Hungary makes plea for minority in Serbia

Hungary has appealed to the Council of Europe to pressure Serbia into offering greater protection for the Hungarian minority in Vojvodina. Kossuth Radio reported Thursday the speaker of the Hungarian parliament Katalin Szili had asked the Council of Europe to send a fact-finding mission to the ethnic Hungarian populated region of Serbia where Hungarians claim they have been subjected to a wave of attacks by nationalists. Concerns have been voiced from across the political spectrum in recent days in Hungary at the plight of Hungarians living in Vojvodina. Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs said Wednesday bilateral talks between the Serbian and Hungarian authorities had failed leaving Hungary with no alternative but to take the matter to the Council of Europe and the European Union. Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica responded angrily Thursday to the moves from Hungary saying attacks on ethnic Hungarians were merely isolated incidents. Millions of ethnic Hungarians live in countries neighboring Hungary, mainly in Romania, Slovakia and Serbia. They have frequently complained their rights have not been respected.