- Considering that in the past decades no institution has protested against the modification of the boundaries of the Hungarian Autonomous Province and its subsequent abolition in disregard of the public will of Szeklerland, and the legitimately expressed position of the affected local community has not become known;

- Considering that in the recent past a number of historical assessments have been published which are contrary to the interests and goals of Szeklerland and the Szekler community and which do not reflect historical reality;

- Declaring that all human rights violations of communist dictatorial regime unacceptable;

The Szekler National Council publishes the following position

In 1952, five years after the Paris Peace Treaty, Romania included in its Constitution the territorial autonomy of Szeklerland, naming it the Hungarian Autonomous Province. Its creation was part of a historical process aimed at stabilising peace in Europe and was not challenged under international law.

Section 19 of the 1952 Constitution of Romania states, as quoted: 'The Hungarian Autonomous Province of the People's Republic of Romania shall consist of the territory inhabited by the compact Szekler-Hungarian population and shall have an autonomous administrative leadership elected by the population of the autonomous region. The Hungarian Autonomous Province comprises the administrative regions of Miercurea Ciuc (Csíkszereda), Gheorgheni (Gyergyószentmiklós), Odorheiu Secuiesc (Székelyudvarhely), Reghin (Szászrégen), Sîngeorgiu de Pădure (Erdőszentgyörgy), Sfântu Gheorghe (Sepsiszentgyörgy), Târgu Mures (Marosvásárhely), Târgu Secuiesc (Kézdivásárhely), Toplița (Maroshévíz). The administrative centre of the Hungarian Autonomous Province is the city of Târgu Mures.

From the constitutional provision cited above and from the international context, the following can be established:

1. The communist constitution of Romania allowed for the territorial autonomy of Szeklerland. Although this was based on considerations stemming from thew power-politics of the time, from today's perspective it is impossible not to notice the weight of the centuries-old Szekler tradition of self-government behind the creation of the Hungarian Autonomous Province – something that even the communist authorities had to take into account, given the international circumstances at the time.

2. The establishment of the Hungarian Autonomous Province therefore relies on such antecedents as the centuries-old tradition of self-government of Terra Siculorum, given an international dimension by the peace treaties that ended the First World War, specifically through provisions of the Paris Peace Treaty concerning national minorities, i.e. section 11 of the of the 1919 treaty with Romania on national minorities, which states that Romania will allow the Transylvanian Szekler and Saxon communities to exercise local self-governance in religious and educational matters under the oversight of the Romanian state. It was on this basis that the international awareness was raised of the Szekler question, which led to post-World War II Romania too needing to address the issue of Szeklerland’s particulatr territorial administration.

3. Elutasítva a kommunizmus azon diktatorikus hatalompolitikáját, amelyet a Magyar Autonóm Tartomány intézményein keresztül az akkori román államvezetés Székelyföld népe ellen gyakorolt, fontosnak tekintjük, hogy amiként az 1989 utáni forradalmi változás a román állam demokratizálását eredményezte, úgy sor kerülhetett volna a Magyar Autonóm Tartomány regionális demokráciájának a kialakítására is. Az 1968-as közigazgatási reform azonban elvette ezt a történelmi lehetőséget.

3. While we reject the autoritarian power politcs of communism, exercised by the then Romanian state leadership through the institutions of the Hungarian Autonomous Province against the people of Szeklerland, we consider it important that, just as the changes after the revolution of 1989 resulted in the democratization of the Romanian state, regional democracy could’ve also been established in the Hungarian Autonomous Province. Unfortunately, the administrative reform of 1968 took away this historic opportunity.

4. The unilateral irrevocability of a recognised territorial autonomy is a firm principle that applies to all autonomous regions in Europe and around the world, a security policy principle that is one of the most important guarantees of peace.

5. In view of the above, it can be said that the 1968 abolition of the Hungarian Autonomous Province established in 1952, has also become an obstacle to the development of democratic self-government after 1989. It has become an obstacle to the population of Szeklerland exercising its acquired right, a fully legitimate right based on its long tradition of self-government, which even the communist government in the Hungarian Autonomous Province could not fully eliminate, but would outright recognizw its territorial framework.

6. The Szekler National Council’s autonomy statute is basically a community effort to assert the acquired right of self-government, supported by the majority of the Szekler community. This acquired right both pre-dates and extends beyond the short period in which the Hungarian Autonomous Province provided it with a legal framework.

7. In the light of the above, it is justified and necessary that the 1968 administrative reform, which illegitimately restricted and abolished Szeklerland’s acquired right to autonomy, be subject to an independent review before an international scene.

The Szekler National Council,

Marosvásárhely,

18 november 2023.