In this week’s newsletter we also report that after the video of the incident in Odorheiu Secuiesc/Székelyudvarhely had been posted on Youtube, several media outlets presented the events suggesting that these are everyday occurrences in Szeklerland, and thus inciting hatred toward the Hungarian community. Journalist Radu BANCIU in particular, in his TV show entitled Lumea lui Banciu (Banciu’s world) aired on B1 TV, spoke in openly nationalistic and chauvinistic terms about the entire Hungarian minority in Romania. The comments made by BANCIU are hurtful and discriminatory on many levels, not to mention that they also incite to national hatred and violence against the Hungarian community.
In presenting the incident, BANCIU spoke in a manner that was clearly meant to inflame the spirits of his viewers, mainly by referring to this episode as an everyday event that is characteristic of Szeklerland, where, according to him, Romanians are in constant danger of being beaten and even killed. Moreover, he generalised the behaviour of the salesclerk and attributed it to all Hungarians, saying “They are all the same”, while at the same time accusing Hungarians of being solely responsible for interethnic conflicts in Romania.
During his xenophobic ranting, BANCIU did not refrain from inciting the Romanian population to violence against Hungarians for their perceived faults, nostalgically referring to the punishments applied in the communist era: “If something like this had happened in Ceaușescu’s time, they would have been removed with water cannons. After an incident of this kind, there would have been no Hungarian population in Odorheiu Secuiesc.” Later on, while quoting someone else on how corrupt people should be impaled, he implied that Hungarians should be treated the same way. Such comments are unacceptable from any member of a democratic society, not to mention a journalist and a public figure, who uses his television show as a platform to openly incite violence against the Hungarian community.
As a possible solution to the interethnic conflicts in Romania, BANCIU proposed ethnic segregation, once again taking an example from the communist period, when in the school he attended, there were separate entrances for Romanians and Hungarians and clearly delineated spaces within the school. This comment was made even worse by a profoundly xenophobic analogy: “It was exactly like at the zoo. You went until there, and from there you had the animal.” Besides being extremely offensive to the Hungarian population, BANCIU’s remarks also betray a sense of superiority and entitlement.
For his various discriminatory and inflammatory remarks our organisation will denounce Radu BANCIU to the competent authorities.