Slovak-Hungarian tensions flare before EU vote

(BRATISLAVA) - Tensions between Slovakia and neighbouring Hungary were mired in nationalist anger as a Slovak moratorium on EU election campaigning Thursday failed to defuse a row over ethnic representation.

The Slovak parliament published a statement saying it was "deeply concerned with the extreme growth of nationalism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia in Hungarian society" after meeting late on Wednesday.

It was referring to a call by a former Hungarian prime minister last week for enthnic-minority Hungarians living in Slovakia to vote according to their roots, in comments to the SMK party representing a 500,000-strong Hungarian minority in Slovakia.

Viktor Orban angered Slovaks by saying that Saturday's European Parliament vote in Slovakia would "decide on how many lawmakers will represent the interests of Hungarians living in the Carpathian Basin."

Orban was referring to a territory of the former Austro-Hungarian empire, under which Budapest dominated Slovakia between 1867 and 1918.

Slovak lawmakers branded Orban's statements "irresponsible and nationalist," saying they "stir ethnic separation, deny the sovereignty of (Hungary's) neighbours, violate Slovakia's territorial unity and spark instability in central Europe."

Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak told reporters in Prague on Tuesday that Orban's stance "did not belong to 21st-century Europe."

"Every reasonable man must condemn this type of policy because it is a destructive policy which is trying to spark nationalist passions," he added.

Orban, whose Fidesz party is on track to win the vote in Hungary according to polls, countered later on Wednesday by arguing that minorities in EU states can vote along ethnic lines for representation aligned to other states' interests.

Hungary's MTI agency quoted him as saying late on Wednesday that some EU members "do not understand that the EU was formed to make borders lose their importance."

He added: "Europe is about unity, a lack of borders and belonging together. Do not let loud representatives of other nations give you a different idea."

Historically tense relations between Hungary and Slovakia took a hit when the Slovak National Party (SNS) joined the Slovak governing coalition in 2006. Its leader Jan Slota is known for inflammatory rhetoric against Hungarians.

burs-tab/frj/rt