SLOVAK LANGUAGE: "THE GLUE THAT HOLDS US TOGETHER"?

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DEPT FOR EUR/CE JAMIE LAMORE; PLEASE PASS HELSINKI COMMISSION

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM LO
SUBJECT: SLOVAK LANGUAGE: "THE GLUE THAT HOLDS US TOGETHER"?

REF: BUDAPEST 501

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1. Summary: On June 30, the Slovak Parliament passed the
now-infamous Amendment to the State Language Act. Seventy-nine
of the 136 parliamentarians voted in favor of the amendment,
which Culture Minister Madaric promoted as an attempt to protect
the national language and "unite society," despite the
introduction of fines for improper use of Slovak. Many see this
as an attempt on behalf of politicians from coalition leader
SMER to gain ground with Slovak National Party (SNS) Chairman
Jan Slota's nationalist electorate. Hungarian Coalition Party
(SMK) Chairman Csaky labeled the law "the worst of its kind . .
. containing elements of linguistic imperialism." The Amendment
was signed by President Gasparovic on July 7. Both SMK and the
coalition have convoked meetings with the diplomatic community
to explain their perspectives on the law. It remains unclear
how strictly the law will be implemented, leaving localities
with mixed populations with more questions than answers. End
Summary.

Background on the Amendment


2. In March 2009, Prime Minister Fico's coalition Cabinet (with
members from his own party, SMER, as well as SNS and Vladimir
Meciar's HZDS) approved the Culture Ministry's Amendment to the
State Language Act. In April 2009, the Parliament had its first
reading of the bill, which Minister Madaric said is "natural and
pragmatic...[as] the state language should integrate all
people~[and] has a natural role in public communication as a
united communication tool." The Amendment had its second
reading on June 25; during both sessions of Parliament SMK asked
for the debate to be suspended; the request was denied. On June
30, the Amendment passed with the approval of 79 of the 136
parliamentarians present.

Most Controversial Elements of the Amendment


3. When completed, we will send an English translation of the
entire text of the approved amendment to EUR/CE, but in the
interim we note some of the more controversial elements of the
law:

--Section 5, paragraph 3a restricts the use of minority
languages in geographical names.

--Section 6 requires that Slovak be used first for all public
announcements on loudspeakers, as well as requiring all schools
to have internal documents written in Slovak, Slovak to be used
at all cultural events, and all advertisements and commercials
to be in Slovak.

--Section 6 also calls for the compulsory use of Slovak on all
monuments, tombstones, and memorials.

The law does not prohibit the use of other languages in addition
to Slovak.


4. Most often mentioned by opponents is Section 10, paragraph
9a, which provides for fines administered by the Ministry of
Culture, ranging from 100 to 5,000 euros for organizations,
institutions, and legal entities that violate the terms of the
law. Madaric has stressed that this provision will not apply to
individuals, and was added to improve enforcement of the
legislation, so that it was not just something that existed "on
paper."

A Slight Improvement


5. The new law may actually expand the use of minority
languages--or at least Hungarian--in broadcast media. According
to Section 5, paragraph 1, the broadcasting of radio and
television programs must be performed in Slovak except for the
broadcasting of (a) other language television programs with
subtitles in Slovak or with immediate rebroadcast in Slovak, and
(b) other language radio programs with immediate rebroadcast in
Slovak, or regional or local radio programs broadcast for
members of national minorities, including live broadcasts.
Independent media analysts have said that this provision will
improve the live coverage opportunities for minority radio in
particular. However, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the
Media Miklos Haraszti has said this rule is "technically and
financially prohibitive and therefore restricts broadcasting
pluralism and the free flow of information."

Madaric Defends His Bill to the Diplomatic Corps


6. On the morning of June 30, CDA was invited, along with the
COMs of the EU 27 in Bratislava, to a lunch with Minister
Madaric and Speaker of Parliament Paska to "reflect on the
adoption" of the new Act. Madaric and Paska spent considerable
time explaining to the diplomatic corps that the law was "no
real change" and in fact "increased the use of minority

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languages." Madaric provided a handout to everyone with the
1995 version of the law and new version. He downplayed
international community concerns, especially about the
imposition of fines, and noted that a written warning and
deadline for corrections must precede any penalty.

SMK Speaks to Those Who Listen


7. On July 2, SMK Chairman Pal Csaky invited the EU and U.S.
COMs to his own briefing on the Act, which he characterized as
reflecting a backward, 19th Century tendency to restrict the use
of minority languages, rather than to widen their usage as
Slovakia agreed to do when it ratified the European Charter on
Regional and Minority languages. Csaky acknowledged that his
constituents still have many concrete questions about how the
law will be implemented, and said that SMK will appeal this law
to the Constitutional Court, and will attempt to engage the EU,
OSCE, and Council of Europe.

Local View


8. On a recent trip to the Southeastern towns of Kralovsky
Chlmec (population est. 8,000, roughly 80 percent Hungarian
speaking and 20 percent Slovak speaking) and Roznava (population
est. 20,000, roughly 35 percent Hungarian speaking, 50 percent
Slovak speaking, 10 percent Romani speaking, and the remainder a
mixture of Czech and German),we heard from mayors and activists
alike deep skepticism about the implementation of the law. In
Kralovsky Chlmec, local municipal council meetings are currently
held in Hungarian, a practice which will have to change after
the law goes into effect. Both towns' mayors said that their
ethnic Hungarians speak Slovak and their ethnic Slovaks speak
Hungarian. The mayor of Roznava, Vladislav Laciak, opined that
this law might make sense to people who live in homogenous
cities, but will put a great and useless burden on
municipalities with a mixed population. Neither mayor was sure
who would inspect their towns' adherence to the new law. Both
agreed that the law would not contribute to any antipathy
between citizens, however, because their communities are quite
peaceful and have enjoyed a tradition of inter-ethnic harmony
for centuries.

Relations with Hungary


9. As reported by our colleagues in Budapest (reftel),the
Parliament's passage of the law has further soured
Hungarian-Slovak relations. On July 17, a Slovak-Hungarian
commission for minorities met in Budapest to discuss the law,
which is blamed for impeding progress on a Bajnai-Fico meeting
in Budapest this July. However, a second secretary at the
Hungarian Embassy in Bratislava told us that the meeting was
never more than provisional, and plans had never been finalized.
The GOH was taken aback by the Slovak government's presentation
of it as an agreement that was cancelled as opposed to an idea
that never came to fruition.

Comment


10. Prime Minister Fico said on July 5 that "Protection of the
Slovak State language must be the first pillar of every Slovak
government's program. It is namely the way to defend oneself
from the dangerous irredentism that has been breathed from over
the Danube ever more strongly." But if one takes Fico and
Madaric at their word, the law will have little real effect. In
that case, the law can be interpreted as a blatant ploy to gain
ground with nationalistic voters or as a gratuitous slap at the
Hungarian-speaking minority. What will be most telling is how
aggressively this law will be enforced, particularly in the
run-up to the 2010 Slovak elections. End comment.
EDDINS