BRATISLAVA, April 17, (WEBNOVINY) – The ruling coalition member KDH has some reservations toward the draft amendment to the law on the use of minority languages, submitted by Deputy Prime Minister for Human Rights and Ethnic Minorities Rudolf Chmel (MOST-HID). KDH deputy chairman Pavol Abrhan told SITA news agency that the reservations concern the proposed reduction of the quorum for the use of languages of Slovakia’s ethnic minorities in official communication from the current 20 percent to 15 percent of the respective municipality’s population, a more precise specification of the use of minority languages in state administration and required ability to speak minority languages by employees of health care facilities. The KDH is not coordinating its approach to the draft with other coalition deputies or party factions. “We want to hold talks with the [draft’s] author Rudolf Chmel,” Abrhan announced.
The draft amendment to the law on the use of minority languages in official communications is strongly criticized by the opposition. According to deputy leader of the opposition SMER-SD party and parliamentary deputy Robert Kalinak, MOST-HID has no other topic than minority languages. “The destruction lies in their effort to enable Slovak Hungarians not to have to use the Slovak language at all,” Kalinak said, adding that “they want to segregate them and let them be in some ghetto in order for them to basically slowly distance themselves from the Slovak Republic”.
The ruling coalition supported the bill in the first parliamentary reading, but several of its deputies announced a need to fine-tune it. Parliament is expected to debate the draft’s new wording in the second reading at the next parliamentary session, starting May 17.
SITA