At the end of the 20th century we witness a growing awareness of the role language plays in increasing or decreasing interethnic conflicts. In this paper, after a brief discussion of language and ideology and the social responsibility of linguists, a cursory history of language policies in (Czecho) Slovakia between 1990 and 1998 is provided, with special regard to the situation of the Hungarian minority. The role of Slovak linguists is analyzed in shaping an aborted language bill in 1968, the Law on the Official Language in 1990, and the Law on the State Language in 1995. It is demonstrated that some professional linguists have not only contributed to increasingly repressive language legislation but provide professional or unprofessional linguistic advice which can be used by politicians as the scientific basis of the activities of an organization which has effectively become the 'linguistic police' in Slovakia