The central office of the Transcarpathian Hungarian Cultural Association (KMKSZ) in Ukraine has been attacked for the second time in a month, it has been revealed.
Following the latest incident, Ukraine’s ambassador to Budapest is to be summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Minister Péter Szijjártó said he had spoken to László Brenzovics, president of the Association in the early hours of the morning.
“There is an absolutely unbelievable process under way” in Ukraine. Extremist political forces are in the ascendency, the minister stated. This is reflected in the laws passed by Ukrainian Parliament, which gravely restrict the rights of minorities. The process is likewise reflected in the fact that members of the Hungarian national community are continually intimidated in Transcarpathia, he said.
Minister Szijjártó highlighted that this is unacceptable, and if Ukraine is serious about its accession to the EU and NATO, it must be able to keep extremists under control.
The minister added that Ukraine’s ambassador to Budapest will be summoned to the Ministry, and the Hungarian consul general in Ungvár as well as the Hungarian ambassador to Kiev will be recalled immediately.
Minister Szijjártó will also meet with the High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe and will repeat that the organization’s special observer mission should engage in its activities not only in the Eastern part of Ukraine, but should also establish a permanent presence in Transcarpathia.