As our organisation informed on several occasions throughout the course of last year, on June 6th 2019, the international war cemetery in Valea Uzului/Úz-völgye in Harghita county became the scene of violent tensions between several nationalist Romanian organisations, the gendarmerie and members of the Hungarian community, the latter of whom formed a human chain around the cemetery in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent its illegal occupation and the desecration of its graves. The inebriated Romanian crowd became completely unmanageable, the authorities lost control over the situation. The increasingly aggressive crowd broke the gates of the cemetery, destroyed the wooden crosses placed on the graves and started hitting the Hungarians present with wood broken from the fence and flagpoles, causing great material and moral injury.
The chant ”Out with Hungarians from the country!” does not qualify as incitement to hatred and discrimination, according to Romanian public prosecutor
Anti-discrimination watchdog fines Romanian journalist for anti-Hungarian speech
Romania’s anti-discrimination council (CNCD) has fined B1 television network journalist Radu Banciu RON 5,000 for anti-Hungarian speech in a talk show discussing the Úz Valley military graveyard. The network had already been fined RON 20,000 for the same show aired on May 19, 2019.
Anti-discrimination council fines Romanian football association for anti-Hungarian slogans
Romania’s anti-discrimination council (CNCD) has fined the country’s football association (FRF) RON 5,000 for anti-Hungarian slogans shouted during the national team’s U21 qualifier against Northern Ireland on October 19, 2019, Székelyhon reports. The council was notified by the Mikó Imre Association for the Protection of Minority Rights.
Hungarian workers not allowed to speak Hungarian in Szeklerland store
Ethnic discrimination, violation of language rights, disrespect and humiliation – these are just a few of the problems that ethnic Hungarians working in a store in Transylvania’s Szeklerland have recounted to the Transindex news portal. Szeklerland – the historical and ethnographic area located in the eastern part of Transylvania – is still inhabited by a population with an ethnic Hungarian majority. The report published by Transindex is based on the anonymous accounts of two former cashiers who worked in the store of a multinational company and faced several forms of ethnic and linguistic discrimination, petty teasing, spite and threats.
Dan Tanasă fails to land job at discrimination watchdog
Despite his strong desire to “fight discrimination,” infamous blogger Dan Tanasă failed to get enough votes to secure a seat on the Romanian anti-discrimination council. Csaba Asztalos, however, was re-elected president of the institution, securing a mandate for a further five years.
As we previously reported, seven seats were up for grabs on the National Council for Combating Discrimination (CNCD), and 26 candidates were vying for them, including the openly nationalist Romanian activist Dan Tanasă, whom we don’t have to introduce.
The secret vote of Parliament resulted in the following (final) list of members of the anti-discrimination watchdog (nominating party in parentheses):
- Adrian Diaconu (PSD)
- Horia Grama (PSD)
- Csaba Asztalos(RMDSZ)
- Cristian Iura (PNL)
- Mariana Moț (PNL)
- Claudia Popa Sorina (PNL)
- Cătălina Olteanu (USR)
The members have also elected a president of the council: Csaba Asztalos received a mandate for another five years. He will be assisted in his duties by vice-president Adrian Diaconu, who will fulfill this position for two and a half years.
Asztalos has been on the council since 2002 and has served as its president for 15 years. As a new wave of anti-Hungarian manifestations have been gaining traction and other minorities are also experiencing discrimination, Asztalos says it is a big challenge to be president of the anti-discrimination council today.
(Source: Transylvanianow.com)