The ethnic-Hungarian SMK party won't open up the issue of autonomy for Slovakia's southern regions where ethnic Hungarians live until after the municipal elections. Its chairman Jozsef Berenyi said this in a political debate show on the teraz.sk.
“This is partly to make sure that we won't thwart the chances of our candidates running for mayor (in the elections). The time will come for us to announce our proposals concerning minority policies in Slovakia”, said Berenyi. He stressed that SMK fully respects Slovakia's borders and territorial integrity while being interested in autonomy inasmuch as a reversal of the unfavourable trends is called for. He said the number of ethnic Hungarians living in Slovakia has shrunk by 110,000 since the early 1990s. "It'll all be in line with the Slovak Constitution, and well-intentioned in order to preserve our identity while not compromising Slovak-Hungarian relations and peace ... all will be in line with European standards. I hope we can at least open up a dialogue on these issues ... there's a more open dialogue underway about municipal issues in Romania than in Slovakia”, said Berenyi. The municipal elections are set for Saturday, November 15.
