Government Council for Ethnic Minorities Opposes Criminal Code Amendments

Bratislava, 22 January (TASR) - The Government Council for Ethnic Minorities has called on the Slovak government and Parliament to reconsider the Criminal Code amendment that introduces criminal liability for denying or questioning post-war documents on the arrangement of conditions after the Second World War, TASR has learnt from the Council's vice-chair and Government Proxy for Ethnic Minorities Akos Horony, who added that the Council has also asked Parliament not to adopt an MPs' bill aimed at lowering the sentencing ranges for certain extremist crimes. As regards the amendment concerning the so-called Benes decrees, the ethnic minorities' objections are directed at a lack of clarity, the way in which the amendment was adopted, and the absence of consultations with the minorities concerned. "In the MPs' bill lowering the sentencing ranges for certain extremist crimes they can see a threat that the level of protection for members of ethic minorities might be reduced," warned Horony, stressing that the proposed amendment is in conflict with principles that are binding upon Slovakia under international conventions. Chairman of the Chamber of Ethnic Minorities Milan Jan Pilip pointed to the harmful impact of these amendments. "These aren't standard technical adjustments to legislation. These are interventions that have the potential to weaken protection against extremism while simultaneously restricting the freedom of discussion on historical issues. Both these areas are extremely sensitive for national minorities," stated Pilip, who expects the law-making and executive powers to take these objections seriously. The Chamber also called for the systematic involvement of representatives of ethnic minorities in the preparation of legislation that affects them. A group of coalition Slovak National Party (SNS) MPs has submitted the Criminal Code amendment to Parliament, proposing, among other things, changes to sentencing ranges for extremist crimes, including lowering the upper limits for several offences. The MPs argued that sentencing should be set in a more rational and differentiated manner. On Monday (19 January), head of the coalition Voice-SD parliamentary caucus Robert Puci said that SNS should withdraw its amendment and that a joint coalition proposal of changes to the Criminal Code should be submitted to Parliament instead, but only after agreement is reached with the Justice Ministry. At the end of last year, Parliament also adopted a Criminal Code amendment introducing criminal liability for denying or questioning post-war documents on the arrangement of conditions after the Second World War in Slovakia. Both documents have been criticised by the opposition and part of the expert public. jrg/df