On the 13th of May, a large majority in the Romanian Parliament voted for the 4th of June, the day the Treaty of Trianon was signed in 1920, to become a national day in Romania. The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ) voted against the proposal, the Save Romania Union abstained, while all other parties voted in favour. This was the latest in a series of anti-Hungarian initiatives carried out in Parliament over the past few weeks.
Democratic rules under threat in Romanian Parliament: suggestions to limit MPs’ rights to submit draft laws
The Social Democratic Party (PSD) is proposing to change the rules of procedure in the Romanian Parliament, in order to prevent such laws from being submitted, which – according to the said party – affect Romania as a nation-state. Through such a measure they would practically outlaw the regional development policies suggested by Hungarian representatives.
The party of former president Traian Băsescu wants to ban RMDSZ
Marius Pașcan, the group leader of the People’s Movement Party in the Romanian Parliament asked President Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Ludovic Orban to outlaw the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ). This came after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wished good luck to pupils preparing for the Baccalaureate exam in Hungary though a Facebook post, to which was attached a picture of a globe, showing a 19th century map of the world, with a visible 19th century Hungary, which provoked Pașcan’s furious reaction.
Romania fails to uphold linguistic rights during the state of emergency
In several laws, as well as international treaties, Romania took commitments to guarantee the right of minorities to use their mother tongue in a wide range of areas. This is also emphasized in a recommendation released in March by the Council of Europe, in which the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages draws attention to the importance of the use of regional and minority languages in the official communication of Member State governments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unprecedented and severe anti-Hungarian discourse by the Romanian president
Severe anti-Hungarian statements made on the 29th of April by Romanian President Klaus Werner Iohannis shocked the approximately 1.2 million Hungarians living in the country. The President showcased his most primitive, aggressive and cynical side through his performance of last Wednesday, unprecedented in Romania since the regime change. The statements of the President were sparked by the tacit approval of a draft law on the autonomy of the Szeklerland region in the lower house of Parliament. Initiated by the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ), the main points of this documents are allowing important decisions affecting the region to be made at a local level, a larger percentage of the money generated by the region to remain there, and for the Hungarian language, spoken by the majority Hungarian population of the region, to receive official status alongside Romanian.