RMDSZ

Democratic Alliance of Hungarians president under attack in Romania

Strenghtening anti-Hungarian attitude in Romania

According to Mikó Imre Minority Rights Legal Aid Service, Hunor Kelemen, the president of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ) has been harassed for days in the Romanian media for declarations he made regarding the upcoming centennial of the 1918 Great Union, and is now facing threats from civil organisations, as well as individuals, who demand that his Romanian citizenship be taken away. Nationalistic rage is also rampant on social media, where the president of UDMR/RMDSZ is being labelled a traitor and a nobody, simply for expressing an opinion and reaffirming the position of the party, which was expressed numerous times beforehand.

In an interview that he gave last week, Hunor Kelemen declared, among other things, that the Hungarian community in Romania cannot and does not want to celebrate the centennial of the formation of the modern Romanian state. Spirits in the Romanian mainstream media instantly flamed up, with reporters and opinion-makers calling the president of UDMR/RMDSZ a traitor.

One organisation, the National Coalition for Modernising Romania, went as far as threatening to initiate the withdrawal of Kelemen’s Romanian citizenship. Such a measure would be both absurd and unconstitutional. First of all, as a citizen and as the president of UDMR/RMDSZ, Hunor Kelemen has the right to express an opinion and to speak in the name of his party. Secondly, according to the Constitution of Romania, one cannot be stripped of their citizenship, if he/she acquired that citizenship by birth. Not content with this, the organisation demanded that the Order of the Star of Romania be revoked from Hunor Kelemen, who, according to them, “questions the existence of the Romanian state, its laws, history, culture and national identity”.

Reactions on social media were also quick and more than hostile. An Orthodox priest from Vâlcele/Előpatak, Covasna County did not mince his words in a Facebook post, calling Kelemen “a nobody”, “an odious anti-Romanian and anti-Hungarian”. Proving once again that anti-Hungarian sentiment in Romania can be instantly triggered and spreads like wildfire, he echoed the opinion of the National Coalition for Modernising Romania: “You are not a citizen of Romania! You are nothing but a Mongoloid viper who puts venom in Romanian and Hungarian glasses.”

The executive president of UDMR/RMDSZ, Bálint Porcsalmi, declared in a statement that “it is unacceptable that one does not have the right to express an opinion in this country”. The freedom of expression should not be conditioned on one’s nationality or the content of an opinion, especially since these statements made by KELEMEN represent the views of the majority of the Hungarian population in Romania, and do not in any way offend the dignity of other persons. In a country where political pluralism as a principle and human rights in general are guaranteed in the Constitution, limitations to the freedom of opinion should not and must not be allowed.

Romanian prefect seeks to eliminate the Szekler flag from private properties

After fiercely opposing and fighting the display of the Szekler flag in public spaces for years, it seems Lucian Goga has recently committed himself to eliminating it from private properties as well.

In the past few weeks prefect Lucian Goga has conducted a veritable campaign against the Szekler flag, and he has managed to impose his will, resulting in the flag being removed from town halls across Mureș county. But it seems he is determined to push the matter further, and has called upon local parishes and party headquarters to also take down the Szekler flag, both of which constitute private property, and thus the prefect has no legal jurisdiction over these. One of the parishes called upon by Lucian Goga to remove the Szekler flag is the Reformed church of Ghindari/Makfalva. Nevertheless, the pastor declared that he has no intention of doing so, as the flag is hoisted on the church’s private property.

Another case concerns the headquarters of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ) in Sângeorgiu de Pădure/Erdőszentgyörgy, where the two flags (the Szekler and the Hungarian) have already been the subject of a lawsuit initiated by the prefect. In last november, however, the court ruled in favour of the defendant, dismissing the grounds of the prefect’s complaint. Goga had argued that case on the basis of a 2001 government decree, which however only refers to the state flags of foreign countries, and neither the Szekler flag, nor the Hungarian flag featuring the crest in the middle enter into that category. The prefect chose to ignore the existing verdict, and is expected to pursue legal course once again.

Several legal experts and lawyers have raised their voice against these measures taken by the prefect, arguing on the one hand that he has no legal jurisdiction over private property, and on the other that the prefect must obey final court decisions. Moreover, as formulated by Előd Kincses, a lawyer who was involved in several cases defending the rights of the Hungarian minority: “It would be nice, if the prefect learned something that even a first year law student knows: everything is allowed, which is not forbidden by law.”

Photo: MTI

Minority rights in Romania: One step forward, two steps back?

After initially voting in favour of a proposed amendment by the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ/UDMR), which was meant to extend the linguistic rights of minorities in the fields of healthcare and social assistance, three parties, namely the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Save Romania Union (USR) and the People’s Movement Party (PMP), objected to the proposed amendment at the Constitutional Court of Romania.

This sudden change of opinion on the part of the three parties is both absurd and offensive, and can only be interpreted as an assault against the Hungarian community and against human rights in general.

The amendment in question states that in localities where a minority population exceeds 20%, or the alternative gap of 5000 people, members of the minority must be guaranteed the right to be attended within the healthcare system and social services by a person who speaks their mother tongue. Such an extension of the linguistic rights of minorities would be an important step forward, since there have been several cases in recent years of patients being shamed and ill-treated within the healthcare system for not speaking Romanian properly.

In their objections PNL, USR and PMP argue that the proposed amendment is unconstitutional because “it infringes the principles of equality before the law and non-discrimination”, to which they added that “it can also be discriminatory towards other minorities”. Such arguments are clearly contradictory and absurd, since the amendment was intended precisely to prevent discrimination against minorities.

Following the objection of the three parties, RMDSZ/UDMR released a statement in which the president of the organisation, Hunor KELEMEN, underlined that the objections presented to the Constitutional Court are in fact trumped-up arguments, which are meant to curb minority rights. “If they cannot help us, we ask that they at least don’t obstruct our work.” – added KELEMEN. The RMDSZ/UDMR statement also notes that by proposing such a measure, PNL and PMP go against the values of their own political family, the European People’s Party, which is highly committed to protecting minority rights.

Hungary-Romania relations showing signs of improvement, says head of parliament’s foreign affairs committee

Bucharest (MTI) – After five years, relations between Hungary and Romania are showing signs of improvement, Zsolt Németh, head of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, told Hungarian public media on Thursday after a two-day visit to Bucharest.

Over the course of his visit, Németh met Romanian foreign ministry state secretary Alexandru Micula, former Foreign Minister Lázár Comanescu, Iulian Fota, director of Romania’s National Intelligence College as well as several ruling party and opposition politicians, to discuss the state of Hungarian-Romanian ties.

Németh noted that Romania’s parliament had recently passed a law that permits the use of Hungarian language in health-care institutions.

In his talks with his Romanian partners, Németh discussed the need to restart certain existing mechanisms of Hungary and Romania’s partnership. He said the Hungarian-Romanian mixed economic committee could meet over the course of the spring, adding that the mixed committee for minority affairs could also hold a session soon.

Németh said the two countries hold similar positions on foreign policy and European matters, regional cooperation as well as transatlantic relations, which he said was an excellent starting point to improving bilateral cooperation.

Németh also met and held talks with Hunor Kelemen, the leader of Romania’s ethnic Hungarian RMDSZ party, during his visit.

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.

This lamentable incident is not an isolated case, as several bilingual signs have been painted over in recent years: Covasna/Kovászna, Târgu Secuiesc/Kézdivásárhely, and Gheorgheni/Györgyfalva – just to name a few. Sadly, these cases and others – such as the smearing of the Hungarian community’s statues and monuments – reflect a persistent anti-Hungarian attitude in Transylvania, which the authorities often do little to combat.

It is not difficult to see why an ordinary citizen might think that in committing such acts, they are fighting for a righteous cause, as the Romanian authorities often use every tool at their disposal to prevent bilingual signs from being put up, as was the case in the recent trial concerning bilingual place-name signs in Cluj-Napoca/Kolozsvár. Until there is a clear animosity towards bilingual signs coming from the authorities themselves, there will always be some members of the Romanian majority who will feel emboldened in their fight against these signs.

Ethnic Hungarian parents intimidated by Romanian prosecutors

After many years of struggling to regain property of and to re-open a Hungarian school in Târgu Mureș/Marosvásárhely, confiscated by the communist regime from the Roman Catholic Church, the Romanian National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) accused director Zsolt József TAMÁSI (ethnic Hungarian) and chief inspector Ștefan SOMEȘAN of corruption for allegedly running the school without authorization – even though the Ministry of Education had previously found everything in order.

The case triggered a strong reaction in the Hungarian community and now the DNA is going after some of the parents who are fighting for the school, calling them to testify regarding this case. We believe that such persecution is unacceptable in any state which claims to be a democracy under the rule of law.

Several months after the prosecution re-opened the case, the teachers finally received their unpaid wages and a new interim director was named, but this is just one side of the coin. 140 pupils are still in despair because enrolment for the 2017/18 school year starts on the 27th February and the school has still not been re-authorized – thanks to the Prefect, who has recently attacked the new decision made by the local council. We believe that this is also an abuse of power lacking any kind of legal or moral justification.

Since the fall of the communist regime in 1989, the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ) has been fighting for the restitution of properties which used to belong to the Hungarian community and its historical churches, as well as the re-establishment of Hungarian schools previously closed by the Romanian state during the 20th century. The fear of losing these recently regained rights and the unlawful accusations against its leaders is what outrages the Hungarian community of Romania once more, only a few years after the Székely Mikó High School was re-nationalized and taken away from its rightful owner, the Hungarian Reformed Church.

Hence, in the name of the Hungarian community and its historical churches, UDMR/RMDSZ urges the Romanian authorities to withdraw all unjust measures intended against all persons involved in this case, and restore the normal and uninterrupted administration of the school, since the current situation violates several rights guaranteed by the Constitution and international agreements ratified by Romania, especially the right to quality education in the mother tongue.

Ethnic Hungarian parties’ success in Romania election – Reactions

Budapest, December 12 (MTI) – Cooperation between ethnic Hungarian parties in Romania has proven successful; the Hungarian community will have a strong representation in the Bucharest parliament, deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén, head of Hungary’s co-ruling Christian Democrats, said late on Sunday. The alliance between the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ) and the Hungarian Civic Party (MPP) has been successful, Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party’s communications director said on Sunday.

In his statement, Semjén said that “this wonderful result has confirmed that in cardinal questions for the Hungarian community cooperation is a moral obligation and divisions must not be allowed”.

Fidesz: RMDSZ-MPP alliance proves successful in Romanian election

RMDSZ and MPP’s decision to cooperate in the election seems to have had a positive effect on voter turnout and mood, Balázs Hidvégi told MTI, commenting on the preliminary results.

The early data indicate that the national turnout rate will be around 38-40 percent, while turnout in most of the counties inhabited by ethnic Hungarians is expected to be higher, Hidvégi said.

He noted Harghita (Hargita) County, where turnout was 44 percent and Bihor (Bihar) and Salaj (Szilágy) Counties, each of which had registered turnout rates of 43 percent. In Covasna (Kovászna) County, voter turnout in municipalities inhabited by Hungarians greatly exceeded the turnout in cities and villages where most of the residents are Romanian, he added.

“This indicates that from a Hungarian point of view the result of this election will be better than the last one’s,” Hidvégi said, adding that since the size of Romania’s parliament has been reduced, the ethnic Hungarian parties can acquire a greater share of the seats.

Answering a question, Hidvégi said it was particularly important for Fidesz that ethnic Hungarians achieve greater representation in the Romanian parliament.

According to an early exit poll, the Social Democrat Party (PSD) won the elections with 46 percent of the votes. RMDSZ is projected to clear the 5 percent parliamentary threshold with 6 percent of the votes.

Photo: MTI

Orbán urges ethnic Hungarians to vote in Romanian elections

Satu Mare (Szatmárnémeti), Romania, December 8 (MTI) – Prime Minister Viktor Orbán urged ethnic Hungarians to cast their ballot at Romania’s upcoming parliamentary elections, in Satu Mare (Szatmárnémeti), in north-west Romania, on Thursday.

At a press conference held with Hunor Kelemen, head of the ethnic Hungarian RMDSZ party, Orbán said that the Hungarian community needs to fight for its interests and ensure a strong parliamentary representation. He added that the strength of ethnic Hungarians in Romania has a significant impact on bilateral relations.

Kelemen Hunor; Orbán Viktor

Orbán said ethnic Hungarian communities in Romania did not always “get the respect they deserve” and that the Romanian government “isn’t helping to eliminate all the barriers” in front of them.

But if Romania “choses the right kind of leadership” and if the Hungarian government will be willing to work together with it, ethnic Hungarian communities will benefit from that cooperation, Orbán said.

A successful Romania is in Hungary’s interest, Orbán added.

The prime minister congratulated Kelemen on putting together “the broadest alliance [of ethnic Hungarian parties] possible under the given circumstances” for the election.

Asked about Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó’s banning of Hungarian diplomats from attending Romania’s Dec. 1 commemorations of the union of Transylvania with the Romanian Kingdom, Orbán said “honesty” is “the right answer” even when it comes to the most “sensitive” issues, which Orbán said the union of Transylvania with Romania was. “But it’s still better to accept a conflict resulting from an expression of honesty than to be hypocritical. Given that Hungarians have nothing to celebrate on December 1, they don’t celebrate,” the prime minister said.

Orbán said he had also discussed the situation of Satu Mare with Mayor Gábor Kereskényi, who attended the meeting between the prime minister and Kelemen. Orbán said Kereskenyi had underlined the importance of connecting the border city to the motorway network of Hungary and Europe. The project will involve the construction of a 35-40km Hungarian motorway section that will extend to the Romanian border, Orbán said.

Kelemen Hunor; Orbán Viktor

Kelemen described the upcoming election as “historic”. He said that over the coming years, Romania is set to undergo reforms in areas like public administration and education, which he said could impact the lives of ethnic Hungarians there for “many decades to come”.

Fidesz group leaders calls RMDSZ party important in Romania’s success

 

Kolozsvár (Cluj), November 15 (MTI) – The group leader of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party said in Nagyvárad (Oradea) that Romania could be successful only if the country’s Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ) party is successful, according to a report by the Maszol.ro local news portal.

Lajos Kósa attended the campaign opening event of the ethnic Hungarian party together with Zoltán Pajna, leader of eastern Hungary’s Hajdú-Bihar county’s assembly, on Monday evening.

“It is incredibly important that RMDSZ manages to reach consensus with every other Hungarian political force with which a reasonable compromise can be brokered,” Kosa told a press conference he held jointly with Hunor Kelemen, the leader of RMDSZ, and candidates representing Bihar county.

There have been fundamental changes in Europe and in the continent’s eastern regions since 2013-14, as these post-Soviet countries have started to boost EU economic growth and their political views have greater weight, said Kósa.

“In such a situation it is key that RMDSZ should address issues of importance not only for the ethnic minorities but for Romanian society as a whole,” Kósa said, noting demographic decline and workforce outflows as such issues.

Hunor Kelemen said the right answers to challenges in the coming years would only be given by “mobilising” the entire Hungarian community of Romania to vote in the country’s Dec. 11 parliamentary elections.

Photo: MTI

Ethnic Hungarians of Romania call for the end of the „witch-hunt” against Hungarians in Romania

“We ask emphatically about the reasons for the obvious witch-hunt against Hungarians in the cities of Transylvania” – stated Hunor Kelemen, the president of RMDSZ (Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania) in a press release last week, mikoimre3szek.ro reports.

The President raised his voice in protest in relation to two recent events that occurred in two Transylvanian cities: organisers of a public march at Marosvásárhely/Targu Mures were given a 70,800 RON fine for marching in the city, and also the participants of the March 15th commemoration at Kolozsvár/Cluj-Napoca were asked to withdraw the historical regional flag of Transylvania. Kelemen stated that the authorities restricted members of the Hungarian community in Romania to use their regional symbols and to organize peaceful processions.

According to President Kelemen, the recent events have swayed further the already shaky sense of security of the members of the Hungarian community.

„It is obvious that innocent people who were peacefully celebrating were targeted at Targu Mures and at Cluj-Napoca by the employees of the police. We emphatically ask those responsible for public safety to deal with averting public danger instead of considering the fulfillment of their institutional duty to fine peaceful people or remove the Transylvanian or Szekler flag”- declared Kelemen.

The President of RMDSZ asked the authorities in both cases to justify their actions and the procedure that followed. He stated that unfounded sanctions are against the principles of law. „The Hungarians of Romania do not want to live in a country where they are constantly intimidated!”- said Kelemen.

The Targu-Mures Police issued a press release in relation to the fining of the 84 organisers of a peaceful march in their city on March 10th, for the hefty sum of 70,800 RON. The spokesman of the police confirmed that the march was free of incidents and affrays. He declared that the fines were issued due to the authority’s point of view that the participants of the march processed in the front of the Prefect’s Office without an official permit.

Copy editor: bm

Orbán, RMDSZ leader discuss plans for Romania’s ethnic Hungarian minority

Budapest, February 29 (MTI) – Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Romania’s ethnic Hungarian RMDSZ party leader Hunor Kelemen discussed topical issues of the Hungarian minority in Budapest on Monday.

Orbán and Kelemen agreed on the need for Transylvanian Hungarians to gain strength during political clashes accompanying the run-up to this year’s elections, a trend which should be reflected by the number of municipal and parliamentary seats won, Bertalan Havasi, the prime minister’s press chief, told MTI.

Kelemen presented draft development plans aimed to help Transylvanian Hungarians retain their identity and foster their culture, he said.

Orbán expressed support for the plans, including establishing a boarding school for diaspora students in Timisoara (Temesvár), founding an ice hockey academy in Szeklerland and enriching the collection of the Transylvanian Arts Centre in Sfantu Gheorghe (Sepsiszentgyörgy).

Romania plans to open refugee camp near Hungarian border?

Budapest, February 4 (MTI) – The Romanian government is planning to open a refugee camp in Tasnád, in northwestern Romania, some 30 kilometres from the border with Hungary, daily Magyar Idők said on Thursday.

The camp would provide accommodation to some 600, mainly Syrian refugees, despite protests from the town’s leaders and residents, the paper said.

Gábor Kereskényi, Satu-Mare (Szatmar) County MP of the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ), told the paper that the government did not consult with anyone in the town about opening the refugee camp.

Kereskényi also said the northwestern county is the wrong place for a refugee camp even in terms of geography, because it is too far from Romania’s southwestern border where migrants are entering the country. The refugee camp should instead be set up in western Romania, he said, adding that the best solution would be to erect a fence along Romania’s border with Serbia.

Hungarian cooperation at the Romanian local elections?

According to kronika.ro, the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ) considers a “real cooperation”, if the candidates of the Transylvanian Hungarian People’s Party (EMNP) run on their list at the local elections. At least this opinion can be concluded from Hunor Kelemen’s declaration made after the meeting with EMNP Chairman Zsolt Szilágyi on Thursday.

The RMDSZ Chairman thinks that the Romanian law does not allow a Hungarian party to register in Romania – which was the proposal of EMNP – and also told that a step like that could endanger the whole Hungarian advocacy. The Article 9 of the law on municipal elections allows minority organizations only to run under their own names and logo at the elections.

Hunor Kelemen stated that this idea would risk the whole Hungarian local governmental representation, because the court could annul their list. However, RMDSZ is open to other collaborative opportunities. For example, EMNP candidates could run on the list of RMDSZ, but they could keep their party membership and identity, like 4 years earlier.

He thinks the creation of an electoral coalition unworkable. EMNP proposed that the politicians who got elected should return to their original parties after the elections, but Kelemen draw attention to how it is prohibited by law to change party during a mandate, kronika.ro reported.

The RMDSZ leader thinks the establishment of a new party until the deadline, April 20, to be impossible. Kelemen hopes that the EMNP remains in the Marosvasarhely cooperation. That means that Zoltán Soós, the winner of the Hungarian pre-election, can be the joint candidate of the three Hungarian political forces.

Photo: Kelemen Hunor/Wikimedia Commons

Copy editor: bm

Szekely flag became the flag of Harghita county

According to origo.hu, the official representative body of the county government adopted the Szekely/Szekler flag at the meeting held in Zetelaka on Friday.

The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ), which has a majority in the council, and the Transylvanian Hungarian People’s Party (EMNP) supported the decision, the representatives of the Hungarian Civic Party (MPP) abstained, szekelyhon.ro wrote.

The Romanian councilors, who represent the minority in the decision-making body of the county of Szekelyland, asked that a red oak leaf – as a symbol of the Romanians – to be added to the flag, which contains the Szekely sun-moon symbols and a gold bar on a light-blue background, but their proposal was voted down.

The Szekely flag was already put up in Csikszereda on Friday.

The emblem was there on the façade of the building, but it disappeared two weeks ago without any explanation from the local government leaders – the portal wrote.

Csongor Incze, RMDSZ Vice Chairman of the Harghita County Council said: it is not impossible that the prefect will attack the county decision on the flag. Still, the flag will remain there until that happens.

The representatives found the Szekely flag the most appropriate among 5 different ideas.

based on the article of origo.hu

Photo: MTI

Copy editor: bm

RMDSZ re-elects Kelemen leader

Kolozsvar, Romania, April 17 (MTI) – The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ) re-elected Hunor Kelemen as its leader for another four years at its 12th congress in Cluj (Kolozsvar) on Friday.

kelemen-romania-2Kelemen had no rival in the vote, and was supported by 575 votes out of a total of 585.

On his election, Kelemen said his party was unrivalled in representing the interests of Romania’s Hungarians. “It is not newer and newer parties that the community needs, but an open and receptive alliance that is always capable of renewal,” he said.

Zsolt Semjen, Hungary’s deputy prime minister, told the congress before the vote that Hungarians in Transylvania are obliged by their historical moral and political past to stick together.

“RMDSZ is a guarantee of strong Hungarian interest representation in Transylvania, and it should not be allowed to be weakened,” he said, adding that the party has the greatest potential as a cohesive force.

Photo: MTI

Semjen calls Transylvanian Hungarians to stick together

Cluj (Kolozsvar), April 17 (MTI) – Hungarians in Transylvania are obliged by their historical moral and political past to stick together, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjen told the 12th congress of the ethnic Hungarian RMDSZ party in Cluj on Friday.

“RMDSZ, the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania, is a guarantee of strong Hungarian interest representation in Transylvania, and it should not be allowed to be weakened,” he said, adding that the party has the greatest potential as a cohesive force.

Semjen read out a message by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who wished much success in “re-planning”, the slogan chosen for party. He expressed thanks to RMDSZ’s outgoing leader Hunor Kelemen for working together as partners and joining forces in national issues over the past four years.

Semjen expressed concern that bilingual signs, the singing of Hungary’s national anthem and the use of national symbols are still thorny problems in Romania. “We would never have thought that an official document would be issued in the EU declaring autonomy efforts as a source of danger,” he said.

The Hungarian community of Transylvania has never asked for anything that is unacceptable within the EU, Semjen said, stressing the need to thwart all attempts to blur the demands of Transylvanian Hungarians with racism and extremism.

Socialist leader Jozsef Tobias said that the RMDSZ, pursuing a policy in the spirit of pragmatic national interest representation, had established a new era of Hungarian-Romanian co-existence. He called for the revival of bilateral relations and the practice of joint government sessions.

LMP party co-leader Andras Schiffer said that “re-planning” should also be considered an option in Hungary, and expressed support for the autonomy endeavours of Transylvanian Hungarians.

Mikó case in Romania: Attila Markó Is a Freejack

According to Krónika Online, Attila Markó – MP of the RMDSZ in Romania – , can be arrested, because of accusation of abuse of office in relation to a property case.

However, the House of Representatives approved the requests of the National Anti-Corruption Department (DNA) in connection to Markó, this lower house denied the withdrawal of the immunity of  the Liberal Democrat Cătălin Teodorescu, who is affected in the same case.

Attila Markó informed his colleagues from RMDSZ about the case in a letter. He stated that he had not even been at the meeting of the restitution board in 2011. For the withdrawal of the immunity of Markó, 171 MPs voted, and 111 voted against it, so he will be the first MP of RMDSZ who will be arrested.

The DNA, however, placed under judicial supervision Teodorescu, whose immunity has not been withdrawn. Faction leader of the PDL group called her to resign. The representative announced that she would resign her party membership and ask the repetition of the immunity vote.

The pre-trial detention can be asked by the competent court, but it can decide so that Markó can defend himself at large, but it also can put him under house arrest.

During the parliamentary session, Árpád Márton, deputy parliamentary leader of RMDSZ denounced the Romanian judiciary and he pointed out in the connection of Markó the voting was about an innocent man who was not even at the ominous meeting. According to him, the „independent” Romanina justic system decided about the re-nationalization of a property, which belonged to the Reformed Church and convicted three people who acted lawfully – referring to the case of the  College of Saint George Szekely Miko. Márton added, that the Romanian system wants to bring back the police state.

The current restitution case against Markó is the same in connection to DNA placed in custody Alina Bica, Attorney General of the Department of Anti- Organized Crime and Anti-Terror (DIICOT).

The case in question occured in 2011, when the restitution board discussed the case of a 13-acre plot in Bucharest, which was required by a businessman named Gheorghe Stelian. Finally, a compensation was awarded, but as it turned out the plot was valued at a multiple of its real value, so the board assessed the amount of the compensation according to it, therefore the state suffered loss.

Markó was not present at the voting in Wednesday, but he did not answered Krónika, but he said he had not beent at that board meeting in 2011. He said that the DNA had not informed him about the case before his arrest. He thinks that the aim of the Mikó and the Bica case is to put and end to the restitutions in Romania.

Attila Markó was born in 1968 in Brasso. He studied at ELTE and he earned lawyer and politologist degrees. He started his political career in RMDSZ and he held various positions. In 2012, he ran as an MP candidate and he got elected.  He was given a 3- year suspended sentence. The Hungarian Reformed Churched stood by Markó and expressed its solidarity.

based on the article of Krónika Online
translated by BA

Photo: erdely.ma

RMDSZ Opposes Romanian Foreign Ministry Decision

(MTI) – Romania’s co-ruling Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ) disagrees with the Romanian foreign ministry’s rejection of Hungary’s request to open consular offices in Oradea (Nagyvarad) and Targu Mures (Marosvasarhely), RMDSZ chief secretary Peter Kovacs told MTI on Friday.

Kovacs said that the foreign ministry’s leaders had failed to discuss the matter with RMDSZ, and this was all the more reason for them to reconsider their decision. He said rejecting Hungary’s request on the basis of reciprocity and proportionality was “ridiculous”.

“Romania’s 1.3 million-strong Hungarian community cannot compare to the several thousand ethnic Romanians living in Hungary. When it comes to Hungarian-Romanian relations, it would also be nice if Romanian foreign minister Titus Corlatean remembered that actions speak louder than words,” said Kovacs.

On Thursday Romania rejected Hungary’s application to open two new consular offices in Romania. The foreign ministry’s spokeswoman, Anna Nagy, called the move “incomprehensible” and against European practices.

The Romanian ministry said at MTI’s inquiry that it had rejected the Hungarian request with regard to the principle of reciprocity and proportionality.

The Hungarian foreign ministry then summoned Romania’s ambassador over his country’s decision. The ambassador exchanged a verbal note with deputy state secretary Vince Szalay-Bobrovniczky, and promised to forward Hungary’s request that the Romanian side should reconsider its decision.

The verbal note said that Hungary’s request was not aimed at opening new consulates-general but consular offices under already operating consulates-general in Cluj (Kolozsvar) and Miercurea Ciuc (Csikszereda), the spokeswoman said.

At present Hungary operates a consular office at its embassy in Bucharest and consulates-general in Cluj and Miercurea Ciuc. Romania has an embassy and a consular office in Budapest, and consulates-general in Szeged and Gyula.