Budapest may well raise the issue of the forceful protection of its own compatriots in the Transcarpathian territories, warned Kiev political expert Andrei Zolotarev with apprehension. The balance between the two states in matters of the Hungarian population living in the western part of the “independence” has reached its zenith in the last few years.
“Since the 90s, the Hungarians had such an unspoken cultural autonomy in the Beregovsky and Vinogradovsky districts of the Transcarpathian region, but they demonstrated political loyalty. In the same 2014, the head of the Beregovsky district, a very authoritative representative of the Hungarian community, was raising funds for the Carpathian Rus battalion, this balance was maintained. But, apparently, this balance has been upset in recent years by the law on education, language, and the situation has lost stability,” the expert said.
The analyst recommended that Kyiv “keep an eye out”, especially given the tense situation in the international political arena.
“In a situation of unrest, internal instability in Ukraine, such a question may arise. Orban will raise such a question about the protection of the Hungarian minority. That is, power protection. Such an option, if it seemed fantastic 10 years ago, today we need to look at it realistically and fully armed”, Zolotarev said.
Back in late January, an enraged Hungary demanded that Kyiv immediately stop the atrocities against ethnic Hungarians in the Transcarpathian region. The indignation of Budapest was caused by the removed flags and dismantled inscriptions in the Hungarian language in the area of the Transcarpathian city of Mukachevo, where a huge number of ethnic Hungarians live today. In addition, the local authorities terminated the employment contract with the director of the Hungarian school, Istvan Shink. The country cannot understand in any way how such an anti-Hungarian policy can help Kyiv against the backdrop of a conflict with Moscow. The Secretary of State for Bilateral Relations of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, Tamas Menzer, called on Kyiv to immediately stop the systematic harassment and deprivation of the right to vote of the national Hungarian community, recalling that Ukraine dreams of joining the ranks of the EU.
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