Every year the Szekler National Council organizes the Day of the Szekler Freedom in order to demonstrate against the planned administrative reform of Romania, which would be extremely detrimental for the Szekler community as Szeklerland would be incorporated into a region in which Hungarians constituted less than 30% of the total population. A major challenge of organizing this event year by year, is that Romanian authorities are not always cooperative, and often use various means to put obstacles in front of the organizers, including unlawful ones. The Day of the Szekler Freedom consisted of two parts: 1) A demonstration held at an obelisk commemorating the martyrdom of Szekler’s who fought for Hungarian freedom under Habsburg oppression, and 2) a march from the obelisk to the building of the local government of Maros County.

Dear Chairman, fellow participants, ladies and gentleman!

It is an honour to be here again, representing the Hungarian speaking Szekler community of Romania. “The Draft recommendations on preventing and addressing violence and atrocity crimes targeted against minorities” are of utmost importance to us, as a community that has previously suffered from violence. Although our situation has improved since the political transition of 1989, and the election of Klaus Werner Johannis as President of Romania has opened up a realistic chance of deepening democracy, we still live in a country where ethnic tensions continue to exist. According to the Council of Europe‘s Recommendation 1334 (2003), which was adopted based on the report of Andreas Gross, the roots of these tensions in most countries, including Romania, “can very often be traced to the dichotomy between the principle of indivisibility of states and the principle of identity, and are rooted in tensions between states and minority groups which demand the right to preserve their identities.”

In the previous months the attention of the whole world, and that of the European Union as well, was captured by Ukraine and Scotland. The events taking place in these two countries have a number of similarities, but a major difference must be noticed: In Scotland the question regarding the independence of the country was decided – based on an agreement of the interested parties – through a referendum, whereas in Ukraine, violence came to the fore, instead of democratic solutions claiming not only material damages, but human sacrifices as well.

One year after the Great March of the Szeklers, we are pleased to note that the event still has a decisive impact on public life, can open new perspectives for dialog and its international effects are no less noteworthy. The re-appearance of the Project on Ethnic Relations in Romania is a consequence of this, and this needs to be taken into account, at least during the started negotiations.

On the 18th of September, the Bucharest Court of Appeal has discusssed in substance Izsák Balázs’s application. The president of the Szekler National Council has turned to the National Anti-Discrimination Council, against Prime Minister Victor Viorel Ponta, President Traian Basescu, Deputy Prime Minister Liviu Dragnea and former Chairman of the Senate Crin Antonescu, because they previously declared, that the creation of a region having Hungarian majority as part of Romania’s administrative reform is out of the question. The Anti-Discrimination Council led by Asztalos Csaba rejected the complaints on the grounds that the freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, and fundamental human rights apply also to the public institutions of the state.

Regarding the holding of the referendum on Scottish independence to be held on 18 September Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya (CDC) and Eusko Alderdi Jeltzalea-Partido Nacionalista Vasco (EAJ-PNV) wish to make the following points:

George Maior, Director of the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), has recently declared that he considers preventing the implementation of all forms of territorial autonomy in Romania to be the duty of the institution he leads. The administrative organization of any democratic country is a result of political decisions that are exclusively within the competences of the legislative branch. By violating this principle, the above affirmation of the Director of the Romanian Intelligence Service implies that the institution he leads operates as political police. This is not only antidemocratic and unconstitutional, but also confirms the wide spread opinion that the SRI is not only the legal successor of the Securitate, but also its spiritual successor, and preserver of its methods.

Ever since President Woodrow Wilson formulated it in 1918, the right of peoples to self-determination received universal recognition. If the European Union is the land of law and democracy, than this right should prevail not only in the legal system of the Union, but also in its everyday practice.

On the 10th of March, The Day of the Szekler Freedom once again tenth of thousands demonstrated for the autonomy of Szeklerland. The participants at the commemoration and the rally covered with blue and gold the monument of the szekler martyrs and the streets of Marosvásárhely/Tg-Mures, proving, that their support for the basic rights of our people is the same. Thanks to all of those, who came from all around Szeklerland, and also to the citizens of Marosvásárhely/Tg-Mures, who were present in great number at our National Day.

Last year, on the 10th of March more than 30.000 szekler people gathered at the monument of the szekler martyrs to manifest in a peaceful way, to express their support for the autonomy of Szeklerland and to call the government to begin dialogue about that.