The Italian and Hungarian Autochthonous Ethnic Communities, and the Romany in the Republic of Slovenia
June, 1999
Introduction
In terms of ethnic structure, the Republic of Slovenia is a
relatively homogenous country compared to other European
countries. The ethnic structure of the population living in the
Slovene territory has not changed significantly throughout different
historical periods. The Second World War was merely one of the
milestones which has affected the numbers and ethnic structure of the
population living in the national territory of the Republic of
Slovenia. Census data from after the Second World War (see Table 1)
shows reductions in the proportion of Slovenes and in the proportion
of members of autochthonous ethnic communities (Italians and
Hungarians) in Slovenia, while at the same time it indicates an
increase in the proportion of members of the "new-era ethnic
minorities", namely people who moved to Slovenia chiefly after the
Second World War from various parts of the former Yugoslav federation,
mostly for economic reasons. The majority (more than 170,000) of these
immigrants have been granted Slovene citizenship since Slovenia gained
independence.
Collective Rights for Italians and Hungarians, special rights for the Romany
In the 1960s, official Slovene policy and its constitution and
legislation recognised the existence of ethnic plurality and Slovenia
began to formulate a "positive concept of protection" for the
autochthonous ethnic communities living in its territory. Following
Slovenia's independence, the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia
incorporated this positive concept of protection, which deals with
autochthonous ethnic communities as with autonomous entities and
highlights the active role of the state in recognising the special
rights of ethnic communities and in ensuring conditions for this
recognition. In addition to individual rights, the Constitution, acts
based thereon, and other legal acts guarantee special collective
rights for the Italian and Hungarian autochthonous ethnic
communities. These communities are entitled to these rights
irrespective of the numerical strength of either community. Protection
of the special rights of ethnic communities is based on the
territorial principle, meaning that it is guaranteed in the territory
settled by the Italian and Hungarian autochthonous ethnic communities.
Slovenia is one of few countries which has incorporated the
treatment of the Romany into its Constitution; a separate article
(Article 65) of the Constitution specifies that "the status and
special rights of the Romany community living in Slovenia shall be
such as are determined by statute". This regulation takes into account
the specific status and question of the Romany and the Romany
communities in Slovenia because of which it is not possible to assert
the same concept of protection as that which applies to the Italian
and Hungarian autochthonous ethnic communities. A decision was
subsequently adopted, according to which the protection of the Romany
community was determined to not be governed by a single special act
but, rather, that the special rights of the Romany were determined to
be governed by individual sectoral acts.
The Location of Communities
The Italian ethnic community lives in relatively dense groups in
the ethnically mixed territory of Slovene Istria, in the
municipalities of Koper/Capodistria, Izola/Isola, and Piran/Pirano.
According to the most recent census, 3,064 people declared themselves
members of the Italian ethnic community, which forms 0.16 per cent of
the total population of Slovenia.
The region in which the Hungarian autochthonous ethnic community is
settled covers a narrow belt along the Slovene-Hungarian border. In
the 1991 census, 8,503 people declared themselves Hungarian, which is
0.43 per cent of Slovenia's total population. In administrative terms,
they fall under the jurisdiction of five municipalities: Hodoš,
Moravske Toplice, Šalovci, Lendava, and Dobrovnik. This region is
densely populated by the Hungarian ethnic community. The ethnically
mixed areas are set out in municipal statutes.
The majority of the Romany live in relatively dense groups in
north-eastern Slovenia, mostly in the Prekmurje region while they are
also scattered along southern Slovenia along the border with
Croatia. The exact number of the Romany population is not known, since
censuses have shown that a decreasing number declare themselves
Romany. As a consequence of the exceptionally difficult conditions in
which the Romany live, efforts made so far to help the Romany have
been aimed at providing them with the basic conditions for life,
achieving their socialisation in the environment in which they live,
and in particular at systematically including Romany children in
education and the schooling processes. This is the main reason why
efforts directed at providing the Romany ethnic community with the
opportunity to develop their own identity and culture are only in
their initial stage.
Constitutional Rights of Ethnic Communities
The Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia (Article 64), adopted
in 1991, separately defines the areas to which the special rights of
the Italian and Hungarian autochthonous communities shall apply, as
well as the use of their mother tongue, schooling and education in
their mother tongue, cultural issues, the use of national symbols,
contacts with their countries of origin, and public information means
and publication in their mother tongue. They are also entitled to
establish special organisations responsible for activities aimed at
preserving their national identity. In the regions populated by the
Italian and Hungarian ethnic communities, they may also establish
special self-governing communities as forms of minority self-governed
units, where the state may transfer specific tasks from its
jurisdiction to the jurisdiction of these units. Legislation which
governs elections guarantees representation for the members of the
Italian and Hungarian ethnic communities on all levels of
decision-making, from municipal councils to the National Assembly of
the Republic of Slovenia. Thus the Italian and Hungarian ethnic
communities are each entitled to one democratically elected
representative in the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia,
who enjoys equal status with other deputies in the 90- member
parliament.
From the aspect of political participation, the most important
constitutional provision is no doubt the provision which sets out that
all acts and other regulations and general acts referring to the
recognition of the constitutional rights and status of the ethnic
communities must be adopted with the consent of the representatives of
the ethnic communities (i.e. the two deputies in the National Assembly
and municipal councillors). The ethnic communities therefore have the
right to some sort of "absolute" veto.
Bilingual Education and Schooling
In the ethically mixed regions of Prekmurje and Slovene Istria the
Hungarian and Italian languages enjoy equal status with the Slovene
language on the level of both individual and social use. Slovene and
Italian, or Slovene and Hungarian, have equal status in the operation
of administrative, national, and judicial bodies. Topographic signs in
these regions are also bilingual.
By all means, education and schooling are first among the factors
which contribute to tolerance and coexistence between ethnic groups
(or, in their absence, intolerance and conflict) and which reflect
ethnic equality. Education and schooling in ethnically mixed regions
are constituent parts of the Slovene system of education and
schooling. The two models of bilingual education and schooling
established in the ethnically mixed regions in Prekmurje and Slovene
Istria have been designed as the basis for the equality enjoyed by the
Hungarian and Italian ethnic communities, and by their language and
culture. These two models, used in ethnically mixed regions in
Slovenia, vary from each other due to the different historical
development and to different international obligations. Thus in the
ethnically mixed region in Slovene Istria, educational and schooling
institutions have operated in the Slovene and Italian languages since
1959, while all children systematically and on a compulsory basis
learn the second language used in their environment (either Italian or
Slovene) from the pre-school level onwards. The model of bilingual
education and schooling used in the ethnically mixed region in
Prekmurje was introduced in 1959 and is classified as a two-tier model
aimed at preserving both languages on an equal basis. One typical
feature of this model is that bilingual classes are attended by pupils
and students of both Slovene and Hungarian ethnic origin, or in other
words classes are held in two mother tongues. Both languages have the
status of a teaching language and a teaching subject.
Media and Culture
The issue of the provision of public information in the language of
the ethnic community is also very important for the preservation of
cultural identity and for the overall development of the ethnic
community. Slovenia's legislation takes into account the specific
needs of the ethnic communities. In the ethnically mixed region in
Slovene Istria, where Slovenes live together with Italians, the
Koper/Capodistria radio and television stations play a very important
role. These are part of the public institution Radiotelevizija
Slovenija but are independent in terms of management of programme
policy and having a direct influence on the appointment of the
directors and editors of the Koper/Capodistria stations. Radio
Koper/Capodistria began to transmit programmes in Italian in 1945, and
today it is on the air fourteen hours a day. Television
Koper/Capodistria began operating in 1971 and its target audience are
the members of the Italian ethnic community living in Slovenia and
Croatia; it broadcasts more than eleven hours a day.
Members of the Hungarian ethnic community can also listen to
programmes in Hungarian broadcast by the regional studio for Hungarian
programming, which operates as part of Radiotelevizija Slovenija. The
head office of radio and television programming management for the
Hungarian ethnic community is based in Lendava.
The Italian and Hungarian ethnic communities have also organised
numerous cultural activities (folklore groups, choirs); the library
activity is exceptionally diversified. A special role in the
development of the ethnic community is played by the publishing
activity, which covers the publication of informational journals, and
other cultural magazines and monographs.
Communication with the Country of Origin
Here it is worth stressing the constitutional provision which
guarantees the members of the Italian and Hungarian ethnic communities
the right to "foster contacts with the wider Italian and Hungarian
communities living outside Slovenia, and with Italy and Hungary
respectively", which gives both ethnic communities the role of an
active entity in international co-operation, as well as in
intergovernmental relations with Italy and Hungary. Over the years
numerous contacts have been developed in various fields ? culture,
education, economy. The various forms of co- operation with the
country of origin are very important for the identity and development
of the ethnic communities. These forms of co-operation take place on
three levels ? the national level (specified in intergovernmental
cultural agreements), the regional and municipal levels (set out in
regional agreements), and on the level of direct co-operation between
different entities and individuals, which is the most frequent and
widespread form of co-operation.
With its constitutional provisions governing the protection of
ethnic communities, the Republic of Slovenia took on the obligation to
support and develop the institutions responsible for the development
of the culture of ethnic minorities and for the preservation of their
cultural and linguistic identity. Most ethnic community organisations
are therefore financed from the national budget, and partly from
municipal community budgets.
Universal Legal Protection
Slovenia has developed universal legal protection of its
traditional ethnic communities (the Italian and Hungarian ethnic
communities, and partly the Romany ethnic community), which in
addition to constitutional provisions incorporates numerous acts (as
many as eighty) and secondary legislation regulations, guaranteeing a
level and standards of protection higher than those guaranteed by
international standards. This has been upheld by Mr. Hörcsik who,
after his visit to Slovenia as a reporter to the Council of Europe's
Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, wrote the following in
his report (AS/Jur (44) 55, 22 March 1993): "My impression is that
Slovenia scores high in all respects. It has modern legislation on
civil and penal law - and in many other things - and modern
institutions, some of which do not (yet) exist in all Council of
Europe states (Constitutional Court, Ombudsman and special
representatives of minorities in elected bodies)... Under these
circumstances, it must be said that both communities (i.e. the
Hungarian and Italian Community) are rather privileged. They are, in
grosso modo, satisfied with their situation. Of course, improvements
may always be made... Slovenia, in my opinion, fully respects the
rule of law and fundamental rights and freedoms. The manner in which
it protects the rights of minorities is a model and an example for
many European States (both East and West)."
Table 1
Ethnic structure of the population living in the territory
of the Republic of Slovenia according to population censuses carried
out in various years after the Second World War
Data source: Statistical Office of the Socialist Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia and Statistical Office of the Republic of
Slovenia)*
* Table taken from Žagar, M.: Uvod. Manjšine v prostoru Alpe
Jadran in čezmejno sodelovanje. Neobjavljeno gradivo. INV, 1999
(Žagar, M.: Introduction. Minorities in the Alps-Adria Region and
Cross-Border Co-operation. Unpublished material. INV, 1999).
1 This figure does not include the Italians who, when the census was
carried out, lived in the Free Trieste Territory (the coastal
Primorska region, or the then "Zone B"), which forms the majority of
the territory of autochthonous settlement of the Italian ethnic
community in Slovenia.
2 The ethnic category "Muslim", which was introduced in the post-war
censuses of the Yugoslav population, mostly incorporated people from
the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina, who today mostly declare
themselves "Bošnjaks".
3 This ethnic category primarily includes children from ethnically
mixed marriages, in particular in cases where the spouses were members
of different Serbian and/or Croatian ethnic communities, or where at
least one of the spouses was a member of the Serbian-speaking and/or
Croatian-speaking ethnic communities.
4 From 1971 onwards, population censuses envisaged the possibility of
regional determination of the identity of an individual, which is not
necessarily defined ethnically, but is linked to the narrower region
of residence, such as Istria, Primorska, Dolenjska, etc.