 |
The forum discussed a report on a review of the realisation of cultural rights of minorities in Hungary by the minorities ombudsman as well as the strategy for 2007-2013 drawn up by the Minister of Education and Culture's public arts department.
Mária Silkó Szurmai, who heads the public arts department, said the strategy did not offer a programme for the entire cultural spectrum in Hungary, but only reviewed a small section. Minority affairs were transferred within the ministry to the Equal Opportunities Department in 2008, she added.
The authors of the report heard representatives from all 13 of the minorities in Hungary and established contacts with some 200 institutions and offices. As a result of the report, 35 legal measures were proposed and 78 recommendations made. Among the proposed pieces of legislation was one establishing a House of Minorities for archives of each of the 13 minorities.
Mária Berényi, who heads the Research Institute for the Romanian Minority in Hungary, said the 13 minorities in Hungary may stand on equal footing from a legal point of view, but there are big differences between them from other points of view. The establishment of a single documentation centre, archive, book publisher and exhibition space for all of the minorities would be a welcome step, she added.
Anna Gyivicsán, who researches the culture of the Slovak minority in Hungary, said a programme of instruction on Hungary's minorities ought to be started.
Director of the Serbian Institute Péró Lásztity acknowledged the significance of the report and the meeting of representatives of Hungary's minorities, but he criticised the Hungarian government for putting minorities in Hungary in "second place" behind the Hungarian minorities in neighbouring countries.
András Szabó Székely, an advisor at the ministry, said it is a mistake to think that the culture of Hungarian minorities in neighbouring countries carry a greater weight for the state, but he did acknowledge the need for regulations on the cultural rights of minorities in Hungary to be improved.
The participants at the meeting agreed to continue their debate in May.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
