Szeklerland

Tusványos to be held again after two years, Orbán to attend

tusványos bálványos

The large intellectual meeting of the Carpathian Basin dubbed Tusványos is a “unique workshop for national cohesion and the nation’s will to survive”, the head of parliament’s foreign affairs committee said on Tuesday.

Zsolt Németh told a press conference on the 31st Bálványos Free Summer University and Student Camp, to be held in Baile Tusnad (Tusnádfürdő) in central Romania between July 19 and 24, that up to 60,000 visitors were expected to attend. The meeting will feature around 400 events in 27 tents, he said.

Németh said Tusvanyos was a workshop for national identity and sovereignty and viewed as a platform for building alliances. Lasting alliances can only be built on a firm set of values, he added.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has accepted an invitation to Tusványos, as well as Lászlo Tőkés, head of the Hungarian National Council of Transylvania, Németh said.

Tusványos-summer-university-PM-Orbán
Read alsoOrbán: The point of illiberal politics was Christian freedom

Deputy Prime Minister of Romania and president of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania Hunor Kelemen will exchange views with Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga, he added. A roundtable of party politicians will also be held, with the participation of Zsolt Molnár of the opposition Socialists, László Lóránt Keresztes of opposition LMP, Lőrinc Nacsa of the co-ruling Christian Democrats, and Máté Kocsis of ruling Fidesz, he said.

Many participants from the sporting world are expected to attend, including Marco Rossi, the captain of the Hungarian national football team, as well as Oszkár Világi (DAC), László Diószegi (Sepsi OSK) and Ferenc Zsemberi (Topolya), the owners of football clubs.

On this year’s main stage, the Petőfi stage, Transylvanium, Nagy Feró and Beatrice, Tankcsapda, Margaret Island, Kowalsky meg a Vega, Aurevoir, Bagossy Brothers Company, 4S Street, Blahalouisiana, Szabó Balázs Bandája and Honeybeast will also perform.

More information and official page here.

 

On this weekend: Székely Festival returns to Budapest after two-year hiatus

stuffed cabbage hungary

The Székely Festival dedicated to Szekler gastronomy, handcrafts and music will return to Budapest after a two-year hiatus from Friday to Sunday, Finance Minister Mihály Varga said.

Varga told a presser on Monday that the event strengthened economic cooperation between Szeklerland and Hungary, with some 150 Transylvanian businesses getting a chance to present themselves in Budapest’s Millenáris Park.

Following a two-year hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic, visitors can once again experience Szekler hospitality and learn about the treasures of Szeklerland, Varga said.

The revival of person-to-person ties is much needed after the pandemic, he added, noting that Tusványos, a large intellectual meeting of the Carpathian Basin, is scheduled to be held between July 19 and 24 this year.

Building links between Hungarians in the mother country and ethnic Hungarians abroad is important for the government, which has provided some 200 billion forints in support for economic development in the Carpathian Basin, helping some 3,500 companies, he added.

Ethnic Hungarian businesses abroad contribute to strengthening Hungary’s economy and vice versa, he said. “The markets of production and consumption must be interlinked in the Carpathian Basin,” he added.

stuffed cabbage hungary
Read alsoOn this weekend: Székely Festival returns to Budapest after two-year hiatus

Day of National Cohesion: Several programmes will be organised in Hungary and beyond the borders

Csíksomlyó Pentecost Szeklerland

Several programmes will be organised in Hungary and beyond the borders to mark the Day of National Cohesion, the anniversary of the Trianon peace treaty concluding WWI, on June 4, the state secretary in charge of policies for Hungarian communities abroad in the Prime Minister’s Office said on Monday.

National Cohesion Day this year will coincide with Pentecost, a traditional date of pilgrimage of Hungarians to Sumuleu Ciuc (Csíksomlyó), in central Romania, Árpád Janos Potápi told a press conference.

Prayer messages by Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin and in the diaspora who cannot attend will be delivered to the pilgrimage site with the Pentecostal horse-ride held for the fifth time, he said.

The motto of this year’s Csiksomlyó pilgrimage is “Pax et Bonum”, Potápi said, referring to the war in Ukraine.

Hungary’s parliament declared June 4 the Day of National Cohesion by Hungary’s in May 2010 to mark the anniversary of the Trianon treaty signed on this day in 1920, Potápi noted, adding that with the law the parliament reaffirmed Hungary’s commitment towards maintaining and nurturing relations between the members of the Hungarian nation and Hungarian communities.

“Despite of all the hardships of the past 100 years, we are here, we have survived,” he said.

Read alsoCsíksomlyó pilgrimage 2019 – Photo gallery

Government: Education in mother tongue must be guaranteed to all Hungarians in Carpathian Basin

Hungarian children school

The government aims to ensure that every Hungarian child in the Carpathian Basin should have access to kindergarten care or school education in the mother tongue, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Satu Mare (Máréfalva) in Transylvania on Friday.

“An important message of the parliamentary election and referendum in April was that our children should be protected from extremist liberal gender propaganda and we should not allow NGOs to confuse their thoughts,” Szijjártó said at the groundbreaking ceremony of a kindergarten.

He said it was “fantastic news” that the community of ethnic Hungarians was constantly growing and they needed a new kindergarten, which, he added, was a testament to the success of the

Hungarian government’s scheme to develop kindergartens throughout the Carpathian Basin.

Szijjártó said good progress was being made but allies were needed for success. The historic churches have been fulfilling this role in Transylvania, with their institutions acting as “pledges to the survival of the nation”.

The government is contributing 220 million forints (EUR 570,000) to the 400 million forint development started in Satu Mare,

he said. The kindergarten will be owned by the local church and run by the local council, he said. Fully eighty children will receive language training and kindergarten care in the mother tongue, he added.

Szijjártó said that in the April general election, a record number of ethnic Hungarians living beyond the borders cast their votes, proving that the mother country could rely on these communities and vice-versa. This confirms the principle that

“every Hungarian is responsible for every other Hungarian,”

he said.

Katalin Szili government commissioner
Read also Hungarian autonomy commissioner to Romanians: “don’t believe your politicians!”

Have you seen the beautifully renewed fortified church of Nagyajta? – PHOTOS

Unitarian fortified church of Nagyajta

The unitarian church was built between 1360 and 1380 in Nagyajta, Szeklerland, Transylvania, Romania. The European Union supported the church’s complete renovation with EUR 1.1 million. The Hungarian government complemented that sum with EUR 443 thousand. Below, you can see the result in photos.

Unitarian fortified church of Nagyajta
Local priest Levente Fekete and unitarian bishop István Kovács. Photo: MTI
Unitarian fortified church of Nagyajta
The interior of the church. Photo: MTI
Unitarian fortified church of Nagyajta
The mayor of Nagyajta, Edömér Bihari. Photo: MTI

Hungarian autonomy commissioner to Romanians: “don’t believe your politicians!”

Katalin Szili government commissioner

Integration of the Transylvanian Hungarian community into the Romania mainstream, in the absence of collective rights, would only amount to assimilation, Katalin Szili, the prime ministerial commissioner for the coordination of tasks related to the aspirations of autonomy in the Carpathian Basin, said in Sfantu Gheorghe (Sepsiszentgyörgy) on Saturday, at the opening session of the Hungarian National Council in Transylvania.

After conveying thanks from Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén and Árpád János Potápi, the state secretary for Hungarian communities abroad, Szili said the Hungarian nation had never been as strong, united or determined in obtaining guarantees of its security and prosperity as it was now, and she thanked the council for its firm commitment to autonomy.

“Let me send a message to the Romanian mainstream: don’t believe your politicians.

Our aspirations are not about breaking anything apart but rather, based on the principle of European subsidiarity, about becoming a community that can forge its own destiny,” she said. “We need dialogue to ensure common understanding that this is all about a community’s survival, its future, and the identity of our children and grandchildren.”

Read alsoSzekler anthem to become the latest Hungaricum?

Hungarian foreign ministry slams Romania top court decision on Targu Mures secondary school

Rakoczi II secondary school marosvásárhely targu mures

A decision by Romania’s supreme court which paves the way for the closure of the Ferenc Rákóczi II Catholic Secondary School in Targu Mures (Marosvásárhely) is appalling, the foreign ministry state secretary for communications said on Wednesday.

Tamás Menczer said on Facebook that “in the 21st century, schools should be opened instead of closed”.

He said

Hungary expected the Romanian authorities to make urgent arrangements that ensure the future operation of the school.

In order to facilitate a solution, the foreign ministry maintains continuous contact with the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania which is a member of the ruling coalition, he added.

He expressed hope that

the issue will be soon settled and will not burden in the long term Hungary-Romania relations.

The Romanian supreme court passed a ruling on Tuesday in a lawsuit initiated by Romanian nationalist organisations.

As we wrote before, Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca, in a message marking Hungary’s March 15 national holiday, said his government respected the identity and values of ethnic Hungarians in his country. Details HERE.

Romania Hungarians to declare nationality in census, says RMDSZ

rmdsz

Hunor Kelemen, head of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ), called on Hungarians to participate in Romania’s ongoing census, saying that “if the Romanian state sees Hungarians in Romania as a robust community, it will have a different approach to them”, in Budapest on Monday.

Speaking to public news channel M1, Kelemen noted that in the previous census ten years ago, 1,260,000 respondents had declared themselves Hungarian. This year’s census results will determine the public policy decisions towards ethnic communities for the next ten years, including language use, education in the mother tongue and the level of state support, he said.

“It is most important that the Romanian state should see us as a strong community as much as we should also see ourselves as a strong community,” the RMDSZ leader said.

He called for filling out the questionnaire online by May 16 and answering every question including the ones on ethnic and religious identity.

Read more news about Transylvania and Romania

Easter Monday: the tradition of sprinkling among Hungarians – Photos, VIDEO

Sprinkling in Hungary

The preservation of tradition only makes every nation stronger, and this is also true of Hungary. This is especially true when it comes to carrying on a folk tradition so spectacular that our young people are admired all over the world. And as long as our traditions are alive, the Hungarian nation is alive, both at Hungary and abroad. 

Interestingly, the Easter Monday celebration has no particular significance in the Christian church. The most popular folk custom associated with this day is watering:

In the old days, girls were taken to a well or trough in the countryside and doused with buckets, which had fertility charms and also referred to the purifying properties of water.

This tradition is still kept to this day by Hungarians, and men who nowadays prefer to throw cologne or soda water bottles are given red or creamed eggs by the girls for watering, but they also receive a hearty treat for visiting friends, relatives, and neighbours.

In many countries, Easter egg decorating has become an established tradition, and Hungary is at the forefront of this too.

Nyíregyháza:

Szeklerland:

Győr, Ménfőcsanak:

If you can’t imagine it, here is a video:

Transylvanian Hungarians support Orbán cabinet policies, says RMDSZ leader Kelemen

szeklerland flag romania hungary

Hungarians living beyond the borders, including in Transylvania, support the government’s policies for their communities, evidenced by their votes at the recent general election, according to the head of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ – Romániai Magyar Demokrata Szövetség).

In an interview carried by the daily Magyar Nemzet on Tuesday, Hunor Kelemen noted that the number of mail-in votes had increased by 24 percent since the previous elections four years ago, and turnout at the Hungarian consulate had also increased.

Kelemen welcomed the increased interest in the Hungarian elections, adding that

Transylvanian Hungarians who also hold Hungarian citizenship had got a chance to express their opinion about the government’s treatment of Hungarian communities beyond the borders.

Support for the ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrats abroad approached 94 percent, he said, confirming that Hungarians beyond the borders approved of the changes in government policies for ethnic Hungarians abroad witnessed during the past decade-plus, he said.

He said

the two-thirds majority victory was important because it lent the government strong legitimacy in a difficult period, he added.

Commenting on Hungarian-Romanian relations, he said the forming of a new Hungarian government could give further impetus to bilateral relations. “This is all the more important because there is a war in a neighbouring country and everything will change around us in the years to come”, he said.

As we wrote two weeks ago, The celebration of World Theatre Day has ended in disaster in Romania when the staff of the Bucharest National Theatre found out that an extremist group distributed their propaganda newspapers during the theatre’s event, details HERE.

Large majority of Hungarians in Romania support Fidesz – Poll

szeklerland székelyföld romania

Fully 90.8 percent of ethnic Hungarians with dual Romanian-Hungarian citizenship have expressed support for Hungary’s ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrat alliance, new portal Maszol.ro said on Monday.

Referring to the survey conducted by SoDiSo Research for the Eurotrans Foundation in late January and early February, the portal said the results were essentially unchanged from four years ago.

Hungary’s united opposition would garner 1.9 percent of the votes of Romanian Hungarians in the April 3 election,

the portal said, adding that 7.3 percent of the participants were undecided.

The survey found that only 61.8 percent of those asked had heard about Péter Márki-Zay, prime ministerial candidate of the united opposition,

and of those 54.2 percent had a negative opinion of him.

The poll’s sample was of 1,309 randomly selected adults.

The Hungarian parliamentary elections are held on 3 April. Hungarian citizens in Romania who are registered to vote can vote by post.

The postal packages were delivered last week.

Hungarian citizens who have a permanent address in Hungary but are in Romania on election day can vote on 3 April at one of the consulates general, provided they have re-registered by 25 March.

ciuca
Read alsoMarch 15 – PM Ciuca: Romania respects Hungarian minority – UPDATE

March 15 – PM Ciuca: Romania respects Hungarian minority – UPDATE

ciuca

Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca, in a message marking Hungary’s March 15 national holiday on Tuesday, said his government respected the identity and values of ethnic Hungarians in his country.

Ciuca wished a “blessed holiday” to Romanian Hungarians and welcomed “the diverse unity of belonging to the European Union”.

The coronavirus pandemic and recent challenges have brought Romanians and Hungarians even closer, and they are not only loyal to each other but “share a solidarity with Ukrainian neighbours and friends” fleeing to the two countries, Ciuca said in his message.

The Romanian prime minister said all ethnic minorities in his country enjoyed the same constitutional rights, and he expressed his gratitude to them.

“God bless all Hungarians in Romania and across the world,” he said.

As we wrote last week, just recently, the lower house of the Romanian Parliament has accepted legislation that positively affects the Hungarian minority living in the country, read more HERE.

Romania folk music village
Read alsoHungary to fall behind Romania within 1-2 years!?

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in statement wished ethnic Hungarians “health, peace, and prosperity” on their national holiday, when they “express their national identity and commitment to the homeland”. He praised the contribution of Romanian Hungarians to their country’s development, and pointed to “the significant role they play in implementing projects on which the country’s development rests”.

Hungarians “have always enhanced Europe’s culture and the cultural heritage of mankind through their hard work and well-preserved traditions,” Iohannis said.

Bilateral relations between Hungary and Romania are the best in ten years, says FM Szijjártó in Szeklerland – UPDATE

szeklerland sepsiszentgyörgy

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has encouraged dual Romanian-Hungarian citizens to cast their ballot in Hungary’s parliamentary election set for April 3, and pledged the government’s continued support to Romania Hungarians if the ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrat alliance wins.

Speaking in front of a Reformed church built with the Hungarian government’s assistance in Sfantu Gheorghe (Sepsiszentgyörgy), the minister noted his government’s efforts to “strengthen and support” ethnic Hungarian communities ever since 2010, and insisted that the upcoming vote would “fundamentally determine the future of both Hungary and ethnic communities across the border”. Encouraging ethnic kin to vote, he said “every vote counts, not a single vote should be lost”.

With Fidesz staying at the helm, the government will carry on with its economic promotion programme for Hungarians in Romania, continue to provide assistance to local kindergarten and school construction, aid to religious communities and go on financing cultural and sports programmes, Szijjártó said.

Concerning the ethnic Hungarian RMDSZ party, Szijjártó said it was “a crucial stabiliser in Romania’s domestic politics” and that its being a part of the Romanian government “clearly has a positive impact on bilateral cooperation”.

Answering a question, Szijjártó said

bilateral ties with Romania were “at their best in ten years” but added that the government was working to further improve those relations.

The government is planning to further develop cross-border infrastructure, he said, adding that he hoped the two countries could strike deals concerning energy supplies, too.

“We live in each other’s neighbourhood and we are interested in each other’s success; it is high time each player on either side recognised that,” he said.

Read alsoSzekler anthem to become the latest Hungaricum?

Meanwhile, addressing a wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial of Szekler martyrs in Siculeni (Madéfalva), in central Romania, Szijjártó said the April 3 general election would decide whether Hungary would have a government pursuing policies focusing on enforcing Hungarians’ national interests, or if the country would see a return “to the era of subservience to imperial will”.

The massacre of 1764 made the Szekler locality a symbol of courageous resistance to the cruelty of imperial oppression, the foreign ministry cited Szijjártó as saying.

On January 7, 1765, the troops of Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary, retaliated a protest by some 2,500 Szeklers who refused to serve in the Habsburg army.

“Madéfalva reminds us how cruel an imperial logic wanting to bend everything to its will can be just because a community has a different vision for its future, thinks differently about its fate and dares to make all this clear,”

the minister said.

“The only way we have a chance of standing up to imperial will is if there are enough of us and if we’re organised enough,” Szijjártó said. “Otherwise not only will we not be able to enforce our truth, but we could lose everything we fought so hard for: our homeland and our freedom.”

“Our task is to continuously strengthen our nation and national unity so that we are not overrun by the imperial aspirations that are constantly besieging us,” he said.

“In just a few weeks the Hungarian nation will again have to make an important decision,” Szijjártó said.

“It will again decide whether Hungary is to see a return to the era of subservience to imperial will or if we can continue to enforce our national interests as we began twelve years ago.”

Szekler anthem to become the latest Hungaricum?

The song was not written with the intent of creating a new anthem, yet it became a national symbol and the official anthem of Szeklerland. Hungarians in Transylvania often sing the song on special occasions such as New Year’s Eve when they gather together in front of the church at midnight.

After the first world war ended, Hungary had to sign the Treaty of Trianon, giving up a large chunk of its land that was acquired by the neighbouring countries. Hence, Hungarians became a minority group on their own land after borders were redefined. Szeklers are a group of Hungarians, living in Hargita and Kovászna counties in Transylvania region, Romania. It is important to know that not all Transylvanian Hungarians identify as Szeklers.

In 1921, Kálmán Mihalik composed the song, and György Csanádi wrote the lyrics for it. This song was not created with the intention to write a new anthem, but it later became the symbol of protest against repression.

Read also: Hungarian Herend porcelain is world leader in the market

In the beginning, the song was not known by many. There was a time when more people became aware of it and began to sing it in secret as it was banned. After Northern Transylvania was given back to Hungary, the song was taught in schools between 1941 and 1944. Later, Romania got back the land permanently. During the communist era, if someone was caught just listening to the song, they were sent to jail for three months. – eszm.ro wrote.

Here, you can listen to the song and read the lyrics in English:

Recently, the song has become a highlighted national value. The Hungaricum Committee decided to include the Szekler anthem on the list of Hungarian Treasury (Magyar Értéktár). Thus, the number of Transylvanian national treasures increased to six.

“In addition to the coat of arms and the flag, the Szekler anthem is now an indispensable symbol of our regional identity. Its origins and afterlife are also legendary, it survived regimes and fashions, and it became more and more of the symbol of the Szekler people’s desire to live.” – said Sándor Tamás, President of the Covasna County Council, who submitted the proposal. He added that the anthem is a national treasure and it should have a place among the Hungarikums as well. – hvg.hu wrote.

The song is not considered an official Hungaricum yet, but declaring it a Hungarian treasure, and claiming it a national value are important milestones. Other national values that originated from Transylvania are the Nagybánya Art Colony, the Statue of Liberty in Arad, the works of Károly Kós, the built heritage of Torockó and the Freedom of Religion Act.

Read also: Traditional Hungarian events await visitors in the Carnival season

Hungarian man creates new animal breeds in Romania! – PHOTOS

rabbit

A Szekler man has created new animal breeds. He has been interested in genetics from a young age and now is working on creating animals that people have never heard of.

Zsigmond Rákossy was only 10 years old when his family moved to the countryside. They started to keep animals at the house. He became interested in genetics during his studies and soon after he conceived the idea of creating a new animal breed.

“I am convinced that breeding is like art: you invent and create something, not just on canvas, but in real life. Everything is in constant dynamics if one knows how to play with genes.”- he told maszol.ro.

He went on to study veterinary medicine. He wrote his thesis about genetics and in 2011 he already made his first creation, a black rabbit. At his house, the rabbit, the dog, the sheep, and the poultry are all considered Szekler. At first, nobody took his plan seriously. Today, he has many animals and is currently working on new breeds.

Rákossy created his Szekler rabbits by mixing breeds either with chinchillas or other rabbits. However, rabbits from the Szekler region provided the base for all his creations.

rabbit
Szekler rabbit. Photo: szekelynyul.blogspot.com
szeklerland
Read alsoA Hungarian shepherd to become TikTok’s new superstar? – VIDEO!

Szekler rabbits are in fact black sallanders, blue sallanders, and Havana sallanders. They have black, blue-grey, or beige colors. A fourth color that Rákossy has been currently working on is the purple sallander. The new breed will prove to be successful if the colors are passed down to the next generation of rabbits.

Rákossy was working on his project for 3 or 4 years. He did not receive support from anyone. Moreover, people thought that his ideas were crazy. In 2016, he finally received some credits for his efforts at an exhibition in Bucharest. Now, he is preparing for another exhibition in Luxembourg which will be held in 2022. The breed standards of Szekler rabbits have been published in the Romanian and Hungarian standard books.

The rabbits are kept in their natural habitat as much as it is possible. Rákossy said that it interferes with the natural selection if the animals are way too protected. It can lead to quality decrease. He has currently 80 rabbits, but in the past he even had 150-200. There are new litters 2 or 3 times a year. A rabbit can give birth to offsprings 5 times a year, but Rákossy does not let that happen in order to ensure that only the healthiest rabbits are born. An ideal rabbit weighs 5 or 6.5 kilograms. Unfortunately, these animals are not pets but they are bred for consumption. Nowadays, 50 official breeders have Szekler rabbits, a breed whose creation took up 6 years.

Rákossy also created Szekler, bald-necked, viador-type poultry. However, this breed is not for consumption. This breed is a “rustic-style ornamental animal” which comes in yellow and blue colors. The development of a Szekler dog breed is also in process but it takes a longer time. The goal is to have a dog breed that fits he local needs so people do not have buy imported dogs. He also entertained the idea of creating a Szekler pigeon, but as he said, “a man has to know his limits”.

rabbit
szekelynyul.blogspot.com
Read alsoMeet the Hungarian COVID-19 sniffer dogs working in Abu Dhabi – VIDEOS

ChristDems, LMP mark Day of Szekler Autonomy

székely szekler flag parliament Budapest

Co-ruling Christian Democrats and opposition LMP marked the Day of Szekler Autonomy on Sunday.

Christian Democrats group leader Istvan Simicskó said it was a moral obligation for Hungarians living in the motherland to support ethnic Hungarians in diasporas everywhere in the world. Szeklers are a historical community whose unique traditions have enriched Hungarian culture for many centuries, he said.

“We support their demand for autonomy, the aspirations of a minority proud of its identity to be successful in their place of birth,”

Simicskó said.

“Autonomy is a right in the European Union which the Szeklers deserve and it is natural to demand it or even fight for it,” he added.

LMP group leader László Lóránt Keresztes said in a statement that guaranteeing the autonomy and rights of indigenous national minorities was an important European value “worth fighting for together”.

Day of Szekler Autonomy is marked on the last Sunday of every October on a 2016 initative by the Szekler National Council.

Prince Charles, Royal Family, England
Read alsoHungarians everywhere – Prince Charles talked proudly about his Hungarian ancestors – VIDEO

Memorial centre for Szekler border guards inaugurated

Hungary Szekler inauguration

A memorial centre dedicated to the Szekler guards who had defended Hungary’s eastern border for several centuries was inaugurated in Frumoasa (Csíkszépvíz), in central Romania’s Szekler region inhabited by many ethnic Hungarians, on Saturday.

Árpád János Potápi, Hungary’s state secretary in charge of policies for Hungarian communities abroad, called the facility a “beacon”, a point of orientation for the generations to come who want

to get a thorough knowledge of the past of the Hungarian nation.

The centre includes an interactive exhibition on nearly 600 square metres which presents the history of the Szekler border guards from the medieval Árpád Dynasty to the second world war with artefacts, traditional and 3D films, as well as animations.

The building housing the centre was renovated from nearly 1 million euros, of which 0.6 million euros were

contributed by the Hungarian government.

Szekler activists convicted for terrorism are released from prison

Beke István és Szőcs Zoltán

Brașov County Court approved the conditional release of István Beke and Zoltán Szőcs, two Szekler activists formerly charged for terrorism and sentenced to 5 years in prison.


In 2015 two Szekler activists were accused of terrorism and later convicted for 5 years in prison. Hungarians were enraged because of the court’s decision and said this was a decision made in light of politics and the Hungarian-Romanian ethnic conflict. The activists are released today – reports Hello Magyar.

In 2015 Zoltán Szőcs and István Beke, activists of Hatvannégy Vármegye Ifjúsági Mozgalom (HVIM) were accused of planning to blast a bomb on 1st of December, the National Holiday of Romania. According to the accusations, at one of the HVIM meetings members were instigated by Zoltán Szőcs to blast bombs that would be made by István Beke. The bombs would have been started with a phone from a distance. During a perquisition illegally purchased pyrotechnical tools were found at Beke’s house – wrote Székelyhon.

Read alsoYoung Szekler men are accused of committing terrorist acts

In 2018, the court acquitted the two men of some charges. The defendants were convicted to approximately 11 and 10 months in prison, which is the exact same time that they had already spent in detention. Therefore, the prison sentence imposed on them was declared served.

At the last trial, however, the charge was changed from offenses committed by pyrotechnic means against the community to act of terrorism, a charge that the defense was not prepared for. The two men were eventually sentenced to 5 years in prison.


“Everything can happen in this country. With this sentence, people are intimidated, not only Hungarians, but Romanians as well. They show that they do what they want.”said István Beke back in 2018.

The decision made public uproar as many Hungarians thought this was to statuate an example and intimidate Hungarians. Based on public opinion, the decision was made on political influence in light of ethnic conflict and was against Hungarians. Protests were organized and the two men appealed to the court four times since May 2020 to be released. The committee at the prison supported the release of the convicts and referred to their good conduct 

István Beke’s requests were rejected by the court. The release of Zoltán Szőcs was ordered by the Court of Brașov on two previous occasions, but after the appeal of the prosecutor’s office, the decision was changed.  Székelyhon quotes Member of  the Romanian Parliament József Kulcsár-Terza, who said that

fellow inmates of the Szekler activists who committed murder and violent acts were released after their second appeal to the court.



Eventually, the Szekler activists will be released just six months before the 5 years sentence ends.