Itt-Ott, 1987 (20. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1987 / 1. szám
First, historical facts mentioned in the article are greatly out of line with reality. The article stated, that the Slovaks settled present-day Slovakia approximately 1500 years ago, and " paid in blood to hold on to their lands " against invading Avars, Hungarians (Magyars), Tatars and Turks. This falsification of history is based on a totally unproven theory promoted by fanatically nationalist Slovaks, and it should be emphasized, that this theory has no credence whatsoever in the eyes of any serious non-slovak scholar. Furthermore, not all Slovak scholars have accepted this ridiculous and unpopular theory. Briefly, I would like to highlight some of the major historical incorrectnesses that appeared in the article ; A trickle of Slav migration from Poland into present-day Slovakia, where the latter was territory belonging to the .Medieval Hungarian Kingdom at the time, started in the 13th century. This numerically small number of slav migrants settled down on land that was originally inhabited by some remaining elements of the Avar Empire but mainly by Hungarians, and it was only one century later, that this migration from the North changed from a trickle to a stream. Slovak national identity and Slovak culture, the latter containing many elements of regional Hungarian culture, didn ' t exist in any great significance before the advent of the 19th century. It is also noteworthy to mention, that the Ottoman Thrkish Empire, that led its military campaigns against southeast Europe in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, never reached as far north as the Hungarian Highlands, i.e. present-day Slovakia, and so consequently it never invaded and occupied this territory. Also, the Tatar invasion of Europe in the middle of the 13th century, which targeted Poland and Central Hungary, hardly had its devastating effects felt in the Hungarian Highlands. Second, and more importantly, the promotion of this chauvinistic theory along with such bias as presented in your article, facilitates the forceful dissolution and gradual elimination of ethnic minority communities and institutions in Slovakia today. The article mentioned the existence of minorities, such as Hungarians, Russians, Germans, Poles, Gypsies, etc. only in one sentence, and it stated nothing about how the Slovaks pressure these minorities. For instance, the one million strong Hungarian minority, which perhaps feeling this ethnic repression the greatest, is experiencing a malicious and chauvinistic policy of forceful assimilation from Slovak political authorities. The poorly written article mentions none of these brutal Slovak policy, in stead it babbles about the usual difficulties in everyday life under a communist regi“«. I am totally outraged, that a magazine of this reputation and caliber would print such propaganda, that is used today by bigots in Slovakia to facilitate the elimination of the ethinc minorities. The least that can be done to repair the demage caused by such an article, is to have the other viewpoint printed. I always read your magazine with great curiousity and joy, and having lived on two continents, I can assure you, that your magazine is unique throughout the world. I hope, you accept my criticism and will handle such delicate and politically explosive issues with better preparedness in the future. Sincerely Yours 40
