After the unlawful ban of the anti-government protest in Marosvásárhely/Targu Mures, we have to raise awareness of a new infringement of the Romanian authorities.
Since 26 January the authorities have been continuously harassing Mezei János, mayor of Gyergyószentmiklós/Gheorgheni, as well as his family, including his minor-age children. As the accusations brought up against him are manifestly unfounded, one can reasonable assume that the true reason behind his unlawful detention (which took place two days ago), that contradicts the rule of law, was his political affiliation, namely that he adamantly stood up for the case of Szeklerland, as a delegate of the Szekler National Council.
We remind of the fact that on the day of his inauguration he displayed the flag of Szeklerland on the town-hall, and that he was a pioneer in implementing the initiatives of the Szekler National Council. Gyergyószentmiklós/Gheorgheni was the first municipality last year to adopt the pro-autonomy resolution, and Mezei János has played an active role in getting our message through to international organizations, and to induce favourable steps from these organizations. He was the one who travelled to Kishinev to participate in the sitting of the Monitoring Committee of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, and who has subsequently informed this organization about recent developments. We believe that this is the true reason behind the harassment of Mezei János by the authorities, which we firmly reject and repeatedly draw the attention to the fact that in Romania the rights of the Szekler People is being infringed, through unlawful methods, and that they punish whoever raises his voice against this infringement.
We call on the Romanian authorities to cease this conduct, and to begin talks on the status of Szeklerland in accordance with the laws of Romania, and the international obligations of the country, with the legitimate leaders of this community, the Szekler National Council and the legally elected local authorities.
Marosvásárhely/ Tg-Mures, the 20th of March 2015
Izsák Balázs
President of the Szekler National Council
Szekler National Council