Young Hungarians Living in Slovakia Protest on Bratislava's Main Square

Bratislava, 30 January (TASR) - A protest entitled "Let's stand against collective guilt" took place on Bratislava's Main Square on Friday evening, organised by Koz.ugy - Common cause, a platform for young Hungarians living in Slovakia. The aim of the demonstration was to express disagreement with the continued application of the principle of collective guilt, the confiscation of property based on the so-called Benes Decrees, and the amendment to the Penal Code. "We've been through a lot, but we didn't think that 80 years after World War II and 20 years after joining the EU, it would still be possible to deprive people of their rights on the basis of the collective guilt of Hungarians. That even today, land could be confiscated on the basis of the Benes Decrees, which were used to persecute Germans and Hungarians," said the organisers. The initiative responds to what it considers to be an alarming trend, whereby state authorities continue to resort to revoking the property rights of descendants of the German and Hungarian minorities, citing post-war legislation. It draws attention to legislative efforts to introduce a six-month prison sentence for criticising the decrees, which it considers to be a gross violation of freedom of expression and democratic norms. According to the amendment to the Slovak Penal Code, which came into effect at the end of December, anyone who publicly questions the post-war settlement, which deprived thousands of ethnic Hungarians of their property and citizenship, can be sentenced to six months in prison. President Peter Pellegrini signed the amendment before Christmas. am