Bilingual signs vandalised in Romania

A recent event in Toplița/Maroshévíz points out once more the existence of anti-Hungarian sentiment in Romania. On Tuesday morning locals found that on the bilingual (Romanian-Hungarian) place-name signs marking the various entrances into Toplița/Maroshévíz, the name of the city in Hungarian had been painted over during the night.

Attila Béla Bodor, the president of the local Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ) organisation voiced his concern over the matter. He added that it had been a long and arduous process to finally get the local public authorities to put up the bilingual signs in autumn last year – in a city where 22% of the inhabitants are Hungarian. According to the Romanian legislation, multilingual signs are mandatory when a minority population constitutes at least 20% of the population in a territorial and administrative division.

NO TOLERANCE FOR BILINGUAL SIGNS

The police investigation is under way, but it will likely prove difficult to find the culprits, since there are no surveillance cameras in the vicinity of these signs. Some speculated that it is probably a mischievous act committed by children. However, this is highly unlikely, given that the perpetrators would have had to use a car, otherwise it is hard to explain how they could cover such distances – travelling to each and every entrance into the city – in such a short space of time. Moreover, all the place-name signs have been painted over with the same bronze colour, which also points to a planned and coordinated action. Bodor expressed his hope that the Harghita County Prefect’s Office will also aid the investigations.