Petition Demanding Szeklerland’s Territorial Autonomy Launched

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on Monday in Târgu Mureș to mark Szekler Freedom Day, where they adopted a petition demanding the territorial autonomy of Szeklerland. Meanwhile, at a commemoration ceremony in Budapest, Lőrinc Nacsa, Secretary of State for National Policy, emphasized the importance of perseverance.

March is the month of freedom for Hungarians and now we celebrate our ancestors who stood up to fight for it, said Lőrinc Nacsa. In the field of national policy, we owe a lot to the Szeklers, who enrich the Hungarian nation, he added.

The politician drew attention to the fact that in Romania, anti-Hungarian voices are intensifying and that “in Hungary, many would give up our sovereignty, renounce national unity and follow the orders of external powers and empires,” hinting at the Hungarian opposition. He was also referring to themselves as “the only political force that cares about our national cohesion (…), that thinks in terms of a nation on which the Szeklers can count.”

Only freedom will lead to the undisturbed enjoyment of the Szekler identity, emphasized Katalin Szili, Prime Minister’s special envoy, on Szekler Freedom Day. She recalled that the Szekler National Council declared March 10 as Szekler Freedom Day in 2012, in memory of the Szekler martyrs.

“For the Szeklers, this is a day of conscious, joint action to preserve national identity, in the spirit of establishing self-government,”

she pointed out.

Szekler Freedom Day Encourages Fight for Autonomy

The Ministerial Commissioner for Hungary’s Neighborhood Policy celebrates Szekler Freedom Day on Budapest.Continue reading

A petition demanding the territorial autonomy of Szeklerland was adopted on Monday in Târgu Mures (Marosvásárhely). Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at the obelisk of the martyrs on the occasion of Szekler Freedom Day.

The document, addressed to the Romanian authorities and read out by Balázs Izsák, President of the Szekler National Council, points out,

the Szeklers, following the path of law and democracy, demand territorial autonomy for Szeklerland. They want to manage the affairs of the region where they are the majority of the population.

They stressed that this does not violate Romania’s territorial unity, sovereignty, the interests of the region’s other nationalities, nor the country’s constitution.

Photo: MTI/Kiss Gábor

Those who adopted the manifesto demanded that Szeklerland should form an autonomous administrative region on the basis of the draft legislation prepared by the Szekler National Council. They also asked the Romanian government to start a dialogue on the status of Szeklerland with the Szekler National Council. They also called for Bucharest to support the Szekler National Council’s European citizens’ initiative on national regions, presented last week, demonstrating its commitment to European values.

Those who accepted the petition protested against the administrative reform plan that would adversely affect Szeklerland.

The participants accepted the petition with a public clamor, chanting slogans calling for autonomy and unfurling banners with the words “Autonomy for Szeklerland”.

In his speech, László Tőkés, President of the Hungarian National Council of Transylvania, recalled the circumstances of the Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848-49:

“As a lesson of our common fate and oppression, we must learn from our history,” he said, recalling that the Habsburg power then turned Hungarians and Romanians against each other, who were the victims of divisive policies even during the communist dictatorship. “Only the cause of freedom can bring us together,” he said.

Citizens’ Initiative for Protecting National Regions Submitted to the European Commission