Voivodina (together with Kosovo) lost its autonomous status, Serbian authorities have severely curtailed the local selfgovernment and minority rights of ethnic Hungarians and other minorities in the province. Language, education and cultural rights have been steadily violated. The Hungarian minority in Serbia constitutes an overtly pacifist population which has taken no side in any of the four Balkan wars provoked by Slobodan Milosevic since 1991. The political organizations representing the Hungarian minority do promote peaceable, moderate solutions, including cultural autonomy, to secure their identity and role within Serbia. Yet, with the escalation of war and continued ethnic cleansing by the Milosevic regime, anti-Hungarian sentiment is growing increasingly hostile. Voivodina’s Hungarian minority is living in an increasingly precarious atmosphere of intimidation and rising tensions. Anti-Hungarian atrocities and overt or covert ethnic cleansing are real possibilities. We believe that NATO must prevail in its campaign to stop Milosevic from committing further atrocities, ethnically cleanse Kosovo, and expand the war to frontline states. Kosovo is a tragic and stark reminder that national and ethnic minorities in Central and Eastern Europe must be allowed to exercise group or collective rights. Today there can be no doubt that minority rights defuse tensions, while their denial (rooted in intolerance, bigotry, and hatred) can result in escalating conflict and violence. The Hungarian American Coalition calls upon our own government, our NATO allies and the European Union to make every effort to protect the Hungarian community of the Yugoslav province of Voivodina from any kind of ethnic cleansing, overt or covert, and from any kind of pressure or violence. To build a secure, prosperous and united Europe, it is not enough to defeat the dark forces that stand in the way of this process. It is also our duty to stand up for those who represent the forces of light, who are our allies in this struggle. Board of Directors Honorary President Rev. Imre Bertalan Chairman of the Board Edith K. Lauer President The Hon. Peter S. Ujvági Vice Presidents George Dózsa Imre Lendvai-Lintner Rev. István Mustos Dr. Balázs Somogyi Rev. Dr. Francis Vitéz Secretary Julius Várallyay Treasurer Zsolt Szekeres Legal Counsel Géza Kádár, Jr., Esq. Budapest Liaison Szabolcs Szekeres Board of Directors ORGANIZA HON MEMBERS American-Hungarian Catholic Clergy Assoc., Rev. István Mustos American-Hungarian Federation (AMSZ), Frank Kapitan American Hungarian Fed. of Metropolitan Washington. DC, Frank Koszorús, Jr., Esq. The Bethlen Home. Rev. Paul Kovács Calvin Synod of the United Church of Christ, Rt. Rev. Louis Medgyesy Committee for Danubian Research Julius Várallyay Hungarian Alumni Assoc.-Bessenyei Assoc. Dr. Károly Nagy Hungarian American Cultural Assoc., Inc. Dr. Sándor Csizinszky Hungarian Americans for Human Rights in Délvidék. Sándor Krémer Hungarian (Magyar) Club of Chicago, IL, Paul Varga Hungarian Club of Colorado, Eugene Megyesy, Jr., Esq. Hungarian Communion of Friends. László Bojtos Hungarian Club of Toledo, The Hon. Peter S. Ujvági Hungarian Human Rights Foundation, László Hámos Hungarian Reformed Church of America, Bishop Sándor Forró Hungarian Reformed Federation of America, George Dózsa Hungarian Scouts Association Abo rad, Kathleen Awakumovits Magyar Club of Cleveland, Frank Dobos Minnesota Hungarians, Inc., László Fülöp National Committee of Hungarians from Slovakia, Prof. George Olgyay Seattle-Pécs Sister Cities Association, Helen Szablya INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS Anne C. Bader Rev. Imre Bertalan Paul Fekete Stephen Füzesi Géza Kádár, Jr. Edith K. Lauer Prof. András Ludányi László Papp George Pogan Zsolt Szekeres Charles Vámossy Dr. Agnes Huszár Várdy 3 • Hungarian American Coalition • June 1999
