Our Homeland: The Beneš Decrees Must Be Abolished, Not Protected!

From an article originally published in Hungarian by Magyar Jelen on December 12, 2025 by Dániel Irányi.

“The National Policy Committee of Our Homeland Movement strongly condemns the recent decision by the Slovak parliament, which makes punishable the ‘denial’ or criticism of the Beneš Decrees. This new law represents a serious attack on freedom of expression and the dignity of the Hungarian community in Upper Hungary (southern Slovakia),” wrote Szilveszter Kispalkó, chairman of Our Homeland’s National Policy Committee, in a statement.

The politician pointed out that the amended Criminal Code allows for actual prison sentences of up to six months for those who publicly question or criticize the Beneš Decrees. “With this, Slovakia has placed rights-depriving provisions based on the principle of collective guilt under legal protection, which constitutes a grossly anti-Hungarian provocation,” he added.

Kispalkó also noted that the Beneš Decrees have oppressed the Hungarian community there for more than eighty years: laws based on collective guilt led to property confiscations, forced expulsions, and systematic discrimination.

“Speaking about these injustices is not a crime but a moral duty, therefore we express our solidarity with the Hungarian community in Upper Hungary, because speaking the truth can never be a crime,” the politician stated.

“We urge the Hungarian government to take immediate diplomatic and political action to protect the rights of Hungarians in Upper Hungary, and we demand that the Slovak government repeal this law that violates freedom of expression. History cannot be imprisoned! Freedom of expression is not a matter for negotiation!” the statement concluded.