Krupa: Magyar Urges End to Criminal Offence on Post-war Order Denial

Bratislava, 22 April (TASR) - Hungary's future prime minister Peter Magyar is calling, with respect to the Benes Decrees, for the abolition of the criminal offence of denying the post-war settlement, not the decrees themselves, opposition MP Juraj Krupa (Freedom and Solidarity) has pointed out. Krupa also drew attention to the issue alongside comments on a telephone call between Magyar and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD), which was also addressed by MP Tomas Valasek (Progressive Slovakia). Krupa said that, on the basis of decades-old Benes Decrees, land expropriation is still taking place in Slovakia. "But this does not concern only Hungarians, but also people who were not even aware of it. For example, they acquired a plot of land which may in the past have been subject to expropriation, as these processes were halted in 1948 by the communists, leaving many unresolved issues that are now being misused," Krupa warned. Valasek added that criminalising the questioning of the Benes Decrees does not apply only to Hungarians living in Slovakia. "This is a straightforward absurdity, a form of censorship affecting not only Hungarians living in Slovakia, but also Slovaks, including the Slovak political opposition. We expressed our opposition to this long before Mr. Magyar, and therefore, logically, we agree with him on this point," he said. According to Magyar, in a Tuesday telephone call with Fico he underlined that Hungary can engage in discussions on political issues only if it receives guarantees that Slovakia will abolish legislation threatening ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia with imprisonment. It must also be clearly stipulated that in future there will be no confiscation of land belonging to ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia on the basis of the Benes Decrees and the principle of collective guilt. Under an amendment to the Criminal Code that came into force at the end of December, anyone who publicly questions the post-war settlement, which deprived thousands of ethnic Hungarians of property and citizenship, can be sentenced to six months in prison. Slovak President Peter Pellegrini signed the amendment before Christmas. mf