Csíksomlyó has become a symbol throughout the years as it is seen as the Catholic haven of the Székely people.
The pilgrimage on Whitsunday is an event that brings together the Székely people and the Hungarians living in diaspora. Today, this event is the largest annual gathering in Romania.
This tradition is worth keeping and that is why it is not surprising that the process of declaring the pilgrimage a Hungaricum is on its way.
Hungarian President Janos Ader has slammed a Thursday incident in the Valea Uzului (Úzvölgye) military cemetery between Hungarians and Romanians as “blasphemous, in violation of laws and international agreements and also deeply immoral.”
The Valea Uzului memorial cemetery in eastern Romania commemorates Hungarian soldiers fallen in the first world war. In April 2019, the local council erected a memorial site for Romanian soldiers fallen in the second world war. Ahead of the site’s inauguration late on Thursday, the visitors of that event clashed with Szekler demonstrators and eventually forced their way into the cemetery.
Speaking after attending the Whitsun mass in Sumuleu Ciuc (Csíksomlyó), a traditional place of pilgrimage in Romania, Áder said that the memorial for Romanian soldiers contained 52 crosses, some of which “have been erected over the ashes of Hungarian soldiers”. The Romanian authorities have also found the memorial site unlawful, he said, noting the Romanian defence ministry’s statement that it has issued no permits for it.
The construction of the memorial site infringes on the Romanian-Hungarian agreement on the maintenance of war graves, Áder said. It is also “deeply immoral”, he added.
It is in the interest of Hungary and of ethnic Hungarians living in Romania to find a solution enabling a peaceful coexistence between Romanians and Hungarians, he said.
“There are several empty plots [in Valea Uzului],” he said. “No one will object to a memorial there to soldiers who have been documented as resting there.”
In a statement on Saturday, Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila condemned “sowing discord among Romanian citizens, incitement to hatred or to disrespecting the country’s symbols”. She is mulling putting the cemetery under direct supervision of the defence ministry, the statement said.
Hungarian political parties also condemned the incident.
Lawmaker Barna Pál Zsigmond of ruling Fidesz called on the Romanian government to look into the events and find those responsible, at a press conference on a different issue on Saturday.
Opposition Párbeszéd in a statement pledged solidarity with “all Hungarians who feel intimidated by the attack of Romanian extremists in Valea Uzului”. They called on the Romanian government to convict those responsible and to restore the original site.
The radical nationalist Mi Hazánk party called on the Hungarian parliament to condemn the violent incident. Deputy party leader Dóra Dúró said on Saturday that parliament should express “the cohesion of all Hungarians and Hungary’s solidarity with those living beyond the borders.”
They broke into and desecrated the WWII cemetery where Hungarian, German and Austrian soldiers rest, smashed several wooden crosses that marked the memory of fallen Hungarian heroes and beat up Hungarians protecting the cemetery with flagpoles and rods torn from the fence. Meanwhile, the Romanian gendarmerie did almost nothing; nobody was taken into custody yet because of what had happened, and the Romanian ambassador in Budapest refused to show up in the Hungarian foreign ministry and give an explanation as to what happened and why due to a higher order.
According to the newsletter of the Mikó Imre Minority Rights Legal Services Assistance, close to a thousand civilians and public personalities from Szeklerland formed a human chain around the military cemetery in the Úz Valley yesterday afternoon in order to inhibit Romanians from unlawfully breaking into the common graveyard, where the bodies of Austrian, German and Hungarian soldiers rest. Meanwhile, Romanian groups demanding the opening of the cemetery gate shouted
“out with the Hungarians from the country!”,
sang irredentist songs and yelled at Hungarians.
The Romanian crowd was strongly influenced by alcohol and revolted then climbed on the fence, broke the cemetery gate, smashed several wooden crosses that marked the memory of Hungarian heroes, beat up Hungarians with flagpoles and rods torn from the fence, causing enormous damage both in a moral and physical sense. The Romanian authorities quickly lost control over the happenings, though Romanian foreign minister Teodor Meleșcanu previously promised his Hungarian counterpart that
they would do everything to prevent provocations
and physical abuse towards local Hungarians. However, though Romanian authorities were present at the scene, they were not able or would not like to protect the Hungarians, and yet, nobody has been arrested, and nobody has been taken into custody because of what happened.
Furthermore, representatives of Romanian political organisations also took part in the event, radicalising the civilians and sharing abusing texts against Hungarians on social media. Meanwhile, Hungarians were praying, and a lot of them even burst into tears because of what happened.
https://www.facebook.com/tamassandor1966/videos/350830832286796/
Hunor Kelemen, president of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ), condemned the incident from Úz Valley and called the destruction of the cemetery a barbaric act. He said that the Hungarians did not provoke anyone but formed a human chain to protect the memory of their ancestors. He added that the
Romanian news televisions should put an end to misinformation and incitement
because it only leads to further conflicts. He also asked the Prime Minister to replace the Minister of Internal Affairs and the prefect of Harghita county, both of whom were responsible for letting such severe atrocities to take place.
According to MTI, Romania’s ambassador to Hungary has been summoned to the foreign ministry to account for what had happened but refused to comply, citing conflicting orders. On a press conference today, state Secretary Levente Magyar said about the refusal that it is “below all courtesy and friendship” and
“Romania has refused an opportunity for dialogue.”
In fact, the ministry already issued a diplomatic note of protest yesterday. Magyar added that Hungary still has a vested interest in a correct and good relationship with Romania to ensure the peaceful coexistence of Hungarians and Romanians.
Both government parties and Hungarian opposition parties Jobbik – Movement for a Better Hungary and Our Home Movement condemned the vandal destruction of the cemetery. The Romanian foreign ministry issued a statement today in which they would like their Hungarian counterpart to send a clear message towards Hungarians living in Romania to put an end to boosting further tensions. Thus, it is clear that the
Romanian government blames Hungarians for what happened yesterday.
Here is a video on what Romanian nationalists did in the cemetery after occupying it:
In fact, the local administration of the village of Dărmănești/Dormánfalva appropriated illegally the Hungarian military cemetery located in neighbouring Harghita county earlier this year. This is because a law from 1968 clearly states that the valley belongs to Sânmartin/ Csíkszentmárton, a Hungarian village in Harghita county, instead of Dărmănești/Dormánfalva, a Romanian settlement in Bacău county. The situation has worsened considerably after several Hungarians were taken in for questioning by the police, while the local administration of Dărmănești/Dormánfalva that illegally put up concrete crosses and monuments in the cemetery has still not been brought to account.
Árpád Antal, the president of the Szekler Council of Local Representatives, declared then that “we, Transylvanian Hungarians, are citizens with full rights of both Europe and Romania, and we do not accept to be treated as second-class citizens in our homeland. Asking for the situation of the military cemetery in Valea Uzului/Úz-völgye to be settled, for the violation of the rights of our community to cease and for those responsible to be brought to justice is a legitimate demand, one that we will not give up.”
On the 16th of May, an unknown group of people covered the crosses that had been illegally put up by the local government of Dărmănești/Dormánfalva with black sacks. Although members of the Hungarian community immediately removed the sacks, and the Szekler Council of Local Representatives qualified the act as an obvious provocation, distancing themselves from both the persons committing the act, as well as the act itself, the Romanian media and some politicians took the opportunity to initiate a hate campaign against Hungarians.
The cemetery located in Valea Uzului/Úz-völgye (Valley of Uz) was the site of several battles during World War II. In fact, many Hungarian and German, but no Romanian soldiers are buried there. The cemetery has come to be almost like a place of pilgrimage, not only for Hungarians living in Transylvania but for all Hungarians.
Russia is the most significant security threat, Hungary is the least friendly neighbouring country while the United States is interested in a strong Romania – a recently published survey says.
Hungary meddles in the domestic affairs of Romania, and its goal is to take control over Transylvania – this is what the majority of the Romanians think about Budapest’s policy according to INSCOP, an institute of public opinion and research. In fact, INSCOP published its results on Monday and hvg.hu collected the relevant findings.
With the statement “Hungary meddles in the domestic affairs of Romania” 58.2 pc of the Romanians agree while even more, 62.6 pc of them said that Budapest’s goal is to
take control over Transylvania one way or another.
The survey was made between 12 April and 3 May and 64.4 pc of Romanians agreed with the statement “Russia posed and poses the greatest national security threat towards Romania” and 59.2 pc of them would support increasing Bucharest’s defence budget.
Furthermore, Romanians think that Hungary is the least friendly neighbouring country: only 27.1 pc of them would put Budapest into the box of the benign states. In contrast, 78.5 pc of them think that the Republic of Moldova is friendly, 59 pc of them think the same in the case of Bulgaria while these numbers are 50 pc and 40 pc in connection with Serbia and Ukraine. Moreover, the overall impression of the neighbouring countries in Romania is that they are rather friendly states.
The only exception is Hungary
since 61.2 pc of the survey fillers did not agree with the statement that Hungary is a friend of Romania.
The 2/3rd majority of the answerers said that Russia is interested in weakening Romania and this rate is 60 pc in the case of Hungary. In contrast, NATO, the Republic of Moldova, the European Union and the United States is interested in a strong Romania.
More than 80 pc of the survey fillers would like to maintain the current or would even want a
stronger strategic partnership with Washington.
In fact, the survey was ordered by the Informational Warfare and Strategic Communication Laboratory formed in the Romanian Academy. The institute mostly deals with questions related to Hungary and Russia. They included 1,000 citizens in their survey; therefore, the error rate is 3 pc.
We reported HERE that Romania celebrated the 100th anniversary of gaining control over Transylvania. This was a massive victory for them, but a significant loss for Hungary. Even though in Romania it is commonly thought that the relevant decisions were made in a huge national assembly at Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia) on December 1st, 1918, the truth is that
the fate of Transylvania was decided in Paris
by mostly France and other WWI-winning great powers.
Since 1918 the Hungarian population of Transylvania has been decreasing significantly, and except for small territories like the Szeklerland, Hungarians lost their majority in most of the big cities and regions of Transylvania. Furthermore, even
the population of the Hungarian-populated regions is falling rapidly
– read more HERE.
Finally, since the Hungarian-populated areas paid more into but received less from the Bucharest budget, the Hungarian government launched an economic development program in the last couple of years. Secretary of state Levente Magyar announced the next phase of this program in Dumbravioara (Sáromberke), Romania, on Saturday.
The results from the first quarter of 2019 are here, regarding the number of visitors from various nationalities to Romania. Hungarians are in the top three, only surpassed by Bulgarians and visitors from the Republic of Moldova.
According to Turizmus, the first quarter of 2019 saw 4.7% more visitors than in the same period in 2018. The Romanian National Institute of Statistics (INS) recorded 2,228 million people at the border crossing checkpoints. The most amount of people come from the Republic of Moldova, making up 20% of the overall visitors. Bulgarian visitors are in second place with 17%, while Hungarians rank third, with almost 13% of the visitors heading to Romania from Hungary.
Naturally, such statistics cannot tell the reason behind the visit. Some may have popped over to see some family while others could have had business deals to attend to or enjoy the sights of the country as tourists.
After Hungarians, Ukraine provides the 4th highest number of visitors while the fewest people come from Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Libya, Kamerun, Saudi Arabia and Palestine respectively (only 0.1% of the visitors).
In 2019, the number of visitors from the EU also rose by 3.2%, meaning that more than half the visitors (51.5%) are citizens of EU member states.
When it comes to other places in the world, the country received 11.6% more visitors from African states, 7.5% more from the USA, 4.8% more from Europe and 0.6% more from Asia compared to last year’s first quarter.
The statistics reveal that most of the visitors (382 thousand) arrived through the Otopeni airport. However, the state of the airport is rather depressing. In terms of punctuality and the quality of services, Romania’s national airport is in 129th place on a list of 132 assembled by AirHelp.
The Hungarian border checking point in Nagyvárad sees the second biggest amount of visitors, with about 210 thousand people crossing to Romania there. Lots of people arrive through the southern Romanian town of Giurgiu or Albita near the Romania-Moldova border.
There were more people arriving by train (8.2%) and more people who opted for cars (5.7%) than this time last year, too.
Featured image: Pixabay / Illustrations
Devastating statistics! Hungarian population in Transylvania decreasing rapidly
You must watch this video, which published by Babos Hanga’s mother.
Craft beer, high octane fruit spirits, killer barbecues and a cacophony of swirling skirts, stamping feet, lutes, zithers, accordions, and Balkan speed-folk-freak-punk can only mean one thing…
This May sees the return of the UK’s only free weekend festival to celebrate in riotous colour the arts, culture, food and drink of the fabled-region of Transylvania.
Last year’s event in Manchester’s central Albert Square, saw 17,000 adventurous revellers put their best foot forward to try out traditional folk dancing and soak up the sounds of a Celtic Transylvanian punk band, shake hands with one of Hungary’s biggest pop stars and sample delicacies including the spit-roasted sweet treat chimney cake and lángos.
This year’s free event also includes a family activity tent running arts and music workshops throughout the weekend, enchanting puppet shows, a makers’ craft market, folk dance demonstrations, small-batch craft food sampling and many other musical and culinary delights.
The Maros Ensemble, from Széklerland, celebrated their 60th anniversary in 2016 and promise to showcase “traditional dances from East-Transylvanian villages inhabited by Romanians, Hungarians, Germans and Gypsies”.
Whilst Bohemain Betyars are bring their self-described “speed-folk freak-punk” with Hungarian, Balkanic and Gipsy elements to the UK for the first time.
Other main stage highlights over the three day event include Mátyás Király Citerazenekar, a young people’s zither orchestra from Transylvania, the return of Transylvanian/Celtic Pogues fans, Selfish Murphy, and an operetta performance from Annamari Dancs (Budapest Operetta Theatre) & Péter Laki.
Góbéfest was established in 2017 to celebrate the little-known culture and traditions of the Székler people – a minority group of ethnic Hungarians living in Transylvania.
Event organiser Ottilia Ördög is herself a Székely Hungarian, now settled in UK for almost 30 years and working as a cultural leader. She said: “Góbéfest brings the magical sounds, sights and smells of one of Europe’s most mythologised and unspoilt regions to the centre of Manchester.
“The weekend will serve up a family friendly and unashamedly enthusiastic mix of music, dance, arts and crafts and food and drink, offering just a glimpse of the true flavours of Transylvania and the Carpathian Basin.”
Góbéfest funders include Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grants.
Date: Friday 24-Sunday 26 May 2019
Venue: Albert Square, Manchester M2 5DB
Entrance: Free
More information: gobefest.com
New football pitches, academies and halls will be built throughout the Carpathian Basin, including in areas beyond the borders where large ethnic Hungarian communities live, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday at the opening of an astro-turf football pitch built with Hungarian government support in Miercurea Nirajului (Nyáradszereda).
Hungarians have always loved sport and now also want to become a sporting nation, he said.
“That is why we are building academies, to enable young people to develop under the best possible circumstances, enjoying every single aspect of spiritual and moral training,” he added.
Szijjártó said young people throughout the Carpathian Basin can rely on Hungary’s support. The government considers it an obligation to look after them in the areas of sport, education and culture. He added that the government had great respect for the work carried out by the Szekler Soccer Academy.
Featured image: MTI
Press release – The opposition MP told us he wanted to represent his party in the annual event held for Szekler autonomy each year since 2013 because “ever since its establishment, Jobbik has always been most consistently representing the autonomy efforts of Hungarian communities living across our borders.”
Explaining that his party laid a great emphasis on achieving autonomy for the Szekler community, he added that even though the Orbán government had realized one of Jobbik’s longest held demands by granting dual citizenship and voting rights for ethnic Hungarians living across the border in 2010, there were still a lot of things to do in this matter: “We’ve always said that being able to prosper in your own homeland is a key condition for achieving autonomy. However, Budapest’s national policies are not enough for that: you also need to adopt good European practices in the region.”
He added that autonomy ensures stable and peaceful co-existence for the endemic ethnic minorities, the motherlands as well as the countries where Hungarian minorities live. Márton Gyöngyösi also noted that
Jobbik was not the only one to include this policy in its political programme as he participated in a study tour to South Tyrol in 2017 where “we were given an opportunity to study one of the best known and efficient autonomy models and see for ourselves how autonomy can provide the best guarantee for endemic minorities to stay and prosper in their homelands”.
When asked why Jobbik was not represented by President Tamás Sneider in the demonstration for autonomy, Mr Gyöngyösi said the opposition party had clearly been laying a great emphasis on autonomy efforts in the neighbouring countries since last April’s elections, too.
He noted that Jobbik had set up a special autonomy working group headed by Tamás Sneider and their EP election programme also focused on the matter. He revealed that the party was soon going to organize a conference on South Tyrol’s autonomy with presenters and experts from the Northern Italian province. He also explained that the party’s President and Executive Vice President share their tasks on a regular basis. “The fact that I am the one to attend the march this time has no special significance. Tamás Sneider had already represented Jobbik in the demonstration previously so we thought it was my time to take over this noble task.”
He added that even though he had visited Marosvásárhely countless times, he had never had the chance to participate in this event so he was especially happy and considered it an honour to be there. We also asked Mr Gyöngyösi what message he would send to the Szekler community if he was given a chance to make a speech. Jobbik’s executive vice president answered that “I would point out that our Szekler brothers and sisters can always rely on Jobbik in terms of their autonomy efforts, regardless of the polarizing Hungarian partisan politics.” Noting that Szeklers wanted a chance for living and prospering in their own homeland, the vice president said autonomy was the only way to achieve that goal. “This would guarantee that Szeklers would neither be oppressed by Bucharest nor expected by Budapest to vote a certain way – in return for economic aid or EU funds,” Mr Gyöngyösi concluded, adding that one of the most ancient groups of the Hungarian nation must be protected from this double threat.
The Hungarian Prime Minister’s Office supports a demonstration held on Sunday in Targu Mures (Marosvásárhely), Romania, for the autonomy of the Szeklers, a Hungarian minority in central and western Romania.
In a statement to MTI, Árpád János Potápi, the state secretary for Hungarians abroad, said that autonomy is the best way to ensure the continued existence of ethnic minorities.
The Szekler minority “wants autonomy allowing them to use their mother tongue and national symbols in a way that does not harm majority nationals, nothing more than the rights granted to minorities in many European countries,” he said.
The autonomy of Szekler Land is a cause for all Hungarians, Potápi said.
The demonstration was held on the Day of Szekler Freedom, the anniversary of the execution of Szekler patriots in 1854.
Although the mortality rate in Transylvania decreased in the last few years, the Hungarian population in the Hungarian-populated regions decreased rapidly according to the latest statistics which represents the changes in the Hungarian population in the first few months of 2018.
Krónika Online reported that, between January and November 2018, approximately 61,738 children were born, which is 197 more childbirths than in 2017 between the same months. In the first part of 2018, the rate of childbirth was low, but in the second part of the year, it increased significantly.
Between August and November, 24,321 children were born which is more than the 23,080 in 2017. In the first eleven months, 76,493 people died which is 812 less than in 2017. This strong positive trend leads back to November 2018 when only 6,794 death cases were registered, which is 431 less than two years ago.
In the first eleven months of 2018, the population of Szeklerland decreased by 14,755 people which is still a very high rate and devastating number, but it is a positive fact that, in 2017, the population decreased by 15,764.
The population’s decrease was the strongest in March 2018, when Szeklerland lost 3,200 Hungarian residents in one month.
In the counties of Hargita and Kovászna, 4,839 children were born in the first eight months of 2018 which is 22 less than the previous year’s statistics. In the same year, 5,886 people died in Szeklerland which is a 4% of growth since 2017 when 5,657 residents passed away.
The low decrease of childbirth and the growing number of death cases is a combination which means that the population decreased the most in Szeklerland from all the Transylvanian regions.
The rate of natural decrease between January and November 2018 is approximately 1,047 which is significantly more than in 2017 (796).
However, the number of marriages increased in Szeklerland: in the first eleven months of last year, 2,597 couples got married, which is an average growth of 1,5%.
In the region of the Partium, 10,544 children were born until the end of 2018, and 13,706 people passed away.
Kolozs and Maros counties are the most significant Hungarian-populated regions of Central-Transylvania. Here, 11,562 children were born, and 13,896 residents died in 2018. The statistics revealed that the population’s decrease became more intensive in Central-Transylvania in the last few years, especially last year.
Temes is the only Transylvanian county among the Hungarian-populated regions where the number of childbirths is more than the mortality rate: 6,630 children were born in 2018, and 6255 people died.
In South- and North-Transylvania, the population’s decrease is not as significant as in any other region.
Photo: Alpár Kató – Daily News Hungary
Pope Francis’s upcoming visit to Sumuleu Ciuc (Csíksomlyó), Romania is a “historic opportunity” for the region’s nations to come together and make peace with one another, a government official said in Sumuleu Ciuc on Thursday.
The Hungarian government will support the city’s preparations for the papal visit with an initial grant of about 20 million forints (EUR 63,000),
the state secretary for church, minority and civil society relations, Miklós Soltész, told a press conference.
The government will soon receive a detailed funding request for the visit from Sumuleu Ciuc’s Franciscan monks, he said, adding that Hungary will aim to transfer the funds as quickly as possible.
Soltész urged Catholics to turn out for the pope’s June 1 visit in as many numbers as they can, saying that it could help support the survival of Christianity and nations.
Featured image:
The Szeklers – sometimes also referred to as Székelys – are a Hungarian subgroup in Székely Land, Romania, and they speak Hungarian. The first written document about this ethnic group comes from the 12th century, 1116. During the middle ages, there were two groups of Szeklers: the western and eastern Szeklers. In the 14th century, the lesser populated western region of their territory melted into the Hungarian nation. The eastern Szeklers kept on fighting for equal human and government rights during their separation, and after the 15th century, they became a nation in Transylvania.
Magyarországom collected a historical article with everything we need to know about the Szeklers.
Nowadays Szeklers live in the western regions of Romania which is called Szeklerland, but many people who live between the region of Brasov and Nagyszeben also avow themselves the members of the subgroup. Bukovina Szeklers left this region in 1764 and settled down in Hungary in the county of Tolna, Baranya and the region of the Vajdaság. But we can also find smaller groups of Szeklers in the capital, Western-Europe, United States and even in Australia.
During the Hungarian Revolution and Uprising in 1848, many Szekler people took part in the battles and fought for Hungary and wanted their nation to be united with the Hungarian one. After World War I and Trianon, Székely Land became part of Romania in 1920. During the 1940s, this part of the Romanian country became Hungarian territory again for a short period. Russian and German military forces occupied Szeklerland in 1944, and after Hungary lost in the war the Szeklers’ land became Romanian again in 1947.
According to Romania’s statistics in 2011, approximately 581,159 Szeklers claimed that they are Hungarian out of 810,367, which is 71.72% of the whole nation. The Romanian authorities had many attempts to make Szeklers part of Romania during the Socialist era and although it is part of the Romanian polity Szeklers always emphasise their need for an autonomy, a separated and independent land.
As every ethnic group, Szeklers also have their traditional clothes and costumes. Szekler clothes and costumes are unique because every one of them is made of special linen which is also made at Szeklers’ home by hands. The traditional material of this linen is usually sheep, hemp, wool and line. Every part of these clothes and costumes are sewed and designed by handwork.
These clothes also represent different kind of groups among Szeklers. For example, different Szekler villages use different kind of colours while decorating their clothes. Also, they have different kind of clothes for everyday life and special occasions and celebrations.
Until 1940, these clothes represented its owner’s marital status and religion as well. Young girls usually wore clothes with white apron and grown-up women usually black apron. These colours also represented the Szekler group; where they belong and what their religious believes are.
It is also an interesting fact that there is no Szekler costume which is made with the same technique. Every clothe they wear has its own look and type.
The Szekler culture and folk art are famous for their pottery and designing art. Some regions of Székely Land developed their own motives and techniques during the past years. These undoubtedly Szekler products include black ceramic, furniture, and ceramic plates. Their folk art is also significant because they decorate wooden furniture with painting and special techniques.
Every piece of ceramic plate or furniture has its own world which represents the Szeklers’ feelings and their soul.
The colours they usually use are red and blue. They usually decorate these items with different kinds of plants and flowers. Every decoration is time-consuming and is a result of hard work. Although we are talking about simple decorations, they are various and spectacular.
The ancient Hungarian writing technique is something which is still used in Szeklerland. After the Hungarian state was born, the first Hungarian king István I ordered to use the Latin alphabet across the country. The ancient Hungarian writing remained popular in Transylvania and Szeklerland until the 1850s, and nowadays it started to become used again. It is basically an alphabetical writing technique, but every letter has its own sign.
Featured image: Facebook
Ethnic Hungarian organisations in Romania should jointly rework an ethnic minority bill that has been “stuck” in the Romanian parliament for over 10 years, Katalin Szili, the Hungarian prime minister’s commissioner, said in an interview published in Romanian daily Bihari Napló on Wednesday.
In the interview, Szili suggested that Romania Hungarians work together on an education bill, too, and added that “Hungarian deputies should promote a position in the Romanian legislation which is backed by the whole Hungarian community.”
Concerning endeavors to achieve territorial autonomy for ethnic Hungarians living in a large bloc in Romania, Szili noted that ethnic Hungarian parties RMDSZ, MPP, and SZNT now agreed that, geographically, the desired status should cover the historical area of Szeklerland. Whether Romania’s constitution should be amended to grant autonomy to that region “can be decided when we are at the bridge; we should cross it once we have at all established dialogue with the Romanian majority”, she added.
Szili said she hoped that the Romanian government would realise that the Hungarian community is not seeking ways to break away from Romania but “to achieve self-government and self-determination within the Romanian state based on the European Union’s subsidiarity principle”.
“I ask the Romanian government and state for nothing other than to consider leaders of the Hungarian communities as partners and at least sit down with them and clarify the terminology,” Szili said in her interview.
THE TRANSYLVANIAN REFORMED CHURCH IS NOT GIVING UP THE FIGHT – Read HERE!
The Vatican’s public relations office has confirmed that the Holy See will visit Romania between the 31st of May and 2nd of June. It is highly possible that the Pope will give a mass at Csiksomlyó, similar to the Csíksomlyó Pilgrimage.
Székelyhon reports that Pope Francis has accepted the joint invitation of Klaus Iohannis, Romanian President of the Romanian Government and the Romanian Catholic Church. The Holy Father will visit Bucharest, Iaşi, Blaj (Balázsfalva) and Csíksomlyó, the Virgin Mary Shrine. A detailed schedule of the visit will soon be published.
Even though Pope John Paul II was to Romania twenty years ago, this will be the first time that a Holy See actually visits the Hungarian Catholic community in Transylvania. The Hungarian Catholics have constantly been inviting the Holy Fathers to come to Transylvania, as the majority of the Catholic believers in Romania live there.
This historical event, however, did not happen smoothly. Ferenc Potyó, a prelate, the general vicar of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Alba Iulia, told Székelyhon that the Catholics were lobbying endlessly to make this happen. The authorities were often hindering their work since where the Pope goes, the world goes as well, so
“a lot of people appearing waving red-white-green flags is not too appealing to the Romanian government”.
But the Catholics prevailed, and their wish was granted. Potyó commented that “this is a decision of great importance; the Papal visit affirms the faith of and reassures those who were oppressed by Communism and provides religious and ethnic minorities courage”.
József Darvas-Kozma, Papal Chaplain, titular vicar, parish priest at Csíkszereda, told Székelyhon that by visiting Csíksomlyó, the Pope pays respect to the székelys, the Transylvanian Catholics, Hungarians living in Transylvania, and even to the Catholic Romanians, Greek Catholics and practically everyone living in Transylvania. The dean said that the whole world would watch Szeklerland and Csíksomlyó and that
“with our presence, we will prove that Hungarians, Szeklers and Szeklerland do exist, it cannot be denied”.
The Papal visit is considered by many a sign of respect for the minority and that it will have a beneficial effect on families, on parent-children and all other human relationships, but even on international relationships.
Darvas-Kozma stated that the local Church leaders, the city management and the management of Harghita county would all have to co-operate and be grateful for the opportunity instead of looking for negativities.
Zoltán Oláh, the press officer of the Papal visit, revealed that there is a strong chance that the Pope will say an outdoors mass, similarly to the custom of the Csíksomlyó Pilgrimage. However, they are still awaiting confirmation from the Holy See.
The best would have been to receive the pope a week later, during the Csíksomlyó Pilgrimage, but there is no possibility to modify the dates.
Róbert Kálmán Ráduly, the mayor of Miercurea Ciuc, said that the trade and traffic conditions would be more strict than usual and trade activities will be forbidden along the route that the Holy See takes.
featured image: Jeffrey Bruno – WikiCommons
Emigration of the workforce represented by young people is becoming such a difficult problem to tackle in Transylvania that the city of Sepsiszentgyörgy (Sfântu Gheorghe) has initiated a program where free land, Wi-Fi and other benefits for larger families are offered to those people who decide to return home and settle there.
Maszol, a Hungarian news portal from Romania, reports about the program promoted at sepsinet.ro, where one will find not only a detailed list of benefits, how to apply and what the program entails, but also success stories of those who have already returned home.
According to Heti Világgazdaság, since Romania has become an EU member in 2007, one-fifth of the workforce has left the country – 18.2% of Romania’s population lives abroad, and the UN expects a further 15% decrease of the population by 2050. All the while the number of the 3.6 million diaspora is growing year by year (compared to this, approximately one million Hungarians are living abroad, making up 10% of the whole population).
Sepsinet.ro helps young people who are planning to or who have already returned home by providing useful information on the papers needed for applying for the program, along with the medical, educational, cultural and economic services offered in Sepsiszentgyörgy.
At the end of last year, eight families were granted free land (300 square metres each) in Sepsiszentgyörgy.
Families are presented with four different house plans to choose from and to build on these lands, and ten years from the completion of the house, the families can buy the land as their own.
Among the published stories, one finds people who have come home from fruitful ventures in Europe or even Asia. Take, for example, Csanád Birtalan, who has arrived home from Dubai and is now using his experiences in marketing gained abroad to become a successful entrepreneur in Sepsiszentgyörgy. He is the leader of a marketing and business development consulting firm, still in contact with clients from Dubai.
Csanád told Sepsinet that he and his wife are still keen on travelling and visiting big cities, but for raising a child and living a peaceful life, a town or small city like Sepsiszentgyörgy is the most ideal. Considering that his parents live in Sepsi, they can be of big help with the grandchild.
“We picked my hometown because this is where we could notice the most significant and positive development. On top of all this, there are more people of our age here, so our social needs are met too.”
Álmos Bunta’s story is encouraging as well: he worked in Hungary as a civil engineer, where having lunch each day presented a difficult challenge. That is when it occurred to him that there would be a need for good quality street food, and immediately decided to try his hand as an apprentice at Hungarian hamburger vendors. In the end, he returned to Sepsiszentgyörgy to open his hamburger restaurant, Eleven Street Food, which has become one of the most popular burger places in the city.
Parliament on Wednesday voted to declare October 16 the Day of Hungarian-Szekler Cohesion.
The proposal was submitted by Istvn Szávay, a former lawmaker of conservative opposition Jobbik.
Szávay proposed in October, on the 170th anniversary of the Szekler national assembly of Agyagfalva, that 11 centuries of Hungarian-Szekler co-existence should be commemorated with a memorial day.
The initiative was backed by all parliamentary party groups except the Democratic Coalition and adopted with 139 votes in favour.
Leaders of Transylvania’s Szekler community hailed the outcome of the parliamentary vote in a statement.
“The 60,000 Szeklers who gathered on October 16-18, 1848 for their national assembly in Agyagfalva unanimously declared support for the Hungarian government.
The date marked the beginning of a Szekler popular uprising and their joining of Hungary’s 1848/49 freedom fight,” they said.
The Romanian supreme court’s recent decision to grant approval to the re-collectivisation of the Szekler Mikó College in Sfantu Gheorghe/Sepsiszentgyörgy is “shocking and unacceptable”, the state secretary for Hungarian communities abroad within the Hungarian Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement on Friday.
In its ruling on Thursday,
Romania’s supreme court gave the green light to re-nationalise the college building, which had earlier been restituted to the Reformed Church.
In its statement, the PM’s Office voiced the Hungarian government’s “firmest protest” against the decision which it sees as “incompatible with the rule of law and lacking the European spirit”.
According to the statement, the ruling raises “extreme concern” because it could “create a precedent for the restitution of church properties in Romania“.
The Hungarian government will give all assistance to the Reformed Church of Transylvania in its fight for their legitimate property and welcomes the church’s decision to turn to the European Court of Human Rights, the statement said.
“We trust that the Romanian state, with regard to its own laws and its commitments under international agreements, will soon take actual steps to ensure legal security and restitute properties seized in communist times, and take firm action against the more and more frequent violations of the rights of ethnic minorities,” the statement said.
As we wrote a few weeks ago, Hungarian foreign minister held talks in Romania. Good Hungary-Romania relations clearly serve the interests of Hungarians and ethnic Hungarians in Romania, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said after meeting counterpart Teodor Melescanu in Bucharest. Read more HERE.
