BRATISLAVA, November 15, (WEBNOVINY)- Deputy Prime Minister Rudolf Chmel and the party MOST-HID propose to lower the quorum of minority members set for use of minority language in a municipality from the current 20 to 10 percent. Chmel told a news conference on Monday that the law will be modified in order to cover also areas where smaller minority communities live. He said that if passed the bill will open space for use of German, Roma and Ruthenian. Chmel said that the proposed amendment protects smaller national minorities. “We should care about squeezing the quorum if we are real democrats. Ten percent is the limit when the minority gets assimilated,“ he said.
On Monday, Chmel and the MOST-HID party have submitted for discussion a draft amendment to the law on use of minority languages. MOST-HID leader Bela Bugar stated on this occasion that it is an important point of his party’s program and of the government program statement as well. The draft is published on the webpage of the Deputy Prime Minister and the MOST-HID party. The public discussion on the issue should close in early December. In mid-December the initiators of the amendment want to submit the proposal to their coalition partners. Bugar added that they would like to see the amendment on the agenda of parliamentary session in February. He specified that their aim was to implement the European Charter of Minority Languages.
According to Bugar, each minority enriches the country with its language and culture. It is important, according to him to give smaller minorities a chance to use their language in order to survive. Moreover, the draft also enables people to speak their minority language in official communication also in municipalities not reaching the prescribed percentage representation of the given minority after previous agreement of an employee of the respective office and persons taking part in the procedure.
The amendment is a reaction to the amendment of the state language act, stated Chmel. He believes that the state language law and the law on use of languages of national minorities must be in balance. This is what we intended to achieve in the proposal, he added. The amendment specifies rules of use of minority languages in official communication, in the health sector and culture. The amendment however defines also sanctions. Chmel explained that it is because also the state language act imposes them. According to the draft revision, sanctions ranging from EUR 50 to EUR 2,500 can be imposed on public service organs, self-governments, corporate entities and entrepreneurs. If sanctions were dropped from the state language law in parliament, the authors of the revision would not hesitate to erase fines also from their proposal.
Bugar dismissed allegations that his party timed the presentation of the draft amendment to the law on use of minority language for November due to the upcoming regional elections. “I am not interested in accusations”, was his answer to the question whether he does not mind possible allegations. He said that he was already called many names but pedophile. He added that if the pre-election campaign was longer by a week, they would make him responsible also for that. Bugar underscored that his party wants the amendment to come into effect as of July 1, 2011 and therefore they rush to send it to parliament. According to him, the coalition has agreed at the beginning of the election period that it will adopt sensitive pieces of legislation in the first years of its ruling. He added that they are also preparing a draft law on funding culture of national minorities.
SITA