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“I have a general problem with these European statements on Israel… These are usually very much one-sided, and these statements do not help, especially not under current circumstances, when the tension is so high,” Szijjártó told AFP in an interview.

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Hungary has vetoed the European Union's joint statement regarding missile attacks on Israel.

According to Mr. Laschet, a candidate for German chancellor, this is another reason for the necessity to switch from a unanimous vote to a majority vote for decisions on matters of European Union foreign policy. Today, a common foreign policy decision can only be made unanimously, while Laschet prefers the will of the majority to be imposed upon the minority in the future. All of this in the name of Europeanism. According to the treaties of the Union, full agreement is needed on important issues such as foreign policy. Hungary, therefore, acted in accordance with the basic treaty when it vetoed. To accuse Hungary of being non-European because it exercised its right set forth in the treaty, is in fact deeply non-European. 

The states of the Franco-German axis are known to have millions of Muslim citizens whose views cannot be neglected in a democracy. But it also must be taken into account that in Central Europe, the territory of the Visegrad Four — including Hungary — only a negligible number of such citizens live. We can also see that most western European countries have entered an era of a post-national and post-Christian concept of life. But it cannot be ignored that we still live our lives according to Judeo-Christian values, a Judeo-Christian culture and concept of life. It is, therefore, clear to us that it is not possible to equate a state, Israel, with an organization on the EU sanctions list. It is not possible even if President Laschet, on behalf of the Franco-German axis, regards this as the correct EU foreign policy. It is high time to finally acknowledge that Central European countries, which joined the Union later, are nevertheless equal members of the community of the European Union. We also have the right to stand up for our beliefs, our allies, and our own interests.
 

"The Hungarian government declared a zero-tolerance policy against antisemitism and is fully committed to guarantee the safety of the Jewish people that we also consistently represent in the international fora," Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó wrote in a letter to the Mark Weitzman, director of government affairs at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.

"In this spirit," Szijjártó added, "Hungary does not support the Durban process and voted against the resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 31 December 2020 deciding on the convening of a high-level meeting on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action."

The 2001 World Conference Against Racism, also known as Durban I, after the South African city in which it took place, was a hotbed of antisemitic and anti-Israel messages and was where the accusation of apartheid against Israel was popularized.

An early draft of the resolution adopted at the Governmental Conference at Durban equated Zionism with racism, leading the US and Israel to withdraw from the conference. The final draft did not condemn Zionism as racist, but the Israel-Palestinian conflict is the only one listed specifically under the section on “victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.”

The NGO Forum at Durban approved a resolution calling Israel a “racist apartheid state” and accusing it of genocide. Antisemitic materials, such as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, were distributed at the event.

Durban conference secretary-general Mary Robinson refused to accept the document over the language, saying that “there was horrible antisemitism present.”

The US did not participate in the Durban II and III follow-up conferences in 2009 and 2011, respectively, because the original conference “became a session through which folks expressed antagonism toward Israel in ways that were oftentimes completely hypocritical and counterproductive,” president Barack Obama said in 2009.

Israel, Canada, Italy, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Poland also boycotted the conference. In 2011, for Durban III, the number of countries boycotting rose to 14.

Last week, the UK announced that it was joining the US, Canada and Australia in boycotting Durban IV in September of this year, “following historic concerns regarding antisemitism.”

France is also expected to pull out, a diplomatic source said last month, but it has not yet issued an official statement. A German Foreign Ministry official said Berlin had yet to decide on the matter.

Earlier this month, Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan said he plans to hold an alternative event to the Durban conference that will deal with combating racism, including antisemitism.

Source: jpost.com

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

In July, President Biden will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House to reaffirm the United States’ support for Ukraine’s NATO membership aspirations. While in the U.S., there’s bipartisan support for Ukraine’s NATO accession, the war-torn country does not enjoy the full support of the NATO community yet.

Since 2018, Hungary has been blocking ministerial-level political meetings between NATO and Ukraine as a sign of protest over Ukraine violating the human rights of its ethnic minorities. In light of the permanent Russian threat from the east, foreign policy experts and opinion leaders have in turn been calling Hungary the “Trojan Horse for Russia” within NATO. They see Hungary’s stance as an assistance to President Putin’s plans to block Ukraine’s Western integration and one undermining the unity of NATO in providing support for Ukraine.

This narrative, however convincing, is false. Those who really want to understand the region’s dynamics and Ukraine’s unique challenges need to dig deeper to find a more complex picture.

What exactly happened in Ukraine that is causing Hungary’s objection?

In 2017, the Ukrainian Parliament passed a new Law on Education which limited the already existing rights of ethnic minorities to be educated in their native language. Two years later, a new State Language Law was adopted proclaiming use of the Ukrainian language compulsory in all spheres of public life. As a result, historic minority languages, with a few exceptions, can only be spoken in private communication or during religious events.

Hungary is not the only country concerned about the new Ukrainian anti-minority practice. Although the main goal of the new legislation was to tackle Russian influence in Eastern Ukraine, Ukraine — as a collateral damage — obstructed the use of all minority languages, including Bulgarian, Greek, Hungarian, Romanian and Polish. The kin-states of these respective minorities all protested against the new language regime, while several international organizations also raised their voices against the new legislations, including the Council of Europe, the Venice Commission, the European Union and the NATO itself.

From the perspective of the United States, the new Ukrainian legislation might seem reasonable. After all, in America, although ethnic minorities can freely use their mother tongue in private conversations and in their own local communities, the language in the public sphere is primarily English.

This simple approach, however, cannot easily be applied in Central and Eastern Europe’s complex ethnic relations for objective historical, cultural and constitutional reasons. What works in America does not necessarily work in other parts of the world.

First, “ethnic minorities” in the United States and Central and Eastern Europe are not comparable. To stick with the Hungarian example, there are approximately 2 million ethnic Hungarians who live in Hungary’s neighbor countries whose mother tongue is Hungarian. They became citizens of these states as a result of the border changes after the two world wars, including some 150,000 ethnic Hungarians in Subcarpathia. The borders moved, not the people. My great-grandfather, for instance, was born in 1919, and was the citizen of five different states without leaving his village in today’s South Slovakia where his ancestors lived for centuries.

In contrast, American minorities, with the exception of African Americans, the Native American population and Hispanics living in the Southern states, became minorities as a result of their own decision by immigrating to the U.S. Therefore, it is a legitimate expectation that they adjust to the norms of their chosen homeland and use the English language in public relations, and even then, non-English languages are often accommodated. But forbidding people to use their mother tongue in their own homeland, just because it came under the authority of a different state due to geopolitical events, is a whole different ballgame.

Second, one of the hardest lessons learned from the 20th century is that the stability of multiethnic Eastern Europe is contingent upon the protection of the rights of national minorities. The most fundamental of such rights, having long-standing traditions in Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, is the opportunity to be educated in the mother tongue.

This, of course, does not mean that national minorities in Ukraine, for example, are refusing to learn or speak the official state language. There is a mutual understanding that every citizen, regardless of their mother tongue, must properly speak Ukrainian. However, the new Ukrainian legislation, instead of improving the quality of teaching Ukrainian for ethnic minorities, poses a serious threat to the very existence of national minorities in Ukraine.

Third, Hungary has a special bond to ethnic Hungarians living beyond its borders — just like other countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The well-being of these communities, including ethnic Hungarians in Subcarpathia, has always been important for Hungary. This is, in fact, not only the priority of the current government but also an obligation under its Fundamental Law dating back to the country’s independence.

Since taking away the most fundamental language rights of the community is a clear violation of this principle, Hungary’s reaction was quite foreseeable. All actors in the region were aware of this sensitivity, Ukraine knew that its move would strike a nerve in Budapest.

Here we come back to Russia, which is a key player of the dispute.

In fact, it is not Hungary who is following Mr. Putin’s playbook, but, unintentionally, Ukraine itself. Depriving people belonging to minority groups of their fundamental rights, and creating tense interethnic relations by speaking against minority rights, or tolerating hate-speech by Ukrainians against ethnic minorities, advances Mr. Putin’s goal: a destabilized, weak Ukraine. Is it really a coincidence that the latest anti-Hungarian provocations in Subcarpathia were ordered by Russian provocateurs?

Finally, why doesn’t Hungary address the issue in international human rights organizations or the European Union instead? NATO is not only a military cooperation, it is an institutionalized group of nation states sharing the same values, including the respect for the human rights of national minorities. Ignoring these values — in this specific case, leaving the clear violation of the human rights of ethnic minorities unanswered — would provide a dangerous precedent for the community and the whole region as well.

Hungary has always been a strong supporter of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as its Western integration, and thus, it is ready to restore its full support for Ukraine if the human rights of ethnic Hungarians are again fully respected. There are some developments in this matter, but there is still a long way to go.

What Mr. Biden should emphasize to Mr. Zelensky during their upcoming meeting in Washington is that Ukraine’s standpoint is not only inappropriate from a principle-based point of view but it counters Ukraine’s own national interests, too.

We all know what an expanding Russia looks like, and that we can resist Russian oppression only if we stick together. It is time to do so.

Balazs Tarnok is Hungary Foundation’s Visiting Research Fellow at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, University of Notre Dame. He is a researcher at Europe Strategy Research Institute of Ludovika-University of Public Service, Budapest

Source: Washington Times

In a video message posted on Facebook, Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said Hungary would be sending the astronaut to the ISS in cooperation with the United States. The astronaut will travel to the ISS to conduct scientific experiments using Hungarian-made equipment, he added. The equipment to be used for telecommunications, Earth observation and measuring radiation will be developed by the domestic companies and universities participating in the program. Though the companies and universities taking part in the program have accumulated a significant amount of knowledge over the years, the space industry has so far not received nearly the amount of attention it deserves, he added. One reason to change this, Minister Szijjártó said, was to strengthen Hungary’s high value-added sectors, particularly the ones that are already well established.

Representatives from Hungary and the United States have signed implementation agreements under the two countries’ Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) of 2019 concerning the air bases of Kecskemét and Pápa.

At an event in Kecskemét, Tibor Babos, ministerial commissioner in charge of implementing tasks within the US-Hungary DCA, said the agreement originally signed in Washington, DC, was a bilateral inter-state defense pact offering a framework for strengthening cooperation and carrying out military developments at the three bases. He said that Kecskemét and Pápa would see infrastructure and technology developments for the air force, while developments for the field army would take place in Tata and Várpalota. Babos said that the details of the actual development projects would be negotiated in the near future.

The DCA was signed on April 4, 2019, by US deputy secretary of state John Sullivan and Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has sent a telegram to US President Joe Biden expressing sympathy over the victims of Thursday’s terrorist attack at Kabul airport and wished a speedy recovery to the injured. The prime minister assured the US President of NATO member Hungary’s commitment to the fight against terrorism by all available means. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the American people in these difficult times,” PM Orbán said.

On September 1st, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet President Biden at the White House to discuss ways to expand strategic cooperation between Ukraine and the U.S. This cooperation, however, must be based on shared universal values – including respect for the fundamental rights of ethnic minorities.

Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union 30 years ago, Ukraine has been an independent, multiethnic country. The largest minority are the Russians, but there are significant communities of ethnic Bulgarians, Hungarians, Poles, Romanians, and others such as the Crimean Tatars.

For the first 25 years of its recent independence, Ukraine ensured the fundamental rights of ethnic minorities: the right to be educated in their native language and, within reasonable limits, to use minority languages in public affairs.

However, things changed in 2014, with Russia's annexation of Crimea. To counteract Russian influence in eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian government radically changed its minority policy. While these measures primarily target the Russian-speaking population in eastern Ukraine, the radical restrictions on native language use have devastated other ethnic groups, too.

• Since 2017, new laws on education and the state language severely restrict ethnic minorities in using and studying in their native language.
• As of July 1, 2021, a new law limits the definition of ‘indigenous’ minorities. The law not only contravenes common sense, but is also highly discriminatory. While certain indigenous peoples are recognized, the Bulgarians, Hungarians, Romanians and Poles -- and of course, the Russians –- are not recognized, and nor are their language rights.
• The current draft Law on National Communities, too, is built upon vague concepts that limit rather than protect existing rights. Instead of ‘minorities,’ it talks about “communities” – an apparent bid to evade Ukraine’s existing commitments to internationally recognized minority rights instruments.

The Venice Commission, an advisory body of the Council of Europe in which the U.S. is represented, established that Ukraine has failed to ensure the linguistic rights of minorities, and recommended that Ukraine implement measures to ensure a sufficient level of teaching in minority languages. The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly and the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy called on Ukraine to ensure the rights and non-discrimination of national minorities. So far, Ukraine has completely ignored the Council of Europe recommendations.

Hate speech and hate crimes against ethnic minority groups continue to be tolerated. Over the past three years, ultra-nationalist groups set fire to the office of the Cultural Alliance of Hungarians in Subcarpathia; posted ‘stop the separatists’ billboards with photos of Hungarian community leaders, including me; and run a website that lists the addresses of ethnic Hungarian community leaders, branding them ‘enemies of Ukraine’ - all with impunity.

Ukrainian authorities themselves also intimidate the Hungarian minority. Last year, based on false charges, armed security commandos raided several Hungarian minority institutions in Subcarpathia. President Zelensky has intentionally encouraged anti-Hungarian sentiment, publicly comparing the Hungarian ethnic community to the situation in the Donetsk Basin - knowing full well that the comparison is absurd.

National minorities in Ukraine are not new arrivals; this region has been our home for more than a thousand years. As Hungarians in Subcarpathia, we do not want special or privileged treatment. We do not want to be labeled as enemies of the state; we have always been loyal to Ukraine. We only want to be recognized as the indigenous national minority we are; to preserve our language and cultural identity; and to work together with the majority population as equals to ensure a successful future for Ukraine.

President Biden has said that the United States should be able to ‘walk and chew gum at the same time’ - that is, to implement a foreign policy based on both national interest and principles of human rights. In engaging with Ukraine, this means that the U.S. must also insist upon respect for the rights and equal treatment of ethnic minorities.

• László Brenzovics is president of the Cultural Alliance of Hungarians in Subcarpathia, which represents the 150,000-strong ethnic Hungarian minority in Ukraine. Born in 1964, in the village of Zápszony, Ukraine, he holds a doctorate in history and has been active in local and national community affairs since 1990.

Source: Washington Times

At the 5th Conference of The Association of Hungarian American Academics (AMAT) and Embassy of Hungary, Deputy State Secretary Tibor Gulyás announced a new initiative to reach out to Hungarian researchers living abroad, and boost cooperation in scientific research between the US and Hungary. Part of the program is to support researchers living abroad to visit their home country and to discover and develop young talent, and create a network of researchers.

It is with the greatest sorrow to learn about the passing of Gen. Colin L. Powell, the 65th Secretary of State of the United States. The first African American to hold this position played a key role in expanding bilateral relations between the United States and Hungary and strengthening the partnership between our countries as NATO allies. Our deepest condolences to his family. May he rest in peace. 

Photo credit: Gabor Turai

János Martonyi and Colin L. Powell in Washington D.C., 1999.

On October 29th at 5:30 pm Balázs Orbán, Political Director of Prime Minister Orbán; Minister of State at the Prime Minister’s Office will be speaking about his recent book, The Hungarian Way of Strategy presented by The American Conservative and the Center for the Study of Statesmanship.

Applying historical, political, and philosophical analysis, the book presents a glimpse into the strategy that lies behind the policies of the current Hungarian government, and offers some thoughts on the long-term prospects of Hungary as well as the broader West.

Mr. Balázs Orbán’s lecture will be followed by a panel discussion featuring The American Conservative’s Sohrab Ahmari and Helen Andrews along with Daniel McCarthy of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.

The Hungarian Way of Strategy is recommended by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Tucker Carlson, Rod Dreher, Ryszard Legutko, Tibor Fischer, and John O’Sullivan.

Registration:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-hungarian-way-of-strategy-a-book-event-with-balazs-orban-tickets-196135585817

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary together with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will start implementing a health development project in Ukraine in early November.

Acting through the Hungarian Interchurch Aid, the US and Hungarian sides are providing three hospitals in Kyiv and Khmelnytskyi region with oxygen stations to tackle the secondary impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for future outbreaks of infectious diseases.

Hungary will moreover provide additional medical devices with a view to supporting efforts against the pandemic. As an example of our successful cooperation in addressing global challenges, the project has been made possible through the co-financing of the Hungarian and US sides, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary providing 250 000 dollars in addition to the 100 000 dollars contributed by the United States Agency for International Development.

U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the ranking member of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, issued a statement of appreciation to coalition partners Hungary and Poland for their contributions in Afghanistan:

“The United States cannot forget the important contributions of our friends, Hungary and Poland, in Afghanistan. Their efforts helped pave the way for Afghan citizens to vote in democratic elections for the first time in decades, send Afghan girls to school, and provide security for vulnerable populations.

“For nearly 20 years, Poland made significant contributions to combating terrorism and providing security in Afghanistan. Over this period, nearly 31,000 Polish soldiers served while 44 lost their lives and 867 were injured. Poland remained committed to the very end of the NATO mission, including evacuating 1,232 individuals from Kabul to Poland. This effort involved 52 military and 15 civilian flights.

“Hungary served alongside the U.S. in Afghanistan since 2003 and suffered 7 casualties.  During the withdrawal, Hungary evacuated approximately 540 individuals from Kabul, including 57 Afghan families and 180 children in need of immediate assistance.

“As a member of the U.S. Senate and as ranking member of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, I would like to convey the gratitude of the United States to Hungary and Poland for their contributions and sacrifice.”

“Hungary served alongside the U.S. in Afghanistan since 2003 and suffered 7 casualties. During the withdrawal, Hungary evacuated approximately 540 individuals from Kabul, including 57 Afghan families and 180 children in need of immediate assistance.  As a member of the U.S. Senate and as ranking member of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, I would like to convey the gratitude of the United States to Hungary and Poland for their contributions and sacrifice.”- said Senator Wicker in a statement.

Source: https://www.wicker.senate.gov/2021/11/poland-for-contributions-in-afghanistan

It is our pleasure to announce that the Hungarian Diaspora Scholarship online application system for the 2022/2023 academic year is now open. 

Fulfil your professional dreams while you explore your Hungarian heritage – the  Hungarian Diaspora Scholarship gives you an exceptional chance to develop both personally and academically.
While studying in Hungary, you can discover the thousand-year-old Hungarian history and culture, experience unique Hungarian traditions and also enhance your Hungarian language skills.

As a Diaspora Scholarship holder, you can receive an internationally recognised degree at a top-level Hungarian higher education institution and acquire highly competitive knowledge to advance both personally and academically. You can choose from a wide range of programmes taught in Hungarian that cover all higher education fields at all degree levels.

The Diaspora Scholarship is also an excellent opportunity to build your professional network and discover everything about the country in a supporting and welcoming student environment!

Submit your application here: https://diasporascholarship.hu/apply/

Deadline: 31 January 2022

We hope to see you among the applicants. Should you have any questions, please contact the organizers at diasporascholarship@tpf.hu