The Hungarian Prime Minister’s office condemned the recent vandalism of the beregszasz Reformed Church as “shocking and appalling”, stating that it is “desecration of the Holy place” of an important center of the ethnic Hungarian community in Ukraine.
Unknown criminals painted a satanic symbol in red on the wall of the Church on Thursday evening.
A series of incidents suffered by ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia in recent months, including a petrol bomb attack on the headquarters of the Hungarian cultural society KMKSZ, give reason for concern, said Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjen and Secretary of state for the Affairs of ethnic minorities Arpad Janos Patapi.
The latest incident, directed against the religious center of the Hungarian community violates religious tolerance which has always characterized the inhabitants of Transcarpathia, the statement said. The Hungarian government expresses its solidarity with the ethnic Hungarian community and expects that the Ukrainian authorities will find the perpetrators in order to prevent similar incidents in the future, as well as to guarantee the security of ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia, the statement said.