“Make the strangers welcome in this land, let them keep their language and customs, for weak and fragile is the realm which is based on a single language or on a single set of customs.”
These are the opening words of a letter written in 1036 by King Istvan, Hungary's founding father and first Christian monarch, which now form the cornerstone of ethnic tolerance and democracy in post-communist Hungary.
They were not written with any specific ethnic group in mind, but hundreds of years later, they have become an integral part of the Hungarian way of life.
King Istvan, who is also the nation's Patron Saint, not only brought Christianity to this land, but also set the foundations of one of central Europe's most ethnically diverse countries.
With a population of a little over 10.5 million, Hungary shares borders with Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Yugoslavia, Croatia and Slovenia, and proudly lists thirteen different and distinct ethnic groups as part of its national mosaic.
They are the Armenians, Bulgarians, Croats, Germans, Greeks, Gypsies, Poles, Romanians, Ruthenians, Serbs, Slovaks, Slovenes, and Ukrainians.
Taking these circumstances and historical heritage into consideration, the Hungarian government has in recent years adopted a law designed to identify and create conditions under which the assimilation process of these officially recognized national and ethnic minorities can be reversed.
In Hungary today it is outright illegal to pursue policies which are directed or result in the assimilation of a minority into the majority nation. It is also illegal to harass a national or ethnic minority or prevent its members from exercising their rights.
Its clear-cut policy on minorities is just one of many reasons why Hungary has gained the reputation of being on the forefront of the leading democracies of the former Soviet Bloc.
Since the end of the communist era, and the transition that started in 1989, different Hungarian governments have pushed ahead with an evolving market economy in which the private sector dominates.
Modernization has come in bold strides, changing the very appearance of a nation which has received more than half of all foreign investments flowing into Eastern Europe since 1990.
A look at the "Upcoming Events" section of the Budapest Business Journal is a clear indication of how fast Hungary is being integrated into the international community.
Among the events listed were a seminar organized by the prestigious Economist magazine, and others by the American Chamber of Commerce, the British Chamber of Commerce, the KPMG financial group, and the Rochester Institute of Technology.
The list of advertisers in the magazine included GTE communications, Office Depot, which has opened several megastores in Hungary, a string of major European Banks, and dozens of European office furniture suppliers.
"Everybody wants a share of the growing Hungarian market," a Budapest business executive said.
From social security to industry and foreign investment, Hungary, with its well-educated and inexpensive work force, is on the fast-track.
Cutting redundant labor is no longer taboo. In one instance, a local bank did not have to think twice before slashing its top-level management by nearly 50 percent in a cost-saving initiative.
With the government rapidly pulling out of the old school of central management, it came as no surprise when parliament last year passed a pension reform law which dictates that everyone entering the work force in mid-1998 must choose a private fund in which to put one fourth of their pension contributions.
In the business sector, management of local companies is no longer restricted to Hungarian citizens. There is also no limit to capital participation, including full ownership of all enterprises.
The old "aristocratic but gloomy" Budapest is gone. Hundreds of glittering shops, dozens of five-star hotels, huge shopping malls and an influx of imported cars now' give the city the luster of any major European metropolis.
Always a favorite for European tourists, Hungary now attracts visitors from across the globe.
"Hungary has embraced the West with open arms, and the West has done the same.
"Hungary is an excellent example of practicing what it preaches," a Western diplomat said recently. "It does not only welcome change and tolerate minorities, but also practices what its forefathers preached. It is very proud of its human rights record."
True to the wishes of its founding father, Hungary has not only recognized the concept of ethnic diversity, but has taken matters a step forward by adopting legislation which has paved the way for the creation of National Self-Governments for all those ethnic groups which have been living on Hungarian soil for at least 100 years, including the Armenians.
The first National Self-Government of the Armenian Minority in Hungary was formed in 1994 after country-wide elections which gave every self-declared Armenian the right to run for office in the various electoral districts of Budapest and a large number of towns across the country.
Under a law adopted by the Hungarian government after careful debate and open discussion with the representatives of the various ethnic groups, it was agreed to give every Hungarian citizen belonging to a minority ethnic group the right to "stand up and be recognized."
To avoid discrimination, the entire population of any given Hungarian electoral region is called upon to elect not only its city or district authorities, but also the members of the various ethnic self-governments.
According to the law', an electoral district with a registered voting population of less than 1,300 can elect individual ethnic self-governments composed of three members. If the electoral district has more than 1,300 registered voters, it can elect ethnic self-governments of five members.
There is no limit on the number of self-governments provided each aspiring candidate can be nominated by at least five citizens.
Once the nomination of the three or five member slate is approved by the election committee, the list goes to the electorate for a vote by the general public.
For the Armenians, who are the smallest of Hungary's ethnic minorities and whose numbers do not exceed 12,000 nationwide, it means winning the trust of the majority Hungarians who cast most of the votes.
In most of the electoral districts, it is not the size of the Armenian minority that matters, but rather their good reputation which gets them elected. In some cases, there are no more than a dozen Armenians in a given district, but this does not prevent them from having their own self-government as a recognized minority.
But the law does not stop at only giving the Armenians and other minorities the chance to form their local self- governments along with the opportunity to preserve, cultivate, and strengthen their identity, but it also allocates large sums of money to help support their non-political endeavors.
The National Self- Government of the Armenian Minority of Hungary, which is elected by the members of the 25 local Armenian self-rule entities of Budapest and other towns and cities, receives a special grant from the central government to manage its own affairs.
An initial sum of 15 million forints, or 75,000 U.S. dollars, was allocated for the setting up of a special office in Budapest which now serves as the seat of the Armenian National Self-Government, the coordinating structure which groups the various regional self-rule entities across the country.
But financial assistance is not confined to the umbrella group.
Each district where Armenians we’re elected to their respective regional self-governments also received seed money to set up their own operations, including the establishment of small offices, all equipped with at least a basic computer, fax machine and a small staff.
As much as the seed money has helped launch the various self-governments, the regional authorities and the central government have also kept the doors open for further financial assistance based on merit.
Money is available from a National Fund which was created to help meet specific ethnic demands in education and culture.
For the Armenians, the law has meant a new lease on life.
Assimilated into the Hungarian landscape for centuries and scattered across the land, Armenians now have a better chance to reclaim their heritage.
In October 1998, Hungarians elected their regional authorities, including representatives of the accredited minorities. Hundreds of Armenians entered the race, and 125 were elected from 19 electoral districts of Budapest and from nine towns across Hungary.
The central or National authority is headed by Alex Avanessian, an ethnic Hungarian Armenian who was born in Budapest, but educated in Armenia.
Avanessian, the driving force behind the community, has led the supreme council since 1994. He has helped mobilize Armenians around the country and diligently encouraged and pushed forward community projects aimed at enhancing language, education, culture and ethnic pride.
The Armenians, who have equal rights and privileges like the other larger ethnic groups, are one of the most visible.
"Numbers are important but at the same time numbers are not enough. We have a lot of highly motivated and dedicated Armenians who are very involved with community life.
"We are busy building for the future generations of Armenians who will call Hungary home," Avanessian said.
