Szeklerland

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

December 12, 2016

Foreign minister ordered members of the Hungarian diplomatic corps to stay away from Romania National Holiday celebrations

Romania celebrates its national holiday on December 1, which is the anniversary of the annexation of Erdély (in English: Transylvania) in 1918 that was part of the Hungarian Kingdom for one thousand years.

There are celebrations every year, but this year Hungarian diplomats do not take part in any of the ceremonies, writes Hvg.hu.

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has stated (very correctly): “The Hungarian people have nothing to celebrate on December 1.”

As a result, no Hungarian diplomat attended the Romanian Embassy Reception in Budapest.

[button link=”https://dailynewshungary.com/american-ambassador-romania-visited-szeklerland/” color=”red” newwindow=”yes”] THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR TO ROMANIA VISITED SZEKLERLAND[/button]

Apparently, the Romanian ambassador didn’t speak about the annexation of Erdély, but rather the Romanian – Hungarian bilateral treaty signed twenty years ago and the economic cooperation between the two countries.

Foreign Minister Szijjártó later confirmed that indeed, he issued a directive to members of the diplomatic corps telling them to stay away from Romania National Holiday Celebrations.

Szijjártó briefed members of parliament of his decision twice.

[button link=”https://dailynewshungary.com/hungarian-tears-at-the-romanian-courts-video/” color=”black” newwindow=”yes”] Related article: HUNGARIAN TEARS AT THE ROMANIAN COURTS – VIDEO[/button]

UPDATE

Szijjártó explains ban on Hungary’s diplomats attending Romanian national commemoration

After banning Hungarian diplomats from attending Romanian commemorations of the union of Transylvania with the Romanian Kingdom on this day in 1918, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that Hungarians “have nothing to celebrate on December 1”.

“It would be strange were Hungarian diplomats or foreign ministry officials to attend Romanian national events on this day,” Szijjártó told Hungarian public media on Thursday.

December 1, 2016

Christian Democrats voice concern over shrinking Hungarian communities

Budapest, November 29 (MTI) – Péter Harrach, group leader of the co-ruling Christian Democrats, has expressed concern over the declining number of ethnic Hungarians in neighbouring countries.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday ahead of upcoming meetings of the Hungarian Diaspora Council and the Hungarian Standing Conference (Máért), Harrach said that over the past 20 years the Hungarian community in Transylvania had shrunk by 380,000 people. In the same period, the number of ethnic kin decreased by 108,000 in southern Slovakia, by 88,000 in Serbia’s Vojvodina province, and by 22,000 in western Ukraine. Harrach added that some communities of the diaspora were even more severely reduced, noting counties in Romania where the Hungarian community has halved.

Among the causes, Harrach mentioned assimilation and emigration, as well as legal violations and harassment of ethnic Hungarians.

Harrach praised the Hungarian government’s measures aimed at reinforcing the national identity of ethnic Hungarians and helping them stay and prosper in their homelands. Hungary seeks to promote businesses in those communities and provides aid to help finance Hungarian education and civil organisations, he noted.

Concerning the upcoming sessions on Wednesday and Thursday, Harrach said they could be “another step” in the process of “re-unifying the nation”.

Photo: MTI

November 29, 2016

House speaker calls for autonomous decision-making by ethnic Hungarians on Transylvania education

Csíkszereda (in Romanian: Miercurea Ciuc), Romania, November 28 (MTI) – Transylvanian politicians with mandates in the Bucharest parliament should make every effort to enable ethnic Hungarians in Transylvania(Erdély) to make autonomous decisions in education or at least get increased influence on shaping the future, House Speaker László Kövér said on Monday.

Kövér attended a roundtable discussion in Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania in Miercurea Ciuc (Csíkszereda) about Hungarian-language education in Transylvania.

He said some of the problems in Hungarian-language education in Transylvania result from the local community not having the means to ensure that the education system helps them stay in their homeland.

Kövér held a joint press conference with local mayor Róbert Ráduly and said the Hungarian government will always support community leaders standing up for ethnic Hungarians’ interests.

He said his three-day tour of Transylvania was to garner support from ethnic Hungarian voters for the election alliance of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ) and the Hungarian Civic Party (MPP).

Photo: MTI

November 29, 2016

Deputy Prime Minister Semjén expresses support for persecuted Hungarian leaders in Szelkerland

Csíkszererda (Miercurea Ciuc), Romania, November 11 (MTI) – Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén has declared support for leaders of any Hungarian community abroad who are “persecuted unjustly” for representing their community’s interests.

Semjén presented the For Hungarians Beyond Borders award to four politicians serving in three central Romanian cities inhabited mostly by ethnic Hungarians.

The awards were granted to Arpad Antal, the mayor of Sfantu Gheorghe (Sepsiszentgyörgy), János Mezei, the former mayor of Gheorgheni (Gyergyószentmiklós), and Róbert Raduly and Domokos Szőke, the mayor and deputy mayor of Miercurea Ciuc (Csíkszereda), at Hungary’s consulate-general on Friday.

Romanian authorities have launched criminal procedures against the four politicians for alleged corruption.

“What is going on is an intimidation of Hungarians under the pretext of fighting against corruption,” Semjén said.

The legal procedures were obviously launched against influential Hungarian leaders who play a crucial role in holding their community together and pressing for their interests and survival, he said

“Hungary will never let these people down, they can always rely on Hungary’s support,” Semjén said, adding that Hungary would seek to solicit support for them in every international forum.

Photo: MTI

November 12, 2016

A unique commercial from Szeklerland – VIDEO

According to mno.hu, the plot is about two German tourists who are on their way to Csíksomlyó but got lost on their way. They don’t speak any other languages, only their own… and this is where everything starts!

A Szekler man puts the “enlightened” tourists, deceived by the tools of the 21st century, in the right direction. This is the gist of the commercial, which might even be the best advertisements lately.

The film etude directs traveller internet surfers towards the Spectrum Educational Center andragogy institution with an invitation to learn foreign languages there.

The commercial is viral. How do you like it?

Copy editor: bm

September 22, 2016

The American ambassador to Romania visited Szeklerland

Index.hu writes that Hans Klemm, the ambassador of the United States to Romania visited Háromszék on Tuesday, September 12. A photo was also taken after the visit showing the ambassador holding a Szekler flag, which was given to him as a gift.

Sándor Tamás, president of the council of Kovászna County posted the photo of the ambassador to Facebook and wrote that even though flags of historical regions are allowed the flags of Szekler counties and of Szeklerland are banned in Romania.

The photo went viral and Romanian news sites started to express their disapproval about the events: one of the sites, called Hotnews, even required an official explanation from the ambassador.

Adrian Nastase, the former prime minister of Romania was banned from public affairs by court but still expressed his opinion. He said that the American ambassador should be summoned by the Foreign Ministry of Bucharest.

[button link=”https://dailynewshungary.com/legally-declared-szekelyland-does-not-exist/” color=”silver” newwindow=”yes”] Earlier this year it was legally declared in Romania that Szeklerland does not exist[/button]

Furthermore, the liberal Adevarul site called attention to the fact that the anti-corruption public prosecutor proceeded prosecution against Árpád Antal – also featured in the photo – because of a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Romanian authorities took steps: the Foreign Ministry of Romania summoned Hans Klemm, the American ambassador. They, in the end, also issued a statement acknowledging that the job description of the ambassador includes that he should personally consult the local authorities so he can get informed about the realities of the welcoming country.

However, the embassy of Bucharest highlighted that such visits have prerequisites, one of which emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and considering the existing sensitivities, thus, offending a country might be avoidable.

Photo: facebook.com/tamassandor1966

Copy editor: bm

September 15, 2016

Hungary ally rather than enemy to Romania, says Hungarian house speaker

Bucharest (MTI) – Romania may in the future realise that ethnic Hungarians are an asset rather than a hazard, while Hungary is an ally sharing values and interests rather than an enemy to Romania, House Speaker László Kövér said in Marosvásárhely (in Romanian: Targu Mures) on Wednesday.

“That realisation has happened in Serbia, and the same realisation is ripening in Slovakia; we trust that it will happen in Romania, too, sooner or later,” Kövér said in his opening address to a Hungarian cultural festival.

In his address, Kövér noted that Romania’s ethnic Hungarian community was shrinking, and blamed both the “anti-Hungarian” attitude of that country’s political elite and the “poor performance of Hungary’s policy for Hungarians abroad or rather the lack of such policies”. He added that the situation of ethnic Hungarians could improve should Romania realise that “preserving the homeland in the Carpathian Basin and eastern Europe is a shared challenge for peoples of the region”.

On another subject, Kövér encouraged ethnic Hungarians to participate in Romania’s parliamentary elections in December and support the Hungarian parties. “In the Bucharest parliament no one else but the Hungarians will represent Hungarian interests, while an effective Hungarian presence in Romanian politics could also contribute to an improvement in relations between Hungary and Romania,” Kövér said.

Kövér also encouraged voters of dual Romanian and Hungarian citizenship to cast their ballot in Hungary’s upcoming quota referendum and “vote against the forced settlement (of migrants) as planned by the European Union”.

August 25, 2016

Vona: If Jobbik wins power, Hungary will be a more democratic and free country

Bucharest, August 13 (MTI) – The leader of Hungary’s Jobbik has urged voters to participate in the upcoming referendum and vote against the European Union’s migrant quota system.

Speaking at a camp for young Hungarians in central Romania’s Gheorgheni (Gyergyószentmiklós), Gábor Vona insisted that leftist parties’ promoting a boycott of the referendum was “equal to treason” and warned that a referendum rendered invalid by low turnout could be used as a “weapon” by Brussels against the Hungarian government.

Vona said the referendum would be an opportunity for eastern Europe to decide if it wants “multi-culturalism under which Europe’s majority would be pressed to give up its identity, while a minority from outside Europe would come and retain their identity”.

Answering a question on another subject, Vona said that his party, if it wins a government position in 2018, would eliminate corruption in Hungary. He condemned the current and previous governments, and insisted that “the only difference” between them is that “the global corruption of the Left” has been replaced with “local corruption” associated with the ruling Fidesz party.

“If Jobbik wins power, Hungary will be a more democratic and free country,” Vona said.

Photo: alfahir.hu

August 14, 2016

Orbán in Romania: Time to give nation states primacy

Baile Tusnad, Romania, July 23 (MTI) – All types of political initiative and action that take power away from the nation state must be stopped, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in a keynote address on Saturday.

Speaking at the 27th Baile Tusnad (Tusnádfürdő) summer university in central Romania, Orbán said that the suppression of national sovereignty in favour of European powers is one of the biggest dangers in today’s Europe.

The prime minister said that it is time to abandon false self-assessments. Britain’s decision to withdraw from the European Union has put a full stop at the end of an era in which the bloc had been a global player. The EU is now a regional player; in a positive-case scenario it will be capable of influencing events taking place in its vicinity, but otherwise it will gradually lose even this ability, he said.

It is time to stop idealising Europe, Orbán said, adding that Europe’s leadership had failed. They are incapable of protecting their own citizens or their own external borders, he said.

Referring to yesterday’s tragic events in Munich, Orbán said, “We have to preoccupy ourselves more and more and increasingly forcefully with security matters.”

Orbán said he could not have put it better than the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, when he identified what kind of steps are needed to be taken in the fight against terrorism. He said that national security agencies in Europe must cooperate and undertake to create the best possible secret-services system in the world.

Orbán in Tusnádfürdõ, MTI Photo: Zoltán Máthé — Orbán in Tusnádfürdõ,
MTI Photo: Zoltán Máthé

In a Q and A, Orbán said that NATO membership was “a good thing” and brought security for Hungarians, and from the point of view of providing a security umbrella for central and eastern Europe, it was vital. At the same time, as the British step away from the EU, the military strength of the bloc will drastically weaken, he said. “We cannot remain militarily in this vulnerable position.” For this reason a European armed forces should be established, providing a “genuine joint force, with real joint interests, a common language and a common structure”. National budgets should be reconsidered, and military industry must be incorporated into the economic-policy thinking.

Orbán said the “export of democracy” must be stopped. “If we continue to put the export of democracy to the forefront in place of stability in regions where the success of this outcome is extremely doubtful, then we will not build democracy but we will cause instability,” Orbán said.

He added that Hungary has the greatest expectation of stability as opposed to Turkey. “If Turkey also becomes instable then many tens of millions of people will descend on Europe from that region without limit.

He insisted that there was a crisis of the elites and a crisis of democracy in Europe and the western world.

Europe’s right- and left-wing leaders, over 50-60 years, always came from the same circles, schools and elites, and everyone thought this was natural while they competed against each other and exchanged roles while guaranteeing the growing prosperity of Europe, the prime minister said. In light of the economic crisis, however, there have appeared political interest representations, radical and populist, that go beyond the elite, he said, referring to Trump.

“The problem is that today’s crisis of the elite has turned into a crisis of democracy,” he said.

“The vast masses of people obviously and visibly want something other than the traditional elite propose and do,” Orbán said.

Speaking about European immigration policy and the future of Hungary, he said the US elections had significance. In Hungary today one of the main supporters of migration pressure on Hungary is the United States. Partly this comes from official policy, he said, referring to a statement by President Barack Obama at the recent NATO summit. The Americans think that whoever does not regard immigration as a positive and to be encouraged, summons up the worst of the spirit of the twentieth century. This is the standpoint of the Democrats, and given that the Democrats are in power, this is official US policy, he said, adding it was not a matter of indifference as to what the next US president thinks about migration.

On the topic of the Visegrad grouping, he said expanding the V4 would entail risks and therefore it was better to maintain concentric circles with countries “which can give the V4 strength in such a way that they do not to break its homogeneity.

Orbán said he supported the Polish proposal to set up a V4 parliamentary assembly and to work on establishing a joint V4 armed forces which is distinguishable from a European joint military force.

He said that next week he would meet the Austrian Chancellor to discuss the possible presence of Austrian police, soldiers and equipment on the Serbian-Hungarian border.

Photo: MTI

July 23, 2016

Fidesz: Decisions on immigration affect sovereignty

Baile Tusnad, Romania, July 22 (MTI) – It is a key issue of national sovereignty whether Hungary is allowed to determine the scope of its citizens and the conditions under which foreigners are let to enter its territory, Lajos Kósa, parliamentary leader of the ruling Fidesz party, said on Friday.

“We will never give up this right of ours,” Kósa said at the Bálványos Summer University in Baile Tusnad (Tusnádfürdő), in central Romania.

The national referendum on mandatory migrant quotas scheduled for October 2 will be meant to reinforce this sovereignty, he said.

Péter Harrach, parliamentary leader of the co-ruling Christian Democrats, said that real refugees should be granted protection, primarily in their home country. In turn, Europe should be protected from migrants driven by economic or welfare considerations.

Bernadett Szél, co-leader of the opposition LMP, said that regulating migration and immigration have always been and should remain national competences within the European Union. No nation should yield to blackmail, she said, arguing that Hungarian voters should reject the mandatory migrant quotas.

It is, however, quite unusual that the referendum on the quotas was initiated by the government, all the more so because other attempts to call a referendum have been hindered by those in power. One should make no distinction between referendums, she said.

Bence Tuzson, Hungary’s state secretary for government communications, said that depriving member states of their decision-making powers would “turn Europe on its head”. The EC’s recent proposal is pointing in that direction.

Tuzson said the European community should first redefine its common values and then make efforts towards protecting them.

György Bakondi, chief security advisor to Hungary’s prime minister, said that fully 400,000 migrants from 104 countries had crossed Hungary since the migrant crisis began but their purposes, identity and nationality remained mostly unknown.

The inflow of migrants to Europe is far from over, he said, adding that mistaken decisions and late response by Brussels to the crisis have created a situation that poses a “serious threat” to the continent.

Péter Györkös, Hungary’s ambassador in Berlin, said that Germany could face serious destabilisation if efforts to integrate migrants and stop the migrant flow at the EU’s external borders fail.

“This cannot be in any member state’s interest,” he said.

Photo: MTI

July 23, 2016

Hungarian tears at the Romanian courts – VIDEO

MEP Krisztina Morvai released her second documentary on the oppression of ethnic Hungarians in Romania (Hungarian with English subtitles). The documentary video was made during the National Legal Aid Service visit to regions of Erdély where ethnic Hungarians make up the majority of the population.

The monitors found that ethnic Hungarians language rights were blatantly violated at Romanian courts where even the most essential information is not available in Hungarian.

The documentary gives an opportunity to international human rights monitors to have a first hand information on the systematic violation of the individual and collective human rights of ethnic Hungarians in Romania.

Romania as a EU member state would be obliged to change these practices in accordance with the EU rules.

Producers of the video are asking viewers to share this documentary with their friends and associates and spread the word of the state oppression of ethnic Hungarians in Romania.

July 15, 2016

Documentary video – Szekler activists accused with terrorism in Romania

It is important to inform international audiences about the violations of basic human rights of ethnic Hungarians in Romania. We release this video (Hungarian with English subtiles), which provides some background information on two ethnic Hungarian activists, István Beke, and Zoltán Szőcs who are currently under criminal investigation in Romania, write MEP Krisztina Morvai. They released from Romanian prison and placed under house arrest.

Documentary video – Szekler patriots accused with terrorism

July 5, 2016

Preview: Bálványos Summer University to focus on Hungary’s place in Europe

Budapest, July 4 (MTI) – The 27th annual Bálványos Summer University will be held on July 19-24 in Baile Tusnad (Tusnádfürdő), in central Romania and will focus on Hungary’s place in Europe as well as the challenges facing the continent.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is scheduled to address the event. The group leaders of Hungary’s parliamentary parties along with the leaders of Hungarian parties in neighbouring countries have also been invited to attend political discussions at the summer university this year, Zsolt Németh, the head of the Hungarian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, told a press conference on Monday.

Németh said that Hungary’s future was “inseparable” from that of Europe, adding, however, that Europe needed to change. This is one of the reasons for Hungary’s upcoming referendum on the European Union’s planned migrant quota scheme, he said, but stressed that the vote is not about Hungary’s EU membership.

He said the crisis Europe appears to be going through has blurred the line between domestic and foreign policy.

He listed migration, the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine and Brexit as elements of Europe’s crisis. He said the European Commission had not found the right way to manage the crisis and has attempted to handle the situation “by blackmail and aggressive behaviour” towards member states. Hungarians see this as the wrong approach, Németh said.

Photo: MTI

July 4, 2016

HVIM activists released from Romanian prison and placed under house arrest

Zoltán Szőcs and István Beke were released from a prison in Bucharest at midnight today.

A legal expert told alfahir.hu that the Romanian court knew all along that the accusations against the two suspects were completely untenable.

Zoltán Szőcs in his first interview said the prison made him stronger and more determined to continue the struggle for Székely justice with God’s help.

He thanked everybody who stood behind them by joining together against injustice.

July 2, 2016

Semjén congratulates ethnic Hungarian winners in Romania local elections

Budapest, June 6 (MTI) – Zsolt Semjén, Hungary’s deputy prime minister, has congratulated ethnic Hungarian winners in Romania’s recent municipal elections.

Speaking at the closing event of this year’s Kőrösi Csoma and Petőfi programmes, Semjén said that over 200 ethnic Hungarian candidates were elected mayors in Sunday’s election. The politician made a special mention of the RMDSZ party, which had won mayoral positions in Miercurea Ciuc (Csíkszereda) and Sfantu Gheorghe (Sepsiszentgyörgy), the two largest cities in Szeklerland.

Semjén said that RMDSZ’s victory was “especially important in light of increasingly brutal anti-Hungarian sentiments in Romania” and insisted that ethnic Hungarians were being “harassed through the (Romanian) judiciary”. He added that the Romanian side had “intimidated Hungarian candidates to deter them from running in the election”.

Concerning the two cultural programmes, Semjén said that the young volunteers participating were “representatives of the whole of the Hungarian nation”. He said that participants were instrumental in helping ethnic kin in procedures to obtain Hungarian citizenship.

State secretary Árpád János Potápi said that under the Kőrösi Csoma Programme 100 volunteers had visited Hungarian communities in Canada, South America, various European countries, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. He added that the Petőfi Programme involved 50 participants, and the scheme was similarly successful in reviving communities of the Hungarian diaspora.

Photo: MTI

June 6, 2016

Britain’s Prince Charles visits Szeklerland

Charles, Prince of Wales has a beautiful property in Zalánpatak (in Romanian: Valea Zalanului), which is a small village in Szeklerland.

Prince Charles arrived to Romania on Monday. He held talks with President Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos in Bucharest. The announcement of the President’s office listed the topics of their discussion, like Romania’s heritage protection, Verespatak, agriculture, sustainable development and the potential of the extraordinary opportunities provided by rural tourism. After the meetings the Prince of Wales traveled to Szeklerland.

The Prince is a regular visitor in Romania, especially in Szeklerland. This land is an amazing place, the locals and the environment have an utterly special relationship that is hard to find elsewhere in Europe, he said. Charles’s first visit was in 1998, he bought several houses in Szászfehéregyháza and Zalánpatak later.

The British royal family is known to have also Hungarians among its ancestors. Klaudia Rhédey, Queen Elizabeth II’s great-great-grandmother, was born in Erdőszentgyörgy in 1812 and was raised in the family’s local palace.

Copy editor: bm

June 2, 2016

Jobbik: Romanian Americans better support imprisoned Szeklers than Hungarian Government

After his question addressed to Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó in March, Jobbik’s vice president Tamás Sneider contacted the head of Hungarian diplomacy once again. Jobbik’s MP did not accept the minister’s answer and submitted a motion voicing his concerns that he could not see the so-called Transylvanian terror charges being met with the protective mechanisms which are laid out in Article D of the Fundamental Law for all Hungarian governments.

Even Romanians stand up for them more efficiently

Criticizing the government for its ineffective protection efforts, Sneider cites the (undoubtedly astounding) example of the Association of Romanians in America which was more active in trying to ensure the rights of these individuals under criminal charges than the motherland was in protecting its own citizens. He also mentioned that the Hungarian government used Mrs. Beke’s (the wife of one of the detained persons) name incorrectly. In reference to the latter, he stated: “considering the fact that the Hungarian government had all the naturalization documents at hand, such errors (which are irrelevant in terms of the procedure) show that the matter should be treated with more attention.”

As it is known, the situation of the affected Hungarian citizens actually deteriorated during the five-month process, practically moving towards hopelessness. Their pre-trial detention was extended for the fifth time while the charges were aggravated for both of them. Thus, based on the effective law, Zoltán Szőcs and István Beke may even be sentenced to life imprisonment. No evidence is presented, so the Transylvanian patriots don’t have a chance to defend themselves.

Szíjjártó: We take all possible measures

Reporting the developments of the past month in his brief and concise response, Péter Szijjártó mentions that “the Romanian authorities have forwarded the oral memorandum requesting a prison visit of the two Romanian-Hungarian dual citizens to the prosecutor in charge of the case” who will “deliberate it”.

According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the competent Romanian authorities are not expected to provide in-depth information as this criminal case is still in the investigation stage. In his response given on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Szijjártó assured Sneider that they would appropriately use the means available for consulates and diplomats and take all measures possible within the limitations of international law.

We are supposed to help each other in national matters but…

Talking to our portal, Sneider said that “we are supposed to help each other when the rights of a Hungarian are infringed upon,” and he was worried that he could not get a truly reassuring answer from the Minister in terms of the specific information on the conditions of detention.

The politician believes that the matter must not be treated as Romania’s internal affair, we must not let ourselves be “shaken off”. He points out that the individuals put into pre-trial detention were not Romanian citizens but Romanian-Hungarian dual citizens, and they were detained in such a way that “procedural rules were violated and human rights were infringed upon.”

In Sneider’s view, “there is no way back, we must take this matter to European international forums.” He adds that “it is increasingly evident that the Romanian government sees the Beke-Szőcs case as the means to block Szekler autonomy efforts.” Stating that the international community is supposed to be dedicated to ensuring human rights for minority groups, “it is high time for Brussels and Strasbourg to deal with the cause of Szeklers as well.”

Photo: MTI

May 24, 2016