FUEN’s 70 Year Anniversary Congress has started in Slovakia

FUEN’s 70 Year Anniversary Congress in Slovakia has officially started with the welcome speeches at the Pezinok castle. As the president of one of the hosting organizations, the Party of Hungarian Community MKP, Dr. József Menyhárt presented the Hungarian community. “We do not like to be called a minority, we are a proud nationality. Though we have political disputes, we have common purposes, like sustaining the education in our mother-tongue. Slovakian Hungarians have contributed with many signatures to support the Minority SafePack Initiative” – he said, welcoming the guests.

Dr. Ondrej Pöss, President of the Carpathian-German Asscoiation in Slovakia also greeted the congress, saying: “We cherish our origins, and we must not forget that our grandparents faced breaches of their human rights and strong assimilation processes. Organizations like FUEN contribute to prevent such things from happening.”

Joachim Bleicker, Ambassador of Germany in Slovakia pointed out that Slovakia is a member state of the EU, and this helped the Carpathian German community’s contacts to get stronger with Germany. “But challenges remain: lately we hear a lot about the strengthening of the national states in the EU. This rarely brings anything good to minorities” – said the ambassador.

Valentin Inzko, High Commissioner for Bosnia and Herzegovina talked about his work and experiences, saying that “whenever politicians say that peaceful coexistence is not possible, the people prove them wrong. My message for the FUEN is to continue the work it has started 70 years ago for the peaceful coexistence of minorities and majorities.”

William Romans, Senior Legal Advisor on behalf of the OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities Lamberto Zannier said that “FUEN is well-known and respected in the world of international organizations, including the OSCE. It is hard not to appreciate their hard work and enthusiasm.”