Szeklerland

Pal Cseresznyes, victim of Black March died

Pal Cseresznyes, one of the most controversial people of Marosvasarhely’s Black March, died at the age 75. The Romanian nationalists regard him as the biggest enemy, the Hungarians think he was the unluckiest victim of the show trials in 1990, kronika.ro wrote.

He spent almost 6 years in prison. He was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment for attempted murder, based on a controversial video.

The court of first instance did not consider the Romanian doctor’s expert report , according to which the defendant could not commit a fatal kick, while running. Despite the international pressure, the Supreme Court upheld the verdict, and Cseresznyes was only released thanks to the presidential pardon of Emil Constantinescu after 6 years of captivity, kronika.ro wrote.

The Hungarian victim was humiliated, tormented and tortured in the Jilava prison (next to Bucharest) because of his origin. According to him, the prison guards pushed him among the Romanian criminals, saying:

“Here is the murderer of the Romanians, do with him whatever you want!”

He said he was the number one enemy of the Romanian state during the 6 years, szekelyhon.ro told. Cseresznyes also published a book about his prison experience.

“I forgive everyone, and I entrust God with justice; he should dispose over all those people who were evil to others.”

That was the motto of the second edition of his book which was presented in the Marosvasarhely Bernady house in 2008.

Kronika.ro asked him what he would do, if the March events would be repeated. He said he would participate for his nation again. He also said once that the two nation’s goal is to peacefully live, work and grow side by side.

Photo: http://users.atw.hu/hvimfejer/cseresznyes_pal.htm

Copy editor: bm

Jobbik wants parliament committees to hear Semjen, Szijjarto, Romanian ambassador

Budapest, January 4 (MTI) – The Jobbik party wants parliament’s foreign affairs and national cohesion committees to hear the deputy prime minister, Zsolt Semjen, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and the Romanian ambassador at a joint extraordinary meeting.

The hearings are necessary because several anti-Hungarian measures have been introduced in Romania in recent months, deputy head of Jobbik Istvan Szavay told a press conference on Monday.

“Sadly, we have found that Romania took a U-turn in the development of democracy and minority rights in recent months,” he added.

He said Hungary’s foreign ministry “mostly had nothing to say” in connection with these developments in Transylvania. As examples, he cited action taken by the authorities against the erection of a statue to Transylvanian-Hungarian author Albert Wass in a private courtyard in Sovata (Szovata), police action at a concert by the group Ismeros Arcok in Sfantu Gheorghe (Sepsiszentgyorgy) and fines issued for civilians in Targu Mures (Marosvasarhely) because they put up bilingual street signs. He also cited the arrests of Istvan Beke, the local head of the Sixty-Four Counties Youth Movement in Targu Secuiesc (Kezdivasarhely) and the movement’s Transylvanian head Zoltan Szocs, adding that no evidence has been presented to justify the arrests. Related article: POLICE BRUTALITY OR DID THE ROMANIAN POLICE CATCH HUNGARIAN TERRORISTS?

The proposed date for the extraordinary meeting is January 12. Enough signatures have been collected to convene the national cohesion committee and consultations are still under way about the foreign affairs committee’s involvement.

Jobbik urges parliament response to ‘unlawful’ actions against Szeklerland Hungarians

székely szekler flag parliament Budapest

Budapest, January 2 (MTI) – Jobbik party has urged parliament to respond to what it says are “anti-Hungarian” and “unlawful” actions against Szeklerland Hungarians by Romanian authorities.

Gabor Vona, the party’s leader, said on Saturday that he has requested that parliament’s foreign affairs and national cohesion committees hear at a joint session the Romanian ambassador in connection with “a series of anti-Hungarian unlawful political … actions built on intimidation” against Hungarians living in Szeklerland.

Vona said the Hungarian government and Hungarian diplomacy has so far been silent on Romanian authorities’ “abuse of power” and the “gross violation” of the collective rights of Hungarian diaspora communities.

Vona said the unjustified arrest and accusation of the leader of Hungary’s Sixty-Four Counties Youth Movement (HVIM) in the central Romanian town of Kezdivasarhely (Targu Secuiesc) and authorities’ “harassment” of several Hungarian bands in the area “cannot go unanswered” by Hungary.

On December 1, Istvan Beke, the Szeklerland leader of the nationalist HVIM, was arrested for suspicion of intending to set off a bomb in Kezdivasarhely on Romania’s national holiday. HVIM, whose name refers to the number of counties in Hungary’s pre-Trianon treaty borders, said that due to the “absurd slanders” by Romanian authorities, it would turn to international courts, the international press and rights organisations.

Hungary and Romania are fighting for the Szekler chimney cake

Hungary is going to submit an application to the European Union in order to pronounce the chimney cake (in Hungarian: kürtöskalács) a “traditional specialities guaranteed” product, specifically, a Székely-Hungarian one. Meanwhile, the Romanians would also like the chimney cake to be recognised as a traditional Romanian product, writes hvg.hu.

The application which declares that the chimney cake should be recognised as a traditional “specialities guaranteed product” within the European Union is expected to be submitted in the spring of 2016, Péter Gál, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Deputy State Secretary for Origin Protection, stated on Monday. The negotiations have already started between the Hungarian and Transylvanian organizations, and their aim is to compose a professional application about the recognition of the Székely-Hungarian chimney cake, which then Hungary can forward to the European Commission in Brussels, Gál added.

The point of the “traditional specialities guaranteed” status is that it protects the recipe that’s been present in the community for a long time now, and people have known the given product for many years and decades. It’s also about a living tradition, which can adapt to the technological changes, said Gál. (Currently anyone has the right to call their product chimney cake; if the application is accepted, then only those who keep the original recipe and procedure can call it as such).

The Hungaricum Committee decided to add the chimney cake as the 55th element of the Hungaricum List on 3 December. In order to make the chimney cake a protected product in the European Union, it has to be recognized as a “traditional specialities guaranteed” product – Zsolt V. Németh, Minister of State for Environmental Affairs, Agrarian Development and Hungaricums at the Ministry of Agriculture, said.

The Romanian Minister of Agriculture candidate stated at the end of November, that he wants the chimney cake to be recognized as a traditional Romanian product, so the Hungarian decision might end in a debate. The Tourism Association for Covasna Country wrote a letter to the candidate and drew his attention to the fact that the chimney cake is a Székely-Hungarian product, and “it would be a shame to end the chimney cake’s story with such a hasty decision.”

Sándor Tamás, president of the Romanian Covasna County’s Council, said that Romanians also call the chimney cake as chimney cake, but it’s called the same in England, or in France, or anywhere, because it’s a Székely-Hungarian product that only has one name.  Everyone in the Carpathian Basin knows that from Konstanza to Sopron; many bake chimney cakes as a kind of part-time job, but it’s a full time job for even more people. The Transylvanian-Hungarian Depository may also put the chimney cake on its list.

based on an article of hvg.hu

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

Hungarian nationalists hold rally in support of detained Szeklerland member

Budapest, December 6 (MTI) – Hungary’s Sixty-Four Counties Youth Movement (HVIM) staged a rally in support of Istvan Beke, a local leader of the movement in Romania who was arrested earlier this week for suspicion of intending to set off a bomb in a central Romanian town on the country’s national holiday.

Some 200 members and supporters of HVIM, which describes itself as “nationalist radicals”, gathered in front of the Romanian embassy in Budapest, demanding the release of Beke.

Gyorgy Gyula Zagyva, the co-leader of the organisation, said it was “clear” that Romanian authorities had no evidence against Beke. He said the operation by the Romanian counter terrorism and organised crime unit (DIICOT) which led to Beke’s arrest was meant to intimidate Hungarians and oppress the pursuit of Hungarian autonomy in Transylvania.

hvim-demonstration

Zagyva said it is the shared responsibility of Hungarians to support Beke, the leader of HVIM in Kezdivasarhely (Targu Secuiesc), and urged the demonstrators to share the story on social media, so that Beke could be set free.

On Tuesday, the day of Beke’s arrest, HVIM issued a statement saying that its organisation in Szekler Land had been exposed “to baffling harassment and secret-service slanders” that day. It said that during house searches, Romanian authorities found nothing other than “flags, T-shirts, New Year’s Eve petards, an optical accessory for an Airsoft, and a birthday cake sparkler”.

HVIM, whose name refers to the number of counties in Hungary’s pre-Trianon treaty borders, said that due to the “absurd slanders” it would turn to international courts, the international press and rights organisations.

Photo: MTI

Hefty fine for the organizers of the Szekler autonomy watch-fires

The Romanian Anti-Fraud Office (ANAF) made a control visits at two associations that took part in organizing the Szekler autonomy watch-fires at more than 68 locations throughout Szeklerland.

The two associations, Siculitas and Sepsireform, represented by Balázs Izsák and Zoltán Gazda, were the ones who turned to the Romanian authorities to announce the watch-fire event, according to the law in Romania.

In the case of Association Siculitas the controllers issued a fine of 10.000 RON referring to Law no 656/2002, saying that financial assistance that arrived from Hungary through a bank (therefore transparent and controllable) the association did not report the arriving sum to the anti-money laundering authority.

According to Law 656/2002 in case of sums exceed 15.000 euros, arriving from abroad, being suspected of money-laundering, it has to be reported to the before mentioned authority.

According to Árpád Antal, the mayor of Sfantu-Gheorghe/Sepsiszentgyörgy, the move is an attempt of the authorities to “intimidate those who represent legitimate political aspirations of the Hungarian community.” The mayor believed that “the democracy deficit in Romania has reached an alarming level, and thus there are less and less opportunities to express the community’s political opinion without retribution.”

Related article:
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TOOK PART IN LIGHTING OF THE BORDERS OF SZEKELYLAND, ORGANIZERS ESTIMATE

Tens of thousands of people took part in lighting of the borders of Szeklerland, organizers estimate

Kolozsvar (MTI) – The organizer Szekely National Council (SZNT) estimates that a few tens of thousands people took part on Saturday’s mass event where people demanded the right of regional self-governance by illuminating the borders of Szeklerland.

SZNT press service said on Sunday: the organizers do not know about that whether a disorderly conduct happened or not. Under the demonstration, ecumenical services were held in 68 locations. Then, the participants went on the high grounds nearby to light fires. In the border area farther away from the places of assembly, spotlights indicated the borders of Szekelyland at nearly 100 illumination points.

The organizers said mainly the residents of border villages participated in the protest, but guests also arrived from the inner settlements of Szekelyland and from further away. The communication also mentions a smaller settlement where half of the population went to the border.

The residents of Apaca, Felsorakos and Urmos, which are administratively part of Brasso county, could sense the belonging to Szekelyland for the first time. The notice also points out that the borders of Szekelyand lit in miniature in Csomakoros. The local organizers drew the contours of the region with sawdust soaked with gasoline.

SZNT also mentions the police confiscated the wood for one of the fires in Gyergyoszentmiklos shortly before the protest. Zsolt, Arus, vice president of the Gyegyoszek Szekely Council told MTI that authority’s action did not stop the lighting of the fire, since the participants replaced the wood. The police imposed a 2000-lei HUF 140 thousand) fine on the driver, because he delivered the wood estimated 0.2 cubic meters by the police without prior registration. Zsolt Arus said they will ask the court to cancel the fines protocol.

The manifesto, which was read out on all scenes of the protest, expressed: they want the Romanian government and the world to know that Szekelyland exists and wants to exercise the right of self-determination. “Based on this law, we demand the self-governance of Szekelyland! We insist on the borders of Szekelyland including 8 Szekely szek and 153 municipalities, which will be made final by the referendum of the communities” – the manifesto wrote.

based on the article of MTI
translated by BA

Photos: MTI

Where do 100.000 szekler emigrants live around the world?

Dénes Csala, a szekler data scientist, analysed Facebook data and came to the conclusion that one can meet szeklers all around the world. He also concluded which cities are the victims of most severe migration.

According to mno.hu, he collected data from Facebook, checked the current location of people whose place of birth was a region in Szeklerland. He got 61 789 hits of the sixteen biggest cities of Szeklerland. If they analysed the migrants in the rate of the population of the cities, they would find that the fourth or fifth of the population of some cities had wandered away. The migration rate is 31% at Balabánya, 22% at Barót and 21% at Székelykeresztúr. Lastly, the scientist geocoded the data and created the migration map of the cities of Szeklerland.

It shows that the szeklers are everywhere; everywhere from Greenland to Tahiti, from Madagascar to Siberia. Though, beyond Europe and the USA, the diaspora is quite disorganised. “In Asia (without the Near East) ~50, in South America ~30, in Australia and Africa 10 fellow countrymen live. In the Near East ~100 live, more exactly 30 in both Cyprus and Israel, 16 in Iraq and 17 in the United Arab Emirates.” – wrote Dénes Csala in his post on his blog, Székelydata.

North America is a bit more populated with its szekler population counting ~200 habitants. They mostly live on the East Coast, in Canada and Mexico. It’s interesting that the sixteen szekler cities are present in the USA almost proportionately to their population.

Europe is the main target which is not surprising with its geographic and cultural proximity. Naturally, most emigrants choose Hungary and it is followed by Germany, The United Kingdom, Italy and Austria. It’s intriguing that the 2/3 of the migrants in Italy is from Maroshévíz and Balabánya. This is due to people wandering to places where they have acquaintances rather than to unknown places. Balabánya is arresting because its migrants went to the most diverse places out of all cities.

The scientist adds that the szeklers settled in many different cities of Hungary while in other countries they are concentrated in one city. “Less people move to the states of the former Soviet Union than to Africa; but more and more people move to the Canary Islands.” – writes Dénes Csala, who also showed that around 97.000 szekler habitants live abroad. He added: his analysation of Facebook data can be deceiving because the demography of Facebook users doesn’t do justice to the real szekler demography.

The scientist himself has lived abroad, in Abu-Dhabi and the USA as a student. He said to Hargita Népe that he would return there after his doctoral studies. He thinks that leaving isn’t easy but returning is harder. While he studies abroad his mates back at home build up a strong relationship network and find their way in the red tape. He added that Zoltán Néda and Albert László Barabási did a similar research in the last 5-10 years but the data hunting in media wasn’t that developed then.

At Székelydata he also mentioned the research possibilities lying in his method. “Concerning the processing of data this is a real gold mine; in a future post we’re going to check what field of work they are in, what kind of education background they have and whether or not this two can be related.”

Look out for that!

Translated by Alexandra Béni

Romanians freaked out PM Orbán

According to origo.hu, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs complained in a Facebook post on Sunday about that Viktor Orbán added photographs taken at the 26th Balvanyos Summer Open University in Tusnadfurdo on his own community site, which contain revisionist symbols, according to Bucharest.

Related article:
PM ORBAN: EUROPE AT STAKE
OPPOSITION CRITICISES PM OVER BAILE TUSNAD SPEECH

On the Facebook site of Viktor Orban, two dozen pictures appeared from the Transylvanian open university: one of the photos shows the goods of an emblem vendor, who also sells badges depicting Greater Hungary, while in other places Székely flags can be seen.

“Unfortunately, just one day after he advocated pragmatism and the efficient Romanian-Hungarian relations, the Hungarian Prime Minister showed photos containing Greater Hungary and Szeklerland symbols on his Facebook page” – the Romanian foreign ministry wrote.

The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs assessed it as the promotion of revisionist symbols, which it called unacceptably.

based on the article of origo.hu
translated by BA

Photo: Viktor Orban Facebook page

PM Orban: Europe at stake

Baile Tusnad, Romania, July 25 (MTI) – European values, the lifestyle of European citizens, the survival of nations and Europe as a whole are at stake today, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on the closing day of the 26th annual Balvanyos Summer University in Baile Tusnad (Tusnadfurdo), in Szeklerland, central Romania, on Saturday.

The question today is not what sort of Europe we Hungarians wish to live in, but rather whether what we call Europe will even exist, the prime minister said referring to Europe’s migration crisis. “Our response is clear: we want Europe to remain European,” he said.

Orban said the modern migration wave resulted from political developments. He said the “truly serious threat” was not coming from war zones, but from “the depths of Africa”.

The prime minister said the future was not “a contest of staring off into the distance” but one of “getting to know the past”.

“Those who have a deeper understanding of the past, and are braver and quicker in drawing conclusions from it will be the ones to come out victorious,” he said.

Hungarians have made it clear that they do not want illegal immigrants, and do not wish to “join in on the intellectual rampage of the European Left,” Orban said.

The results of the questionnaire of the government-sponsored national consultation on migration show that Hungary is “a secure and stable country” and that Hungarians “want to remain a unified and balanced nation in the uncertain world surrounding them”, the prime minister said.

Orban said more than 1 million people returned the questionnaire, 95 percent of whom said supporting Hungarian families and children was more important than supporting migrants.

Over two-thirds of the respondents said they considered the spread of terrorism a trend with an impact on their own lives, and three quarters said illegal migrants posed a threat to Hungarian jobs and the livelihood of Hungarians.

About 80 percent of the respondents were of the opinion that Brussels’ policies regarding migration and the threat of terrorism had failed, and therefore “a new approach and stronger regulations” are needed, the prime minister said.

Orban said the European Left sees migration as an “opportunity rather than a threat”. Orban said the Left believes the growing influx of migrants could severely weaken or even “abolish” the concept of nation states, helping to achieve its long-standing goal.

While the Hungarian Left was “inciting people against Hungarians living beyond the border in 2004”, today they are welcoming illegal immigrants “with open arms”, the prime minister said, adding that “these politicians simply do not like Hungarians”. He said that if the Left had come to power in 2014, “Hungary would look like a refugee camp within a couple of years.”

The prime minister said the construction of the 175-kilometre fence along Hungary’s border with Serbia would be completed by August 31.

In response to a question, Orban said experience has shown that such border closures result in a roughly 85 percent decrease in the number of illegal border crossers, adding that he expects the fence to bring about “a large-scale improvement”. Orban said the government had approved the technical designs and chose a mix of various technological solutions for the border fence.

On the topic of Hungarian-Romanian relations, Orban said successful bilateral ties that were based on trust changed in 2012, adding, however, that he sees an opportunity “for a new beginning”.

Orban called it a goal of his government’s policy for Hungarian communities abroad that Hungary should catch up with the western European average in terms of its number of border crossings. He said that “remarkable” results would be achieved in opening new crossings on the Slovak border in the years to come, with more developments expected on the border with Romania as well.

The prime minister said there are countries which “probably would not mind” if they could use the modern migration wave as a pretext for reinstating a “border control regime” within the Schengen area. Reinstating such controls, however, would go against Hungary’s fundamental interests, he said.

Asked about Hungary-Poland relations, Orban said that Poland, its political elite and its competitiveness were “in top form”. He said Poland would have to be at the helm of Central European cooperation. Orban said that while Hungary and Poland were “good friends”, the two may not see eye-to-eye on every issue. While stressing the importance of preserving Hungary’s friendship with Poland, he said Hungary would not give up supporting the interests of ethnic Hungarians in western Ukraine, including their rights to their own language and autonomy.

Orban pointed out the intentions of Russia and the United States as an aspect of global politics which was “hard to predict”. Understanding and knowing how to approach this aspect is one of the key intellectual challenges for Hungarian foreign policy-makers, he said.

Photo: MTI

Economy minister: Hungary reforms working

Baile Tusnad, Romania, July 23 (MTI) – Hungary’s reforms are working and the economy is now on a new growth path which must be stabilised, economy minister Mihaly Varga said at an economic forum at the 26th annual Balvanyos Summer University in Baile Tusnad (Tusnadfurdo), in Szeklerland, central Romania, on Thursday.

When the current government was sworn in in 2010, Hungary, like Greece, was among the world’s ten riskiest economies, Varga said. “We were a country on the brink of default,” the minister added.

Hungary today is “light years ahead of Greece, which is still on life support”, he said. Unlike Greece, Hungary was able to pay back the IMF loan of over 7 billion euros, which it took up in 2008, Varga said, adding that the government has also paid back 4 billion euros of the 5.5 billion euro loan it took up from the European Commission.

The minister said the government had balanced the budget and has been keeping the deficit below 3 percent “for years”, while public debt is constantly shrinking. He said Hungary achieved the second largest public debt reduction after Greece.

On the topic of Hungarian-Romanian economic relations, Varga said the completion of the North Transylvanian motorway would be a major step forward. He said that bilateral trade could be intensified, as Romania accounts for merely 4.4 percent of Hungary’s foreign trade turnover.

The minister said the hope of Europe today rests on Central Europe, a region which he said “is seeing far more dynamic economic growth” than Western Europe. Varga noted that every country in the region has “close ties with the EU”, especially with its “powerhouse”, Germany.

The minister said that Central Europe still had much to improve the quality of public services.

Varga pointed out the automotive industry, as a key driver of future growth, and added that every country must keep up with the “unstoppable” technological revolution.

He said the government would offer assistance to borrowers with foreign currency-denominated car loans similar to that received by households with forex home loans. Varga said the cabinet will soon decide on the conversion of forex vehicle loans into forints, ensuring more favourable conditions for those affected than ones at present. He noted that Hungarians have more than 200,000 forex vehicle and personal loan contracts with a value of almost 300 billion forints (EUR 970m)

Varga touched on the topic of wages, and said current levels resulted in Hungary being subjected to “constant brain-drain”. He said the training of young people who later take up jobs in Western Europe was unsustainable in the long run. He said the problem could only be resolved by reducing the wage gap.

Photo: MTI

Bálványos Summer University opens in Szeklerland

Baile Tusnad, Romania, July 22 (MTI) – The 26th annual Bálványos Summer University opened in Baile Tusnad (Tusnádfürdő), in Szeklerland, central Romania, on Wednesday.

The ideas discussed at the summer university over the years laid the foundations for the most significant achievements in Hungary’s policy for Hungarian communities abroad, State Secretary Árpád János Potápi said in his opening address.

Potapi cited the “status law”, the government’s support for the education of Hungarians beyond the border, the dual citizenship law and the constitution approved in 2011 as examples of measures that had “laid out the path for” Hungarian politics.

Just as in the 16-17th centuries, Hungarians once again find themselves at a crossroads where they have to “redefine themselves”, and must “seek points of reference” that can lay the foundations for the centuries to come, the state secretary said.

Zsolt Németh, the head of Parliament’s foreign affairs committee and a founding member of the summer university, said that Hungary favours stability “in the battle between stability and instability”, and pointed out the Ukraine conflict, the global threat of terrorism and migration as examples of the latter.

Németh said that in the current geopolitical situation, Hungary has to support the stability of Europe through its commitments to NATO, its push for establishing a defence and energy union and by contributing to implementing a common EU migration and refugee policy. He noted the rise of radical left-wing parties in southern Europe and the radical right in the northern part of the continent was a further source of instability, leaving central Europe to reinvent the model for the continent’s integration.

Tibor T Toro, head of the Hungarian People’s Party of Transylvania (EMNP), said this year’s edition of the Bálványos Summer University would see the continuation of the search for solutions to the challenges of Hungarian national policy.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is scheduled to address the summer university on Saturday, the final day of the event.

Photo: MTI

A little Szekler boy makes smile on people’s face – VIDEO

Filantropikum.com shared two videos in which a little Szekler (Székely) boy performs a well-choreographed folk-dance for his audience. Thousands have shared the videos in different social media platforms.

As musicians start to play their instruments, this young Szekler boy starts to dance in a delightful way. Indeed, folk-dance is in his blood.

When a musician plays the cymbalo, the violin, or the zither, a genuine Szekler starts to dance. Nothing proves this statement better than the videos circulating on the web about the folk-dance performances of this little Szekler boy.

A genuine Szekler gets everything from his mother’s breast milk that makes him Szekler. These people not only famous for their ingenuity, stubbornness, and hospitality, but also for their traditions in dance and music.

Tomika Mahovics, who is a few years old Szekler boy, regularly shows his talent in a traditional costume: in black leather boots and with a straw hat on his head. Look at how he raises his hat and extends his hand to the musician. It cannot be learned, this must be in his blood.

Since the first video appeared about him, Tomika Mahovics has become a big boy, but still maintains his adherence to folk-dance.

Watch the videos here

based on the article of filantropikum.com
translated by Gábor Hajnal

Provocation in Romania – A huge Romanian flag to be flown in Szeklerland

romania flag

Defence Minister Mircea Dusa announced that the biggest Romanian flag of Harghita County was going to be flown in Csíkszereda (Miercurea Ciuc) on Friday on the occasion of the Romanian Flag Day, itthon.ma reported.

Duse, who is considered to be a Hungary-expert, finds it a good idea to celebrate the Romanian flag in Csíkszereda.

According to the report of Agerpres news agency, the defence minister talked about the planed flying of the Romanian flag after having watched the Trident Joust 15 and the Resolute Castle 15 military manoeuvres in Nagysink (Cincu) on Monday.

“The tricolour needs to be at home in Hargitha County as well,” declared the defence minister, who was born in Maroshévíz (Toplita), and whom PM Victor Ponta named the Hungary-expert of the Romanian government on several occasions. Dusa added he hoped that he would take part in the ceremony with Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea.

based on the article of itthon.ma
translated by Gábor Hajnal

Photo: szekelyfold.ma

Foundation was established by the British heir to the throne in Transylvania

Kolozsvár (MTI) – Prince Charles, the British heir to the throne announced the founding of the Romanian Prince of Wales Foundation, staying in a private visit in Transylvania (in Hungarian: Erdély) – Digi24 television said.

The foundation intends to pursue educational activities in the areas of heritage conservation, agriculture and sustainable development. Its headquarters will be in Szászfehéregyháza (Viscri), Brasso County, on the estate which was bought by the foundation of Prince registered in Britain. As the television, the foundation will renovate and convert the Saxon village estate into a training center. The conference room will be able to accommodate 70 people. The foundation is managed by the Board of Trustees appointed by the Prince; one of them is Count Tibor Kálnoky.

According to the communication of the foundation, the Prince undertook to support Romania in the rediscovery of some, practically forgotten rural crafts. This is the first step, which will be followed by more according to the needs of the rural communities.

Prince Charles confirmed in his statement given to the Digi24 television that it’s his first foundation which is established outside the British community. As an explanation, he added: he loves Romania and he has Transylvanian ancestors, MTI said.

The British heir arrived in Romania on Sunday. After he visited President Klaus Iohannis in Bucharest, he traveled to his estate in Zalánpatak, Szeklerland. According to the coverage of Háromszék newspaper, the Prince also played a role in the jury of a reaping competition. The competition was won by the reapers of Zalanpatak, who could surprisingly overtake the Csángó reapers of Gyimesbükk.

Prince Charles is a returning guest in Romania. He spoke more than once about the special relationship of mankind and environment in Transylvania, which, according to him, is hard to find in other parts of Europe.

The British royal family has Transylvanian Hungarian roots: Klaudia Rhedey, great-great-grandmother of II. Elisabeth was born in Erdoszentgyorgy, Maros County in 1812 and she was raised in the Rhedey Castle there.

based on the article of MTI
translated by BA

Photo: MTI

TODAY – 95th anniversary of the Treaty of Trianon

trianon treaty hungary

The Treaty of Trianon was the peace agreement on June 4th 1920 which formally ended World War I. between most of the Allies and the Kingdom of Hungary.  As a result, Hungary lost the 2/3 of its territories and people.

The treaty was actually a dictation, because Hungary was only invited for the signature of the document. It was signed at the Grand Trianon Palace in Version, France. All of the neighboring countries received territories from Hungary, even Austria, which was also a loser of the war.

Count Albert Apponyi arrived to the negotiations with later Prime Ministers István Bethlen and Pál Teleki. The latter presented his famous “Red map”, which marked the territories of Hungarian majority with red. However, the delegation was placed under house arrest, and they couldn’t participate in the conference. Apponyi could tell his famous plea after the closing of the negotiations. Finally, he signed the treaty on June 4 1920.

Romania received the biggest area from Hungary, 102.803 km2. It includes Transylvania, Partium and Bánát.

Czechoslovakia got the second largest territory, Upper Hungary, Transcarpathia (now it is owned by Ukraine) and Csallóküöz. The total area is more than 61 thousand km2.

The newly-formed (and short-lived) State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs obtained Srem, Drávaköz, Backa, Bánát and Muraköz, a total of 20.829 km2. Croatia (more than 42 thousand km2) was also the part of the Kingdom of Hungary until that.

It is interesting that even Austria received territory: Burgenland (4020 km2). Moreover, Poland also got a few settlements from Hungary.

This treaty result a quite homogenous state in the rest of Hungary, but 10% of the people still had another mother tongue than Hungarian (most of them spoke German).

Unfortunately, Trianon created several problems, and most of them afflicted the Hungarians remained across the borders.

Approximately 3.3 million Hungarians left outside Hungary.

Nowadays, 95 years after the treaty, there are several initiatives in connection with this tragedy. For example, on March 11, Szekely Freedom Day was held, which peacefully protested for the autonomy of Hungarian-speaking Székelys in Transylvania, Romania.

Photo: http://www.americanhungarianfederation.org

8 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT TRIANON, A HUNGARIAN NATIONAL TRAGEDY

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT TRIANON, A HUNGARIAN NATIONAL TRAGEDY? – QUIZ