A new provocation outrages the Hungarian community in TranscarpathiaContinue reading
Anti-Hungarian outbursts of the so called Baloha-clan in the Munkács (Mukachevo) area are continuing, stated György Dunda, editor-in-chief of the Kárpáti Igaz Szó newspaper. He recalled that the mayor of Mukachevo, Andriy Baloha, and his influential father, MP Viktor Baloha, arranged for the removal of the Munkács Turul statue.
In their latest action, with the help of police, they had flags removed from Hungarian establishments in the settlements of Fornos and Dercen, two Hungarian-majority localities in the Mukachevo region.
“According to locals, police officers went to the village during the night, took down the flags, folded them, and placed them in front of the entrance to the community center,” György Dunda added.
In addition, the Hungarian-language signs of the soccer academy in Dercen, which is supported by Hungarian funds, were removed.
As if that was not enough, the director of the Hungarian grammar school in Mukachevo was also dismissed, even though he had presided over the institution for more than ten years.
The Transcarpathian Hungarian Cultural Association (KMKSZ) expressed its dismay at the dismissal of István Schink, who is also the chairman of the KMKSZ faction in the Mukachevo City Council, stating that his removal is not conducive to the smooth operation of the Hungarian school and the peaceful coexistence of the ethnic groups.
According to Kárpátalja.net, they refer to an alleged decree according to which, from now on, no other flag than the Ukrainian one may be displayed on public buildings. According to the information from the news portal, the council of the Mukachevo micro-region did not adopt such a decree. They argued that Ukrainian law has not yet banned the use of national symbols, especially since the Hungarian settlements of Transcarpathia do not fly the official flag of the Hungarian state, but the Hungarian tricolor.
The Hungarian state has contributed more than two and a half billion forints (EUR 2.3 million) to the construction of the sports academy in question in 2020, which sponsors not only Hungarian but also Ukrainian children.
Oddly enough, in several cases in other districts, authorities have explicitly prevented the destruction of Hungarian symbols and inscriptions, but in the district of Mukachevo these actions were ordered by officials associated with Ukrainian MP Viktor Baloha and his son, local mayor, Andrij Baloha.
Via: Ungarn Heute/Magyar Nemzet ; Featured image: Olga Katsaros Facebook