Miklos Patrubany, chairman of the World Federation of Hungarians (MVSZ), strongly
criticized the Hungarian government on 13 June, saying its policies do not protect
the interests of ethnic Hungarians abroad, the Romanian Mediafax agency reported on
15 June. Speaking in the Romanian town of Targu-Secuiesc, Patrubany said the
Medgyessy government "has castrated" the Hungarian Status Law and has totally
disregarded amendments to the law submitted by the MVSZ. The 20,000 forints ($90) in
educational support offered to ethnic Hungarian families with one child are merely
alms, Patrubany said, adding that Hungarians abroad need concrete support. "One
should not think that only in Bucharest there is Balkanism in politics, but [it also
exists] in Budapest," he concluded. MSZ

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