In this week’s newsletter we report on an incident that happened in Cluj-Napoca/Kolozsvár on the 15th of March during the commemoration of the 1848-49 Hungarian Revolution. The local Jandarmerie (Gendarmerie) fined representatives of the Hungarian People’s Party of Transylvania (EMNP) for carrying the regional flag of Transylvania. They were asked to either roll up the flags or leave the premises. At the insistence of the officers some of them rolled up the flag, but four people eventually received a warning and were fined for not complying, among them the local president of the EMNP, Ernő FANCSALI.
A similar situation had occurred the previous year, when the same FANCSALI had been singled out by the police for carrying the Transylvanian flag, which the authorities deemed illegal. This time the gendarmerie was allegedly acting at the behest of the organisers, the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ). However, the president of the Cluj County UDMR/RMDSZ Organisation, Botond CSOMA, strongly denied these allegations, stating that his party has no objections whatsoever against the flag of Transylvania. CSOMA added that the gendarmerie had previously warned them that the flag of Transylvania is a symbol against Romanians and against the Constitution, and if they see this flag at the march, it is the responsibility of the organisers to remove it. During the commemoration, the gendarmerie did in fact demand one of the organisers to ask the individuals carrying the flags to leave, but eventually blaming their actions on the UDMR/RMDSZ is a “perverse” action, according to CSOMA. He underlined that “the way [the authorities] try to create tension and act as if it was the UDMR/RMDSZ that asked for the flag of Transylvania to be rolled up, is a shameful move”.
Botond CSOMA and Sándor SOÓS (president of EMNP Cluj County), addressed a joint letter to Carmen DAN, the Minister of Internal Affairs, in which they ask her whether the flag of Transylvania is illegal or not, when it is carried by people who feel that it represents them. They underlined that the behaviour of these individuals during the march was peaceful. CSOMA and SOÓS also asked the Minister about the questionable conduct of the gendarmerie, who prevented these individuals from taking part in the march and thus from exercising their constitutional rights, and eventually blamed their interference on the organisers.
The persecution of the regional flag of Transylvania is both absurd and outrageous for a number of reasons. First of all, this flag stands as a historical symbol of the region, and not only Hungarians, but many Romanians in Transylvania also strongly identify with it. Secondly, the animosity of the Romanian authorities against the flag is all the more incomprehensible since the crest that can be seen in the middle of the flag is also a part of the Romanian national flag. It should also be mentioned and emphasised that even though Romania does not officially recognise regions or regional symbols, the regional flags of Bucovina, Maramureș, Moldova and others are perfectly acceptable in the eyes of the establishment. Former Prime Minister Victor PONTA, while in office, even posed with the regional flag of Moldova. Sadly, it is merely the regional symbols connected to the Hungarian community, such as the Transylvanian flag, the Szekler flag and the flags of the Szekler counties, that are viciously persecuted by authorities, who thus discriminate against an entire community.