“Whenever are you going to take the body? You have had two check-ups confirmed already”. The story of Ihor, a defender from AzovStal
28 December, 2023
It was 2021, I was on the train home from Kyiv, when my fellow passenger, having learnt that I was from Zakarpattia region, asked me “how are those separatist Hungarians doing there?”
I asked her what she thought of me in return. The woman replied: “Well, you seem like a nice, cultured person”. And I shot back: “Because I am one of the leaders of this group of ‘cannibalistic separatists’.”
Then I told my fellow passenger about the Hungarian community in Ukraine, about the multicultural peace in Zakarpattia, which is a historical example, and how, regrettably, a very toxic image of Hungarians has been formed in Ukraine over the past 5-7 years. We had a very interesting and friendly conversation for several hours.
It is only over the past two years, primarily owing to our Hungarian military personnel serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, that it has become clear to an increasing number of people that the Zakarpattia Hungarian national community differs in its mindset, needs and interests from Hungarian citizens, and even more so from Hungarian politicians.
We, the Transcarpathian Hungarians, live in Ukraine, work in the legislative field of Ukraine, and all our actions are aimed to ensure that our community feels comfortable in Ukraine, and that Ukraine is a sovereign, independent and prosperous European state.
Over the past few years, we have been involved in the development of Ukrainian legislation on national communities, including in terms of European integration requirements. Whenever various institutions of the Council of Europe, the EU, Hungary, or the state of Ukraine invite us as experts, we try to cooperate with all of them and share our expertise, because we are willing and able to be ambassadors for the sake of building bridges between them all. Our logic is that by striving for the best for the Hungarian community and defending its rights, we are also doing good for Ukraine as a future member of the EU and NATO.
I will be frank: when last November we, representatives of the Hungarian community of Zakarpattia, were received in Kyiv by the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal to present the final drafts of the amendments to the legislation, I could not believe that this was really happening and that such substantive changes in Ukrainian legislation on minority issues were possible. I thought it was some kind of false information, and I only believed it when the full text appeared on the website of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
So, when a delegation of EU ambassadors came to Zakarpattia just before the law was adopted, we, as leaders of the Hungarian community, appealed to both the Hungarian government and EU institutions to support Ukraine’s European integration and open negotiations. And when these amendments to the legislation were adopted by the parliament in December 2023, it came as a shock to me (in a positive way). I simply could not imagine that on 8 December, 317 MPs, representing all parliamentary factions, would support such specific and qualitative changes. We had not even dreamed of it all the years before.
At the very same time, I should note that the new legislation also has moments when there is a seemingly positive clause that can be interpreted differently on the ground.
This applies, for instance, to the part on the number of subjects taught in Ukrainian in classes with instruction in languages of national minorities. The list of subjects can be expanded upon the decision of the educational institution. Thus it raises questions about the automatic effect of the law, which would not allow individual communities to speculate.
I would like to emphasize right away that it is not that Hungarians do not want to learn Ukrainian or study in Ukrainian. There are many examples in Zakarpattia region where Hungarians themselves choose to study in Ukrainian, sometimes fully or where more than four subjects are taught in Ukrainian, as is currently provided for in the law.
However, there are communities where, for one reason or another, usually purely political, representatives of the Hungarian community may be denied the full range of language rights provided for by law. I emphasize: they may be denied not because of a lack of funds or teachers, but purely for political destructive reasons. Such actions provoke tension, even diplomatic disputes, although obviously, this is exactly what the local politicians who do this want.
Another example of speculation and conspiracy is the use of national symbols, in particular Hungarian ones, in Zakarpattia region. This also requires a clearly defined legal framework on how national minorities should unify, register and use their symbols, and what they may contain.
And when all these and other issues are clearly enshrined in law, we, as civilized people and ethnic communities, will be able to stand up for ourselves and our rights, regardless of who stands behind our backs. And if the European Union or elsewhere asks for our opinion on the state of protection of the rights and interests of national communities in Ukraine, we will be able to answer with even more confidence. I am convinced that this serves Ukraine’s interests.
🇺🇦 Ця публікація доступна також українською мовою: Угорці Закарпаття прагнуть бути амбасадорами України у ЄС
🇭🇺 Ez a kiadvány magyar nyelven is elérhető: A Kárpátaljai magyarok arra törekednek, hogy Ukrajnát képviseljék az EU-ban
🇸🇰 Text v slovenčine: Zakarpatskí Maďari sa chcú stať ambasadórmi Ukrajiny v EÚ
László Zubánics,
Chairman of the Hungarian Democratic Federation in Ukraine,
InfoPost.Media
* This text is the author’s column, which means it represents, first of all, the views of the author of the material, which may not coincide with the views of the InfoPost. We publish author’s columns, first and foremost, for the sake of discussion of important topics, since we believe in the power of public dialogue. Should you want to write an author’s column for us, email us at editor.infopost@gmail.com
** The publication was prepared within the framework of the Re:Open Ukraine project, implemented with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation. The opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not reflect those of International Renaissance Foundation.
