In this week’s newsletter we report on a series of troublesome actions taken by the prefect of Mureș county. After fiercely opposing and fighting the display of the Szekler flag in public spaces for years, it seems he has recently committed himself to eliminating it from private properties as well.
Government representative hinders local efforts
This week we have once again witnessed a phenomenon that is, unfortunately, all too familiar for the Hungarian community of Szeklerland and of Sfântu Gheorghe/Sepsiszentgyörgy in particular, namely that the general wellbeing and development of the local community is not among the main concerns of the government’s representative. Sebastian CUCU, the Covasna County prefect, has recently blocked a number of local council resolutions, which were meant to support the local football and basketball teams, both of which are playing in the first division.
The crusade against the flag continues in Szeklerland
The Hungarian community from Romania has become, yet again, the losing party when it comes to the use of regional symbols. According to a decision by the Târgu Mureș Court of Appeals, the Szekler flag, as well as the flag of the city have to be removed from the building of the Gheorgheni/Gyergyószentmiklós City Hall. The lawsuit was initiated in February by the infamous Civic Association for Dignity in Europe (ADEC), founded by Dan TANASĂ, an activist known for his extremist and anti-Hungarian views.
Propagation of falsehoods on social media by a Romanian politician
After last week’s outpoor of nationalistic messages in the Romanian media, the already rampant anti-Hungarian hysteria was further heightened last week by MP Marius PAȘCAN. In a climate of worrisome xenophobia, PAȘCAN, a member of the People’s Movement Party (PMP) representing Mureș/Maros County, falsely claimed on his Facebook page that Romanian pupils at a school in Corunca/Koronka were excluded from the closing ceremony of the school year. What is more, PAȘCAN also alleged that the diplomas given to the Romanian pupils were written in Hungarian.
Romanian media overflooded with nationalistic messages
Anti-Hungarian sentiment and hate speech have risen to alarming proportions in recent days in Romania, as social media and news channels have been overflooded with nationalistic messages directed against the Hungarian community by Romanian politicians, journalists, social media influencers and opinion-makers. In the midst of a political crisis, the Romanian political elite, with considerable boost from the media, once again flashes the so-called “Hungarian card”, and turns the public opinion against the Hungarian community in Romania. Instead of focusing on the issues at hand, namely an internal crisis within the largest political formation in Parliament – the Social Democratic Party (PSD) – with the potential of turning into a veritable governmental crisis, the media quickly managed to divert the public’s attention by launching a tirade of lies and openly xenophobic comments against the Hungarian community.