Nog maar weer eens op mijn Hongaarse stokpaardje geklommen:
The Washington Post legt de Amerikanen uit welke onzalige rol Hongarije vervult uit bij de ondersteuning van Oekraïne in de Rusland-Oekraïne oorlog.
The Washington Post: For Ukraine, Hungary’s Orban is another problematic strongman next door (Deelartikel)
Enkele fragmenten eruit:
“What we have seen from Viktor Orban since February has been motivated by domestic political considerations,” Racz said. “If you want to sum it up: It’s not to irritate the Russians, not to give them any pretext to cut the flow of gas or oil.” If they did, Racz said, “it would be an economic disaster for Hungary.”
As the war has progressed, Orban’s relationship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has grown frostier. The two have clashed publicly, with Zelensky accusing the Hungarian of callous indifference to the suffering of Ukrainians — a charge Orban denies.
In March, one month into the war, tensions burst into the open when Zelensky scolded Orban for his reluctance to impose sanctions even as Russia destroyed the city of Mariupol.
In a video address to E.U. leaders, Zelensky said: “Listen, Viktor, do you know what’s going on in Mariupol? And you hesitate whether to impose sanctions or not? And you hesitate whether to trade with Russia or not? There is no time to hesitate. It’s time to decide already.”
Aan de houding van Orban is gedurende 2022 niets veranderd, getuige de statement die hij afgelopen woesdag uitte:
In an end of the year news conference on Wednesday, Orban said “most of Europe” had been “dragged into" the war and repeated his calls for Ukraine to negotiate with Russia. Countries supplying weapons were “up to their ankles,” and those who “fully finance” were “in the war up to their necks,” he said. “This is not our war,” he added.
Mooi is dat The Washington Post wat historische context erbij trekt:
Budapest lost nearly two-thirds of its land after World War I. Today, more than 2 million Hungarians live abroad, about 130,000 of them in Ukraine.
Most live in Transcarpathia, a poor, mostly rural area on the western side of the Carpathian Mountains, which once belonged to Hungary, making them a small minority of the region’s 1.3 million residents — and a tiny number compared with the 4 million or more ethnic Russians living in eastern Ukraine before 2014.
Maar ieder frame is blijkbaar goed genoeg om controverse over te laten ontstaan, vooral voor een regeringsleider die overal onderhandelingsruimte in meent te herkennen:
Still, despite the small numbers, the region has become a focus of tensions between Kyiv and Budapest. Defending and supporting Hungarian communities has been central to Orban’s grip on power.
About 40 percent of Ukrainians consider Hungary to be an “enemy nation,” third after Russia and Belarus, according to an October survey by the Ukrainian polling company Rating.
Dit alles heeft tot gevolg dat Hongarije aan Transkarpatië trekt:
Budapest provides extensive financial support to Hungarian communities and businesses in neighboring countries. But many Ukrainians see this as interference in their country’s internal affairs.
Others welcome the money. Mayor Zoltan Babjak in Berehove, Transcarpathia’s largest ethnic Hungarian city, says Budapest’s assistance is needed to fill out his cash-strapped budget.
Maar Oekraine bijt terug:
Budapest has also issued passports to more than a million ethnic Hungarians living abroad — who have proven to be a reliable voting bloc for Orban. But double citizenship is illegal in Ukraine. In 2018, Ukrainian officials expelled Hungary’s consul in Transcarpathia and launched an investigation into “high treason” after a video was leaked of the consul issuing passports in Berehove.
Samengevat verslechtert de relatie tussen Hongarije en Oekraïne mede door dit geschil meer en meer. Hongarije beschuldigd Oekraïne etnische Hongaren te dwingen Oekraïens te worden door hun rechten te beperken. Zo werd in 2017 het gebruik van de Oekraïense taal ten koste van de Hongaarse taal bevorderd.
Gelukkig is de werkelijkheid weer wat minder zwart-wit dan de rivaliteit tussen Hongarije en Oekraïne doet vermoeden:
But many Hungarian Ukrainians support the war effort. Novak, the Hungarian president, said 500 members of the community had “shed their blood at the front — lost their lives or been injured.” The Washington Post could not independently verify that figure.