Exactly one year ago today, Ukraine banned Transcarpathians with dual citizenship from holding any office in the country. Moreover, the Ukrainian national security has been listing Transcarpathian Hungarians ever since, which means more serious discrimination in the region than ever before, reports hetek.hu .

Telex wrote on March 5, 2021 that they announced the presidential decision to prevent "dual citizenship from being used to interfere in the internal affairs of Ukraine, to act against its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity."

By the way, the decision was published under the following title:

"Urgent tasks on the eradication of national security risks in the matter of citizenship".

The most striking result of the decision is that dual citizens of Ukraine cannot hold: state office, local government office, a leading position in strategically important state enterprises, and they cannot learn state secrets.

According to estimates, the decision may affect 100,000 Transcarpathian Hungarians, for whom Hungarian citizenship, in addition to national affiliation, also meant EU benefits when they took it. The representation of Transcarpathian interests was significantly disabled by the presidential decision, as it does not allow them any political authority in this way.

ARE NOT ONLY THE RUSSIANS AND HUNGARY ALSO A THREAT?

In addition, Telex also wrote in its article a year ago, referring to Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of national security of Ukraine, that in a statement he already hinted that not only the Russian Federation, but also other countries pose a threat to Ukraine.

Thinking here of Hungary, with which relations have soured since 2017, when the Ukrainian education law brutally restricted Hungarian-language education.

This was realized a few years later by the Ukrainian language law, which primarily aimed at Russian, but was also implemented against the Hungarian language. As a result, anti-Hungarian manifestations also increased in Subcarpathia.

UKRAINIAN NATIONALISTS AND THE SECRET SERVICE

The paper also reminded that, in addition to Ukrainian far-right organizations, Ukrainian state bodies also carried out systematic anti-Hungarian actions - several Hungarian leaders from Transcarpathia became victims of secret service games.

In February 2018, a bomb exploded at the KMKSZ office in Ungvar, Ukrainian nationalists regularly threaten Hungarians in videos and letters.

In such a letter, for example, the addressees were given a one-week deadline to "hide from Ukrainian soil."

Moreover, representatives of the Ukrainian state inexplicably regularly accuse Transcarpathian Hungarians of separatism, despite the fact that their population share is incredibly low even in the region, and that they are loyal citizens of Ukraine.

COMMANDOERS, OBSERVATIONS, PROHIBITIONS

In December 2020, the home of the president of the KMKSZ, László Brenzovics, and Hungarian institutions in Transcarpathia were invaded by commandos of the Ukrainian secret service to search the house. In addition, before the 2020 elections, János Árpád Potápi, the state secretary responsible for national policy, and István Grezsa, the ministerial commissioner responsible for the development of Transcarpathia, were banned from the country for campaigning.

Among other reasons, the Hungarian foreign ministry vetoed Ukraine's rapprochement with NATO and the EU. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó then said:

"Ukraine uses the darkest tools reminiscent of Soviet times to intimidate its citizens."

(Telex)

Despite the above, in the war in Ukraine that started a year later, Hungary provided all humanitarian aid to Ukraine. It also helps Ukrainian refugees crossing the borders indiscriminately, and also supported Ukraine's EU accession application. Szijjártó explained the decisions by saying that now is not the time to hold discussions about minority rights, now the focus must be on creating peace and saving people.  

Cover photo: Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP