On Tuesday, the chairman of the Hungarian non-parliamentary opposition party TISZA, Péter Magyar, sent a message on Facebook to the President of the Slovak Republic, Peter Pellegrini, that he will continue to use the term Felvidék (Upper Land) despite his reservations. The correspondent of TASR in Budapest informs about it.
Magyar responded to Pellegrini’s statement in a video from Monday, in which he called it insulting that the “potential future Hungarian prime minister” referred to Slovakia as Felvidék in his letter last week regarding the Beneš decrees. Felvidék is the Hungarian term for the so-called Hornú zem – the historical name of the part of Hungary that coincides with the territory of today’s Slovakia.
“If you allow me (but even if you don’t), I will call the names of geographical areas as I learned them from my parents and as we have called them for a thousand years. Just as all Hungarians call their capital, the place where 11 Hungarian monarchs were crowned, Pozsony,” writes the chairman of the TISZA party in his post addressed to Pellegrini.
“I would be grateful if you would think about the real issues I raised in my open letter to the Slovak Prime Minister,” Magyar wrote, adding that there is no place for laws based on collective guilt in the 21st century. According to him, neither Hungary nor Europe will accept that Slovakia confiscates land from Hungarians “in Felvidék” by referring to the Beneš decrees.
Among other things, Magyar reminded Pellegrini that he has the right and duty to represent all people living in Slovakia, including Hungarians from “Felvidék”, and added that he considers it his duty to stand up for all Hungarians, wherever they live in the world. According to him, Hungarian citizens of Slovak origin are respected members of Hungarian society and are not disadvantaged in any way, and he added that he expects the same from Slovakia in connection with Slovak citizens of Hungarian origin.
Magyar expressed his gratitude to the Slovak president for his several steps to date related to the enforcement of the rights of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia. As he added, it is in the interest of Slovakia and Hungary to maintain good neighborly relations and strengthen the Vyšehrad Four alliance, therefore, he informed Pellegrini that after the change of government in Hungary, together with the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, he will be respectfully expected in Budapest for a high-level meeting.
