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: Hodos, Moravske Toplice, Salovci, 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)^*

Population / Year	1953	1961	1971	1981	1991
Slovenes	1,415,448	1,552,248	1,624,029	1,712,445	1,727,018 (87.84 %)
Italians	854¹	3,072	3,001	2,187	3,064 (0.16 %)
Hungarians	11,019	10,498	9,785	9,496	8,503 (0.43 %)
Romany	1,663	158	977	1,435	2,293 (0.12 %)
Austrians	289	254	278	180	199 (0.01 %)
Germans	1,617	732	422	380	546 (0.06 %)
Jews	15	21	72	9	37
Croats	17,928	31,429	42,182	55,625	54,212 (2.76 %)
Serbs	11,225	13,609	20,521	42,182	47,911 (2.44 %)
Albanians	169	282	1,281	1,985	3,629 (0.18 %)
Montenegrins	1,256	1,384	1,978	3,217	4,396 (0.22 %)
Macedonians	640	1,009	1,613	3,288	4,432 (0.23 %)
Muslims ²	1,617	465	3,231	13,425	26,842 (1.37 %)
Yugoslavs ³	-	2,784	6,744	26,263	12,307 (0.63 %)
Undetermined	-	-	3,073	2,975	9,011 (0.46 %)
Regionally determined ⁴	-	-	2,705	4,018	5,254 (0.27 %)
Other	...	...	...	...	...
Unknown or unclear	211	1,154	2,964	10,635	53,545 (2.72 %)
TOTAL	1,466,425	1,591,523	1,727,137	1,891,864	1,965,986 (100 %)

* Table taken from Zagar, M.: Uvod. Manjsine v prostoru Alpe Jadran in cezmejno sodelovanje. Neobjavljeno gradivo. INV, 1999 (Zagar, 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 "Bosnjaks".

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.

Sonja Novak Lukanovic