Esteemed Madam Minister
Over the course of the past few years, I couldn’t help but notice that every time I cross Romania’s border, I am given special attention by the Romanian Border Police. On more than one occasion, I was forced to park my car, and wait nearly an hour by orders of the Border Police; sometimes the justification was computer failure, sometimes some other, equally untrue excuse. It didn’t take me long to discover, by studying the laws on border crossing in Romania, that I’m what is referred to as a „registered person” (persoana cu consemn). Such people are treated based on special legal dispositions, should they cross the border.
In 2015, the National Strategy for Public Order and Public Safety was met with a negative international response. According to this, Szeklerland’s autonomy aspirations are deemed a criminal phenomenon, that represents a constant threat to the safety and wellbeing of the citizens. Based on this document, the demand for territorial autonomy is a racist, extremist and xenophobic manifestation, and is considered dangerous if it’s end goal is a region’s autonomy. This particular paragraph didn’t make it to the final version of the strategy, seeing how it’s contrary to the Recommendations of the Council of Europe, and the practices concerning european self-governments. My experiences, as well as the experiences of others seem to indicate, that this disposition was only removed from the text of the strategy, but it exists in the practices of the Border Police, to this very day.
Territorial autonomy is part of our political conviction, a conviction that is expressed in the draft law submitted to the Parliament of Romania, but we also express it with other democratic means of expression of public will. The idea that the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Border Police or any other public authority responsible for maintaining public order and public safety intervenes in political matters and tries to exert pressure, is not only dangerous, but also contrary to Romania’s constitution.
I hereby request that I be removed from the Border Police’ database of registered individuals, along with any other people committed to the cause of autonomy, and anyone who were given special attention because of their political convictions, and bring the institution which you lead back into the democratic framework.
Izsák Balázs, president of the Szekler National Council
Marosvásárhely, Febrary 27, 2018.
Our symbols 
Autonomy
Szekler National Council