Dear Mr. President
These are times when the whole era of our socialist past is under reevaluation and historic scrutiny. The events and turning points in the lives of individuals, as well as the whole party history and the political movements are undergoing a process of reevaluation. The above do not pertain solely to our own society, but encompass all the Eastern European countries, where the process of democratization has resulted in the changing of the political system. These include a more in depth, and unbiased study of historical events of the Second World War, and the period preceding these events. These studies are becoming more and more devoid of ideological bias, and they are becoming increasingly impartial.
1. In our country at the present time the questions of the victims of the war are the subject of wide open discussions. It is highly disagreeable however, that the daily newspapers are exploiting these historical events for political purposes. All historical accounts must be free from ideological bias. Historical truth is far too valuable to become the object of daily political quarrels.
In the context of the above processes of democratization, there is a genuine need that the ethnic Hungarians of Vojvodina also learn the truth about themselves as a collective entity. The Democratic Community of Hungarians in Vojvodina (DCHV) believes that the time is ripe for undertaking a scientific research, and evaluation of the events that have taken place during the occupation, and immediately after the liberation in Vojvodina. I am speaking about the infamous carnage against the Serbs, Jews and Gypsies. Although these events are fairly well documented, I also wish to include the Hungarians and Germans, who perished without trials soon after the war ended.
It lives on in the popular memory, that such events against the Hungarians and Germans have occurred in Vojvodina, and many of them have perished without proper trials.
The fact that by international standards these events qualify to be categorized as genocide, but the perpetrators have not been identified, is a cause of great distress amongst many of our people. The feeling of our guilt is being amplified by perpetuating the blame for the Serb and the Jewish victims.
We feel that it is detrimental that these questions are deliberated in such an unbalanced manner and without any input from experts, especially the historians, and lawyers.
It is for these reasons that we ask the Serb Academy of the Arts and Sciences, and the Academy of Arts and Sciences of Vojvodina, which posses the necessary means and resources, to undertake the research pertaining to these events. The above Institutions are fully competent, and they possess the professional and the political authority to carry out this task in form of a scientific project, and to publish their findings accordingly.
The scientifically established historical truth may serve as a basis for the proper form of granting the last respect for the innocent victims. This in turn will lead to strengthening the solidarity between the nation and the nationalities living in the region. A real bond will be forged between the people based on historical truth, and devoid of any prevailing ideology. We believe that historical judgment as well as daily politics must be based on impartial attention to the facts.
2. In conjunction with the above processes of democratization, we feel that there is another domain that did not receive adequate attention since the liberation. That is the social and the economic situation of national minorities, especially the ethnic Hungarians in Vojvodina. An all encompassing scientific research in this area will most certainly contribute a great deal to abate the misgivings caused by the lack of any relevant scientific data in this area. Moreover, such research would contribute to the overall economic revival of Vojvodina, and the republic of Serbia. In the same context the warranted socioeconomic needs of ethnic Hungarians would be met as well.
Dated April 19, 1990
András Ágoston
President, DCHV
