MIKÓ IMRE
Minority Rights Legal Services Assistance
Founded by RMDSZ/UDMR/DAHRTHE VIOLATION OF MINORITY RIGHTS AND THE ETHNIC DISCRIMINATION FACED BY THE HUNGARIAN COMMUNITY IN ROMANIA REPORT 2022
CONTENT
Executive Introduction 5
SECTION 1 6
Violation of linguistic rights
SECTION 2 Discrimination in the education system 13
SECTION 3 Problems pertaining to the administrative flags featuring regional symbols ............... 15
SECTION 4
Hate speech and disinformation targeting the Hungarian community ........................ 16
SECTION 5
Nationalistic backlash over a speech in the Romanian Parliament about interethnic coexistence .............................................................................................22
SECTION 6
Torchlight procession at the commemoration of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 in Cluj Napoca/Kolozsvár was canceled 23
SECTION 7
Relevant European institutions rejected the Minority Safepack Initiative ....................24
SECTION 8
The illegal appropriation of the military cemetery in the Uz Valley ..............................25
Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................29
EXECUTIVE INTRODUCTION
Sadly, right now we witness a shift in terms of human and minority rights in Europe, given that an extremely destructive war wages in Ukraine and a cold war looms over the entire Western world. In light of these unfortunate events, it is very important not to lose sight of the achievements in minority and human rights in Europe. As a result of this shift, we find the new political and judicial tendencies regarding minority and linguistic rights rather alarming. We believe that we all should be reminded that minority, linguistic and human rights are core European values that we should protect in these very uncertain times, especially since our societies are built on these values. We truly hope that the current paradigm is not a permanent tendency, but hopefully only a transitional phase. We hope that human rights and minority rights do not lose their importance on the long run. We have put together this report with the hope that minority rights will not fall victim to the political schemes of the great powers. Please receive it as such.
SECTION 1.
Violation of linguistic rights
A. The use of minority languages in public institutions, the judicial system or bilingualism concerning place name signs or town hall inscriptions, not to mention bilingualism concerning safety signs, are arguably some of the most controversial issues.
The existing legislative framework on linguistic rights for national minorities is by no means coherent, various provisions are spread across a range of laws. Moreover, while laws are geneally permissive, concrete norms aimed at implementation, monitoring and follow-up are often lacking. There is a general lack of accountability when it comes to enforcing legal provisions regarding minority rights, which needs to be addressed.
The implementation of minority-friendly language policies (even where required by law) is sporadic and generally depends on the goodwill of local administrations. There is an overall lack of accountability when it comes to enforcing legal provisions regarding minority rights, there being no clear pathway for a legal recourse in cases of non-compliance.
Since 2019, the legislation that applies in most aspects regarding the use of minority languages in and by local public institutions is the Administrative Code. This stipulates that in the administrative territorial units - be these a municipality or a county – in which a national minority constitutes at least 20% of the total population (according to the latest census), the authorities of the local public administration, public institutions under their jurisdiction, as well as the deconcentrated public services (local and regional offices/institutions belonging to the various ministries) must ensure the right of national minorities to use their mother tongue in their dealings with these institutions. On the level of municipalities, this is relevant in the case of 322 municipalities, while on a county level this is relevant in a total of 6 counties in Romania, where the Hungarian population exceeds the required threshold of 20%: Covasna, Harghita, Mureș, Bihor, Satu Mare and Sălaj.
In practice this means – among other things – the obligation to make public information available in Hungarian as well. However official documents and information on public interest are mostly available exclusively in Romanian.
It is unfortunate that many of the website of institutions belonging to the local and county level public administration in these six counties, as well as those of the deconcentrated public services, still lack any information in Hungarian, with the rest ranging from a complete page in Hungarian (mostly in areas where Hungarians
make up the absolute majority of the population) to partial or minimal Hungarian content.
Updating language policies is also problematic, as the case of the much-disputed Administrative Code demonstrates. After being adopted by Parliament in 2018, and containing some favourable provisions regarding linguistic rights for minorities, it was contested at the Constitutional Court by several parties, as well as the President, with the court eventually deeming it unconstitutional on procedural grounds.
Taking into consideration another attempt of updating language policies, the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ) wanted to decrease the required 20% threshold to 10%, because they considered it too high, especially in the case of the scattered communities, where, according to the law, they cannot use their mother tongue. Besides introducing the above-described provisions, they proposed the introduction of the concept of ”significant”, instead of using exact quantities. They wanted to make language policies applicable in those regions where significant Hungarian communities live, however they met considerable opposition.
Moreover, there have been several endeavors by local authorities to make official documents, such as birth certificates, marriage certificates etc, available in Hungarian too. They met strong oppositions from the central government.
In 2019 the Administrative Code was adopted again in a modified form through a government ordinance, this version, however, significantly curtailed several positive provisions that ensured linguistic rights for national minorities. For instance, alternative thresholds have been scraped, meaning that language policies cannot be enforced in administrative units where the percentage of a minority does not reach 20%, which is a huge disadvantage for minorities living in large cities, where they might constitute a community of several thousand inhabitants and yet do not meet the required threshold.
Moreover, the names of streets, squares and parks are not required to be put up in a bilingual or multilingual format, not even in cases where minorities exceed the 20% threshold.
Furthermore, in the administrative territorial units, where a national minority constitutes at least 20% of the total population, decisions of normative nature have to be made public both in Romanian and in the language of the minority in case. However, in practice this measure is taken only in cases, when the leaders of the city/town belong to the Hungarian community. The biggest problem is that there are no monitoring institutions and no accountability when it comes to enforcing such provisions. In addition, in case of non-compliance, there is no sanctioning.
Beyond the incoherent legislative framework and the systematic opposition to updating language policies, the linguistic rights of the Hungarian community are
also endangered by individual attacks, fuelled by blatant anti-Hungarian attitudes. The Civic Association for Dignity in Europe, led by Dan Tanasă, a widely known antiHungarian nationalist provocateur, continues its vicious fight against Hungarian signs and inscriptions. Other actions of the organization against the rights of the Hungarian community include many other lawsuits against local administrations that put up bilingual signs on the forefront of their town halls, administrative flags featuring regional symbols, especially in cities and counties with a Hungarian majority population. In many cases the justice system tacitly supports these nationalist endeavors and the decisions point to a double standard when it comes to the linguistic rights of the Hungarian community.
B. The use of minority languages within the Romanian judicial system continues to be problematic, which negatively affects the access to fair trial for citizens belonging to a national minority.
Currently, the regulations regarding legal procedures within the Romanian judicial system allow the use of their mother tongue for members of national minorities only in some cases, while even in those, the costs of translation and interpretation often have to be supported by the parties themselves.
For instance, the Civil Code states that both parties can use their mother tongue during the oral phase of a trial, however, the costs of interpretation have to be paid by the parties themselves. This rule does not apply to witnesses as well, meaning that in civil cases witnesses can only testify in Romanian.
Moreover, according to the Penal Code, during the investigative phase, as well as during the trial itself, all information must be communicated to the accused party in their mother tongue, both orally and in a written form. In this case, the costs of the translation are supported by the state. However, if the defendant is found to be guilty, they will likely be required to reimburse the costs of translation and/or interpretation.
If the judge, the lawyers and both parties concerned are Hungarian, the existing laws allow for the possibility to conduct the entirety of a trial in Hungarian. Nevertheless, the decision whether or not to do so, is ultimately left to the discretion of the judge. All of this points to a chaotic, haphazard and incidental use of minority languages in legal proceedings in Romania, rather than a systematic approach.
On the 20th of July, 2021, József-György Kulcsár-Terza, Member of Parliament, Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (DAHR/UDMR/RMDSZ) Parliamentary Group, held a press conference together with Zoltán Szőcs and István Beke in the main square of Târgu Secuiesc/ Kézdivásárhely. The press conference was attended by many journalists and sympathizers of Zoltán Szőcs and István Beke.
In November 2015, the Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) arrested István Beke, the leader of the Sixty-Four Counties Youth Movement in Târgu Secuiesc/Kézdivásárhely, under the alleged charges of terrorism. He was accused of planning to set off a bomb made of petards during the 1st of December festivities celebrating the National Day of Romania. Later that month authorities also arrested Zoltán Szőcs, the president of the same organization, for allegedly taking part in planning the attack. In July 2018, Romania’s High Court sentenced both of them to 5 years in prison on charges of terrorism. Zoltán Szőcs and István Beke were released from prison the day before the press conference.
On the 13th of August, 2021, the MP received a protocol from the gendarmerie in which he was warned and reprimanded for the press conference, which, due to the large number of participants, was considered a mass event and the MP did not ask for official permission to organize it.
According to the official statements, he should have expected that the press conference would be attended by a large number of people, therefore he should have asked for permission to organize such a mass event.
József-György Kulcsár-Terza turned to the Târgu Secuiesc Court, which rejected his request to annul the protocol in case. After that he appealed the decision at the Covasna Tribunal.
This case, too, shows the biased judicial system in Romania and its negative attitude towards the Hungarian community.
D. The lack of bilingual (Romanian and Hungarian) place name signs and the vandalization of these still constitutes an issue in areas where there is a significant number of Hungarians.
Romania’s Administrative Code provides local administrations the opportunity to decide whether they want to put up the name of their city/town on the road signs in a minority language, regardless of the percentage of that minority. In spite of the permissive legislative framework there is a strong opposition from unknown
individuals, who demonstrate a hostile attitude towards the Hungarian community by damaging place name signs.
In February 2022, unknown perpetrators sprayed over the Hungarian inscription on the place name sign of Săsăuși/Kézdiszászfalu.
Later that same year another road sign, which marks the entrance to Covasna/ Kovászna county from Brașov/Brassó county towards the town of Dobolii de Jos/ Aldoboly was intentionally vandalised. The perpetrator used white paint in order to cover the Hungarian inscription.
The Mikó Imre Minority Rights Legal Services Assistance condemns all extreme manifestations of vandalization and takes the necessary steps in all similar situations in order to identify the perpetrator and hold them liable as soon as possible.
It is unfortunate that the partial judicial system can be observed in similar cases, as well.
One of the worrying examples is the case of a perpetrator from Bacău, who sprayed over the Hungarian inscriptions on the place name signs of Trei Sate/Hármasfalu, Bisericani/Székelyszentlélek, Târgu Secuiesc/Kézdivásárhely, Satu Mare/Máréfalva and Miercurea Ciuc/Csíkszereda in 2020. The person in case was reported for vandalism and incitement to hatred.
The Court of Târgu Secuiesc considered only the charges of vandalism and did not consider this act being incitement to hatred against the Hungarian minority. The court sentenced the perpetrator to a six-month prison sentence and stated that he had to reimburse the costs of cleaning the signs and the costs of judicial proceedings.
He appealed at the Târgu Mureș Court of Appeal, which closed the case and dropped the charges on the ground that the parties had reached an agreement in January and the Romanian National Road Infrastructure Company/ Compania Națională de Administrare a Infrastructurii Rutiere withdrew its complaint. According to the final decision, the person in case had to reimburse only the costs of judicial proceedings.
Romanian nationalists are trying to provoke conflict between the two nationalities by damaging place name signs, at the time when peaceful cooperation between communities would be extremely important for the development of the region. Such hostile attitudes towards the Hungarian minority on the part of the majority population clearly show the unwillingness to acknowledge and respect the multicultural aspect of the region. Therefore, while it is important that linguistic rights are upheld, strengthened and updated by positive measures and clear legislation, a wider, large-scale promotion of tolerance and multilingualism is required.
E. There have been initiated numerous lawsuits against various local councils in Szeklerland for putting up bilingual inscriptions. Many of these lawsuits target the Hungarian inscriptions that read ”Községháza” (used in smaller towns) or ”Városháza” (used in cities)- both meaning Town Hall in Hungarian, alongside the Romanian equivalent, which is ”Primărie”. As a result of these lawsuits, many of the Hungarian Town Hall inscriptions were removed in villages and cities with a majority Hungarian population. Moreover, in other cases the plaintiffs have looked for something else to object to, like the order or the position of the bilingual inscriptions.
Dan Tanasă, the president of the Civic Association for Dignity in Europe, is well-known for initiating lawsuits against local councils in Szeklerland and other municipalities with a significant Hungarian population. In recent years tens of local councils have been called upon by his organization to remove the ”Town Hall” inscriptions in Hungarian, and the ones that refused to do so have been subsequently sued.
In the case of one lawsuit, which was initiated in 2022 by Dan Tanasă, he objected to the order of the inscriptions on the building of the community center in Baraolt/ Barót, where the majority population is Hungarian. Tanasă asked that the inscriptions be changed, so the Romanian version would be above the Hungarian one. According to the Mayor of the city, when they put up these inscriptions, they considered the community which built the building from their own income and which would use the building the most.
Another case related to the above-mentioned ultra-nationalist politician concerns the inscriptions at a pedestrian crossing in the city of Salonta/Nagyszalonta. He filed a lawsuit because the Hungarian inscription is above the English version, which is followed by the Romanian one. According to him, the Romanian inscription should be above the other two inscriptions, and he also complained about the fact that the inscriptions are not of the same quality and size. The city in question has a majority Hungarian population and, in addition to this, many tourists to this city come from Hungary.
The action taken against the use of ”Town hall” and other inscriptions, cannot be comprehended as anything other than an attack against the Hungarian minority. It is worrying that these absurd cases are admitted in court and even more disconcerting that due to the vague and often contradictory legal provisions, these are generally lost.
F. With respect to street name signs, the Romanian legislation does not expressly stipulate that these should be bilingual in municipalities where a significant portion of the population is Hungarian. Due to the incoherent legislative framework, bilingual street signs are a disputed issue almost every year and anti-Hungarian provocateurs continue to initiate lawsuits against municipalities.
In 2022, Dan Tanasă, leader of the afore-mentioned Civic Association for Dignity in Europe (ADEC) and Member of Parliament, objected to the order of the bilingual inscriptions on the street signs in Sfântu Gheorghe/Sepsiszentgyörgy and initiated a lawsuit against the municipality. The Bucharest Tribunal upheld this lawsuit and ordered the mayor of Sfântu Gheorghe/Sepsiszentgyörgy to replace the street signs with ones where the Romanian inscription is above the Hungarian one.
Dan Tanasă won another case in 2020 against the mayor of Miercurea Ciuc/ Csíkszereda. He objected to the same issue, the order of the Romanian and the Hungarian inscriptions. The mayor at the time, Róbert Ráduly, solved the problem by cutting the street signs into two and putting the Romanian inscription above the Hungarian one. At the end of 2020, the current city administration put up the first new street name signs on which the Romanian inscription is above the Hungarian one.
It is worrying that there is a lack of clear legislation when it comes to bilingual street signs. The Administrative Code does not require for street signs to be bi-/multilingual, even in cases when the percentage of a minority in a given municipality exceeds 20%, which is the minimum threshold for applying other linguistic rights for national minorities.
G. The translation of safety instructions and warning signs is a continuing problem in Romania. Not only is this discriminatory, but it can also lead to serious dangers.
There is a lack of Hungarian inscriptions warning people of high voltage, fire exits or fire exit plans, or any explanation in Hungarian about the safety measures provided in swimming pools, for example, in regions where a significant portion of the population is Hungarian. The absence of such explanations and bilingual safety warning signs is a great risk factor, and leads to an environment where people –especially small children who do not grasp Romanian yet – are prone to accidents that can even be fatal.
H. Dan Tanasă, turned against the leader of a majority Hungarian-populated city in Szeklerland, namely Baraolt/Barót for a second time this year.
This time he submitted a complaint to the National Council for Combatting Discrimination (CNCD), objecting that officials had on several occasions communicated on the Facebook page of the Mayor’s Office only in Hungarian, thus infringing on the right of citizens - who do not know Hungarian- to access information of public interest.
The National Council for Combatting Discrimination (CNCD) stated that websites – other than private ones –, which present political and public information are considered public spaces, therefore information must be published in Romanian, too. As an answer to this call, the mayor stated that he had no problem with publishing content in Romanian, saying that ”we should treat minorities among us as we would like to be treated”.
SECTION 2.
Discrimination in the education system
A. The Romanian education system faces a number of challenges, which disproportionally affect minorities. Access to education in one’s mother tongue should be a concern based on the principles of equality and nondiscrimination.
This year many Hungarian pupils’ right to education has been violated, since politicians in Huedin/Bánffyhunyad prevented the opening of a new kindergarten. The Transylvanian Reformed Church District, among others, has applied within the framework of the Kindergarten Development Program in the Carpathian Basin. This program, a Hungarian state aid, aims to help build new kindergartens. The construction of a new kindergarten started on the land of the Transylvanian Reformed Church three years ago, its inauguration also took place, but when the local council had to decide by vote whether to use the building and operate a Hungarian-language based kindergarten there, an ethnic dispute erupted. The council had to decide whether to integrate the new building into the local education network and to move the Hungarian kindergarten groups there. The local council rejected the idea of an exclusively Hungarian-language based kindergarten and stated that if Romanian children cannot go there, they will not support the institution to be under the
jurisprudence of the local authorities. As an unfortunate result, since the Hungarian groups could not move to the new building, both Hungarian and Romanian children will have to be accommodated in the currently overcrowded buildings.
B. Teaching Romanian to students belonging to the Hungarian community is a continuing problem.
One of the persisting problems related to teaching Romanian language and literature is the methodology used in textbooks. Instead of practicing everyday communication, theoretical knowledge and high-grammar analysis still play a vital role.
Furthermore, it is unfortunate that the differentiated national curriculum, according to which from 5th to 9th grades children are studying Romanian language and literature from textbooks that are designed especially for minorities, did not bring the expected results. The Romanian language and literature assessment remained one of the biggest challenges at the national evaluation (at the end of the 8th grade) for pupils belonging to the Hungarian minority. Their grades have remained below the national average.
Moreover, activity definitions and descriptions for Romanian homework and assignments in general are worded entirely in Romanian, which does not facilitate a better understanding of the tasks.
There is considerable room for improvement in the Romanian education system. It is worrisome that even after several changes regarding the new national curriculum there is no improvement when it comes to the results of the Hungarian-speaking pupils. According to the recommendations of last year’s UN Forum on Minority Issues: ”(...) States must mainstream minorities and their rights in national legislations, education and socioeconomic and regional development.”.
SECTION 3.
Problems pertaining to the administrative flags featuring regional symbols
A. Despite the fact that it is legal for territorial administrative units to adopt their own flags, the persecution of administrative flags featuring regional symbols, especially in cities and counties with a Hungarian majority population, constitutes a problem almost every year.
After more than 10 years of struggle, the Municipality of Sfântu Gheorghe/ Sepsiszentgyörgy adopted its administrative flag in 2021, which was displayed on the facade of the City Hall and other local institutions. This was attacked by two antiHungarian organizations, the Civic Association for Dignity in Europe (ADEC) and the Civic Forum of Romanians from Covasna, Harghita and Mureș, the leaders of which objected to the fact that the flag contains the colours of Szeklers, namely gold and blue and the symbols referring to the presence of Romanians are missing. On the flag of Sfântu Gheorghe/Sepsiszentgyörgy one can see gold and blue stripes, there is a shield-shaped coat of arms in the middle of it, a fortress and a church in a blue field, above which there is a golden sun and a silver moon. In front of the castle there are three green fields, on which we can see Saint George on a horse and a dragon.
In a first degree ruling, the Brașov Court of Appeal annulled the government decree, which made the adoption of the administrative flag possible. According to the mayor of the city this situation is ”absurd and surreal”.
In addition to this, the same court, in a first degree ruling, annulled another government decree which made the adoption of the administrative flag of Covasna/ Kovászna county possible. This case, like the above-mentioned one, is also connected to the same two anti-Hungarian organizations.
Administrative flags of cities and counties with a Hungarian majority population are frequently targets for nationalist organizations. Cases like this show that these organizations are not interested in a broader conversation. It is more than worrying that under the rule of law such cases, based on trumped-up arguments, are admitted in the courts.
SECTION 4.
Hate speech and disinformation targeting the Hungarian community
A. The UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech defines hate speech as: ”any kind of communication in speech, writing or behaviour, that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language with reference to a person or a group on the basis of who they are, in other words, based on their religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, colour, descent, gender or other identity factor.”
Even though hate speech is condemned by international organizations, it still flares up in Romanian political messages. It is unfortunate that the Hungarian community is usually subject to political attacks, which aim to turn the Romanian public opinion against the minority group in case. There are several cases when politicians instigate to hatred by using an offensive discourse, while others manifest severe antiHungarian behaviour.
Incitement to discrimination, hostility or even violence by using hate speech is a common phenomenon in the media, too. News channels and social media networking sites are flooded by incredibly hostile ideologies, which mostly target the vulnerable minority groups, such as Hungarians.
In May, 2022, members of the Romanian national hockey team, of which several members are Hungarians from Szeklerland, started to chant the Szekler anthem at the world championship in Ljubljana. It is customary in Szeklerland that players and viewers sing the regional anthem before sports events. However, this simple and natural act resulted in a widespread scandal created by the Romanian press, taken up by Romanian politicians, who demanded that the players should be sanctioned for singing the anthem. Moreover, some politicians wanted to kick out DAHR/UDMR/ RMDSZ, the Hungarian party, from the government because DAHR was not willing to condemn this act. The relevant national sports authorities turned to the National Council for Combatting Discrimination to ask for a severe sanctioning of the players.
As a result of the parliamentary elections held in December, 2020, a radicalright party, the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which promotes ultranationalist and anti-Hungarian views, entered the Romanian Parliament with a very strong support. The party constantly targets the Hungarian minority by posting anti-Hungarian messages on their official page and social media page, giving way to similar discourses in the country.
George Simion, Member of Parliament and the co-president of the above-mentioned AUR acted hysterically and attacked Botond Csoma, Leader of DAHR, in the Parliament.
George Simion tried to hold Botond Csoma responsible for the fact that members of the Romanian national hockey team and its supporters started to sing the Szekler anthem in Ljubljana. While Botond Csoma was trying to answer the questions of the journalists after the incident, George Simion was continuously interrupting him by shouting. According to Botond Csoma, the political circus generated by AUR had started at the Parliamentary Plenum. The MP pointed out that the Szekler anthem is a symbol of the Hungarian minority in Romania, which is not directed against the Romanian community or the state itself.
George Becali, a Romanian politician and the owner of the FCSB football club, turned against the Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe and also instigated against the Prime Minister of Hungary, Orbán, at a press conference organized in July, 2022. He sent a message to the Hungarian Prime Minister by paraphrasing a poem from Mihai Eminescu, The Third Letter. He said that everything that lives and moves in Romania, the rivers and branches are his friends and Viktor Orbán’s enemy: ”I am fighting against the Hungarian government. I am challenging them to a duel. Let’s see who is stronger (...).”
Another prominent case of hate speech in 2022 is connected to the actions taken by the mayor of Baia Mare/Nagybánya at a chestnut festival organized in the city in case, in September. The mayor of the city, Cătălin Cherecheș, ordered to cover up the Hungarian inscription of a tent selling chimney cakes (”kürtőskalács” in Hungarian) with the Romanian flag. The mayor stated the followings: “In a town called Baia Mare, if I go to buy bread, in the shops where I go it is written ”pâine” (bread in Romanian) and not ”kenyér” (bread in Hungarian). If you don’t want to change the ”kenyér” inscription, then put the Romanian flag next to it. Then I will understand that I, a Romanian, can also enter there. But if it is written in Hungarian, it means that it is not for me, a Romanian.”
Such negative behaviour indicates that certain politicians cannot accept the way the Hungarian community expresses its identity and resort to actions that can easily incite to hatred.
This incident was followed by another unfortunate one. The aforementioned mayor, Cătălin Cherecheș, revoked the mandate of DAHR deputy mayor Zsolt István Pap, because he told the sellers to take down the Romanian flags (which covered up the Hungarian inscriptions at the chestnut festival), since there was no contractual obligation to display them.
The biased judicial system can be traced this year in connection with another incident, as well. Gheorghe Funar, who when running for president in 2014 as an independent candidate, appeared as a guest on Romanian public television (TVR) together with Barna Tánczos, then senator from the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania. During the interview Funar called Hungarian the language of horses, reacting to the fact that Tánczos greeted viewers both in Romanian and Hungarian. Funar asked the host of the programme to reprimand the senator:
“Inform the interlocutor sitting on my right that we live in Romania (…), ask him not to use a single word in the language of the horses, because the official language in Romania is Romanian. In Budapest he can speak Hungarian, here he should speak Romanian. If I become the president of Romania, I can assure you, no-one will speak Hungarian. Not on Romanian television either.”
Gheorghe Funar, the former mayor of Cluj-Napoca/Kolozsvár, notorious for his anti-Hungarian attitude, has been vindicated by the Romanian Supreme Court in a case against the National Council for Combatting Discrimination (CNCD) and also Barna Tánczos. In 2015, the CNCD fined the politician with 2000 RON, who then appealed this decision in court. This year, after many steps taken by both sides at the responsible courts, the Supreme Court ruled in the favour of Gheorghe Funar.
It is incomprehensible how the Supreme Court could rule in the favour of a politician running for presidential elections, who displayed such anti-Hungarian behaviour.
Another case is connected to Dan Tanasă, member AUR. He called for the dismissal of the Minister of Sports, Károly Eduárd Novák, ”who disclosed information of public interest” in a language other than the official language of the state. According to his statements, Novák is ”only a banal DAHR politruk, a vulgar provocateur”.
Earlier this year, in July, severe anti-Hungarian attitudes could be observed at the Bálványos Free Summer University and Student Camp. The incident is connected to another well-known provocateur, namely Mihai Târnăveanu.
The Bálványos Free Summer University and Student Camp, commonly known as Tusványos, is a large-scale intellectual workshop, which is organized in Băile Tușnad/ Tusnádfürdő every year. It offers a wide range of cultural, entertainment and educational programs. Various leaders of organizations and political parties hold presentations each year about current local or international problems.
The Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, held a presentation, as well, and his speech was disturbed and interrupted by certain Romanian nationalist protesters. It subsequently turned out that the protest had been organized by the leader of a farright extremist anti-Hungarian association, ”Calea Neamului” (translated as the ”Path of the Nation”, referring to the Romanian nation) and its followers. The Association keeps coming back at every opportunity to demonstrate its power, as it happened at Tusványos, as well. When Viktor Orbán started his speech the followers of the ”Calea Neamului” Association displayed a banner, which said ”Something is eternal: Transylvania is Romanian land” and they started to shout obscene messages from the audience. The message on the banner referred to the theme of the Free Summer University and Student Camp, ”Some things are eternal”. The security service and the gendarmerie took action and asked the demonstrators to leave the scene. Mihai Târnăveanu, the leader of the association told the reporters that they had come to tell the Prime Minister of Hungary and other participants the ”basic truth”, that
”Transylvania is Romanian land”. He also objected to the fact that the autonomy of Szeklerland was on the agenda, which, according to him, is a threat to the territorial integrity of Romania.
The Hungarian community continues to be one of the biggest targets of the hateful messages posted on different social media platforms, as well.
Another extremist political figure, George Simion, who frequently attacks Hungarians, has manifested anti-Hungarian behaviour this year, too. George Simion, one of the members of the above-mentioned AUR, posted a photo on his Facebook page of the concrete pillar marking the height of the Piatra Secuiului/ Colții Trascăului/ Székelykő in Rimetea/Torockó, which, according to the photo, was repainted using the national colours of Romania (from the Hungarian colours) and a Romanian flag was displayed next to it. He added a comment: ”Problem solved”.
The same politician expressed his negative thoughts regarding a friendly football match between Hungary U18 and a representive of Szeklerland U18, which event marked the inauguration of a new stadium in Miercurea Ciuc/Csíkszereda. He stated: ”AUR calls on the Romanian Government, through the Prefect’s Institution of Harghita County, to take steps in order to stop the football match between the Hungarian U18 national team and the team of the so-called Szeklerland. […] This match (...) tries to nationalize the so-called Szeklerland. […] We are talking about a real threat to national security. We need to intervene quickly, before things get completely out of control.”
Mihai Târnăveanu is also well-known for instigating against the Hungarian community, as it was stated above. In November, this year, in one of his Facebook posts he discussed the problem of Szeklerland’s autonomy. His rhetoric was a xenophobic one, where he desperately tried to turn the public opinion against the Hungarian minority.
The above-discussed incidents show us the presence of strong anti-Hungarian hate speech coming from well-known Romanian politicians, who frequently spread discriminatory ideologies targeting the Hungarian minority.
The importance of tackling hate speech was emphasized by many organizations, for example, the theme of the UN Forum on Minority Issues in 2020 was hate speech. Despite this, Romanian politicians continue to instigate against the Hungarian community, hate speech is present in the mainstream political communication. Instead of condemning expressions of discrimination and racism or any other form of hate speech, political parties and organizations resort to turning against the vulnerable groups, such as national, ethnic or other minorities. Furthermore, there is a need for an adequate sanctioning mechanism regarding a statement involving hate speech or any other discriminative behaviour, also taking into consideration whether it targets a member of a vulnerable group or the entire community.
B. Chanting blatant anti-Hungarian xenophobic rhetoric and violent behaviour have become quite commonplace during sports events, especially during football matches. Due to the lack of an explicit legislative framework and a clear sanctioning system it is difficult to solve this problem.
The year 2021 ended with an unfortunate situation involving violent behaviour at a football match. On the 19th of December, during a football match between Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe and FCSB, in the home town of the former, certain supporters chanted hateful slogans and displayed a negative behaviour. Our organization turned to the National Council for Combatting Discrimination and to the Romanian Football Federation.
Numerous similar incidents occurred in 2022, as well, when supporters instigated to hatred during football matches.
On the 16th of May, 2022, Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe played against FCU Craiova, when the players and the supporters of the former were exposed to racist language coming from the fans of FCU Craiova. Due to this negative behaviour the game had to be interrupted. The infamous ”Out with the Hungarians from the country” chant was also shouted. As it happened in the previous case, our organization submitted a complaint to the National Council for Combatting Discrimination.
Some months later other disturbing incidents happened during a football match in Cluj-Napoca/Kolozsvár. On the 22nd of August, the supporters of Universitatea Cluj were continuously shouting obscene messages, which led to the interruption of the game. The fans of Universitatea Cluj displayed banners with anti-Hungarian content, such as ”1920 June 4.-1919 August 4. Szeklerland does not exist.” The two dates refer to the signing of the Treaty of Trianon and the entry of the Romanian army into Budapest. On other banners they called the football clubs from Szeklerland ”hortist”. The supporters used some petards, too.
Other worrisome behaviour could be witnessed during a second league game between FK Miercurea Ciuc and Dinamo Bucharest, which took place in Miercurea Ciuc/ Csíkszereda. The supporters coming from the capital chanted insulting slogans targeting Hungary and the Transylvanian Hungarians, and used some prohibited pyrotechnics, as well.
Our organization took the necessary steps and turned to the National Council for Combatting Discrimination in the last two cases, as well, and submitted a letter to the Romanian Football Federation, in which we asked them to take actions against the fans of the two afore-mentioned football clubs, as well as to punish the organizing team and its fans.
In connection with the above-mentioned last two cases, we sent a letter to the Romanian Professional Football League in order to inform them about the anti-
Hungarian, hateful expressions occurring during football games and in order to ask them to order the further matches of the football clubs in case to be organized behind closed doors. We also informed the management of the European Football Association UEFA about what has been going on in Romania for several years during football matches when a team with Hungarian connections and a team representing a region with a Romanian majority play against each other.
Our organization turned to the National Council for Combatting Discrimination because of hateful rhetoric coming from the owner of the FCSB football club. After Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe won against Olimpija Ljubljana, George Becali, the afore-mentioned owner provoked Hungarians with the following anti-Hungarian, discriminatory statements during a press conference:
”I will never let the OSK team win. How can the Hungarians win? […] Sepsi OSK will never be higher than a Romanian team. […] I will hit Sepsi OSK over the head. We will destroy everything and everybody connected to the OSK team”.
Another incident targeting the Hungarian minority occurred during a football match between Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe and FC Petrolul Ploiești in November, 2022. During the first half of the game the supporters of the FC Petrolul Ploiești football club were continuously chanting anti-Hungarian messages and were trying to provoke the players of Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe. The riot police had to intervene in the half-time, because the fans in case tried to tear down the fences.
In their approaches to tackling hate speech and acts of hatred in sports, national bodies, institutions, organizations, sport federations and clubs etc. should clearly distinguish between measures aiming at preventing such phenomena and measures of handling cases that already occurred. Furthermore, it is important to stress the role of sport clubs in combating hate speech among their supporters, by establishing clear regulations and imposing sanctions, such as removing offenders or in some extreme cases even permanently banning them. In terms of sanctions, it is more effective to sanction sport clubs, rather than individuals or groups of individuals, firstly because, sanctions often make perpetrators more hostile and are rarely conducive to long-term solutions, and secondly, penalizing teams/sport clubs will motivate them to more effectively monitor the acts of hate speech committed by their own supporters, especially in the case of repeat offenders. Regarding the latter issue, membership cards for supporters might be a useful way of keeping track of repeat offenders and thus imposing adequate sanctions for these perpetrators. Our organization initiated several meetings with the Romanian Football Federation in order to present them proposals regarding adequate sanctions and various other effective proposals aimed at changing the attitude of supporters, however, during this process we did not experience a constructive response on their part.
SECTION 5.
Nationalistic backlash over a speech in the Romanian Parliament about interethnic coexistence
A. A speech by Botond Csoma, Leader of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania caused nationalist hysteria at the commemoration of the National Holiday in Romania, on the 1st of December. It is important to know that in 1918 Transylvania, which was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, became part of Romania. Therefore, the 1st of December is a highly sensitive topic for Hungarians in Transylvania.
Botond Csoma, Member of Parliament, spoke, among other things, about the Hungarian community envisioning their future in Romania, and that DAHR is a partner in all the ideas that improve the living standards of citizens regardless of their ethnicity.
In his speech, the MP stressed that DAHR understands the importance of the 1st of December for the Romanian people, nevertheless recalled that many different nations lived in this country before the Great Union, not only Romanians, but also Hungarians, Saxons and Jews, and for the Transylvanian Hungarians this date marked the beginning of an era of uncertainty.
The speech sparked a huge nationalist hysteria and blacklash among Romanian politicians and a riot broke out in the chamber during the festive speech, because members of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) were continously interrupting the speaker.
Marcel Ciolacu, leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), qualified the speech of Botond Csoma as a provocation, and noted that there would be political consequences if the President of DAHR will not apologise. According to the leader of the largest ruling party, Romania is the most tolerant nation in the world, and DAHR, as a member of the ruling coalition, should not complain about anti-Hungarian sentiment. Ciolacu also found Botond Csoma’s statements unacceptable, saying that ”Transylvania is a Romanian land, where Hungarians, Jews and other nationalities live together (with Romanians).”
Adrian Cozma, deputy from the county of Satu Mare/Szatmár, member of the National Liberal Party (PNL), also participated in the patriotic demonstration. According to him, the composition of the government should be reconsidered, he also noted that DAHR has no place in the government.
The political goals of Hungarians, namely autonomy, are taboo subjects in Romanian public life and in the Romanian Parliament, but it is unfortunate and worrying that
the statement that other nationalities have lived and continue to live in Transylvania would provoke such a mass hysteria. This is a troubling trend, which shows that the right to self-expression of minorities in Europe is being seriously undermined, and this is definitely a concern for the future.
SECTION 6.
Torchlight procession
at the commemoration of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 in Cluj Napoca/Kolozsvár
was canceled
A. The commemoration of the 1956 Uprising is important for Hungarians and it anually takes place on the 23rd of October. In 2022 the initial programme of the commemoration in Cluj Napoca/Kolozsvár had to be changed, since the authorities did not allow the organization of the event due to the football derby between Universitatea Cluj and CFR, which took place on the same day.
This year the organizers prepared a more colourful program, in the framework of which the commemoration would have taken place after dusk in honor of the anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Initially the commemorators would have marched to the cemetery of Házsongárd and from there to the 1956 monument. It is unfortunate that this did not take place due to the fact that the gendarmerie could not guarantee the safety of the participants.
The torchlight procession needed to be cancelled because of a football match between the Universitatea Cluj and CFR football clubs, which took place on the same day at 9 o’clock. This football match usually represents an increased security risk, due to the supporters of the Universitatea Cluj team, who frequently demonstrate xenophobic, anti-Hungarian behaviour. The football fans, well-known for their antiHungarian outbursts, could have met the commemorating Hungarians, which could have ended badly. Despite of the initial programme, the commemoration started at 10:30 am.
It is problematic that such a peaceful commemoration of Hungarians had to be changed because of some unpredictable football supporters.
SECTION 7.
Relevant European institutions rejected the Minority Safepack Initiative
A. According to the description given on the official website of the Minority Safepack Initiative, this means the following: ”It is a package of law proposals for the safety of the national minorities, a set of EU legal acts that enable the promotion of minority rights, language rights, and the protection of their cultures. In short, it sums up our main objectives: safety for minorities and legislative package for minorities.”
The Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN), founded mostly by Hungarian politicians from Romania and German politicians from South Tyrol, launched the Minority Safepack Initiative in 2013. The European Commission rejected the registration of the initiative in the same year, so FUEN had to turn to the Court of Justice of the European Union in order to be able to start to collect signatures.
It is unfortunate that even though more than one million European citizens signed for the Minority Safepack Initiative in order to ”show the European Union that they would like to strengthen cultural and linguistic diversity and minority rights” (as we can read on the official website of the Minority Safepack Initiative), not to mention the support of the European Parliament, the initiative failed after the European Commission rejected its legislative proposals. According to the Commission the European Union had already done everything for the rights of the national, ethnic and linguistic minorities. In 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed the Commission communication refusing to take action requested in the Initiative.
In 2017, Romania expressed its disagreement and antipathy toward this initiative by appealing to the court and asking it to scrap the initiative. Romania’s manifestation of rejecting a European-level solution for minority issues confirms its dismissive position when it comes to solving the problems related to the Hungarian community in the country.
It is worrying that despite a clear sign on the part of the European minorities that support the Minoritiy Safepack Initiative, which is backed by more than 1 million signatures Europe-wide, this attempt failed again. According to the president of FUEN, Lóránt Vincze, they won’t give up. As he stated, ”we simply cannot abandon the cause of autochthonous minorities because people expect it and because communities need support.”
SECTION 8.
The illegal appropriation of the military cemetery in the Uz Valley
The case of the illegal appropriation of the military cemetery in the Uz Valley is still a grave concern. The site in question has been the source of disharmony for several years between the local administrations of Dărmănești/Dormánfalva in Bacău county and Sânmartin/Csíkszentmárton in Harghita county, but a 1968 law clearly states that the valley belongs to the latter. Nevertheless, attempts by Harghita county officials to impede the appropriation of the cemetery through legal means have so far failed.
In April 2019, Hungarians from Romania learned that the local government of Dărmănești/ Dormánfalva (Bacău county) illegally took ownership of a First World War German, Austrian and Hungarian military cemetery in Valea Uzului/Úz-völgye (Uz Valley), actually belonging to the jurisdiction of the village of Sânmartin/ Csíkszentmárton in neighbouring Harghita county. There is a general consensus among historians that Hungarian soldiers from the Miskolc region in Hungary are resting here. The fights that took place in this Valley during the First and the Second World Wars are heavily documented and the identity of the buried soldiers are confirmed.
However, officials from Dărmănești/Dormánfalva unfoundedly claim that 52 Romanian soldiers were also buried in this cemetery, despite the fact that the actual burial ground of the Romanian soldiers was identified and located several kilometres away.
Under the guise of “refurbishment”, officials from Dărmănești/Dormánfalva put up numerous crosses made of concrete on the graves and erected a monument featuring legionary symbols in memory of the Romanian soldiers that fought in World War II. It is absolutely shocking and unacceptable that some of these concrete crosses have been directly placed on the actual burial sites of identified Hungarian soldiers. The said local administration had no official permits to conduct these works, as later confirmed by the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Culture, as well as the Bacău County Prefect’s Office.
The situation escalated on June 6th, 2019, when several thousand Romanian commemorators forcefully broke into the cemetery and attacked a group of Hungarian civilians, who had come together to form a human chain around the cemetery in order to prevent the illegal takeover. After arriving to the scene, the group of Romanian commemorators (that included several violent football hooligans)
demanded that the cemetery gate be opened, while shouting: “Go home!”, “Go to Budapest!” and the sadly familiar chant “Out with Hungarians from the country!” As this crowd became more and more angry and unmanageable, police forces lost control over the situation. The increasingly aggressive Romanian group broke the gates of the cemetery, destroyed several wooden crosses, placed on the graves, that marked the memory of Hungarian soldiers and started hitting the Hungarians present with wood broken from the fence and causing great material and moral injury. More serious violence was only prevented because the police forces escorted the Hungarian protesters – who had been peacefully praying while these events took place – out from the cemetery.
In July, the local government of Dărmănești/Dormánfalva started to retroactively acquire the permits necessary for the concrete crosses that they had already put up back in April. It is clear from this that in the moment of making these modifications in the cemetery the local government in question did not have the documents and permits required by law, but despite this, no charges were made.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that none of the competent authorities brought charges against the illegal occupation of the cemetery or for using public funds to achieve this, nor were any of the people who broke into the cemetery and violently attacked the Hungarian group prosecuted. By contrast, some of the leaders of the Hungarian community, who had been peacefully praying in a human chain, were given hefty fines.
Both sides have initiated numerous lawsuits in connection with these incidents. Following several months of investigations after the incident, the public prosecutor in charge decided to close the case. This prosecutor absurdly claims in his ruling that ”Out with Hungarians from the country!” is a ”supposed anti-Hungarian chant”, which in this case cannot be classified as a crime of incitement to hatred and discrimination on grounds that it did not refer to an entire community, only to those present at the cemetery. The prosecutor considered the case to be closed. Similarly, he also ruled out the charges of incitement to hatred and discrimination, the disturbing of public order, desecration of graves, aggression, violence and wrecking and thus closed the case.
The Mikó Imre Minority Rights Legal Services Assistance, appealed this decision, the General Prosecutor approved the decision of the Prosecutor to close the case. Thereafter our organization appealed the court’s decision to close the case and take no further action, and the ruling was in our favour, meaning that the Prosecutor has to investigate further in the following charges: aggression, violence and wrecking, incitement to hatred and discrimination and disturbing of public order. However, the case regarding the desecration of graves was closed.
The case took another turn in 2021, when it was referred to the General Prosecutor’s Office to continue the investigation in view of the fact that George Simion, as a Member of Parliament, was also involved. On the 23rd of April, 2021, the General Prosecutor closed the case involving Simion. They also closed the cases of aggression, violence and wrecking, incitement to hatred and discrimination, as well as the disturbing of public order, saying that such crimes had not taken place.
In 2021 the General Prosecutor referred the case to the Prosecutor’s Office in Moinești (where crimes which were not related to George Simion would be investigated). They continued the investigation and on the 30th of September, 2021, the Prosecutor again closed the case. Only the Romanian witnesses were questioned, while the Hungarian ones were not heard at all. In light of this, the whole case seemed as if the Hungarians were the only ones to blame for the events, while the Romanian group demonstrated peacefully. They again closed the investigation. Our organization appealed this decision. The process of the appeal consists of two steps: if we had considered the ruling of the Prosecutor to be inadmissable, we would have referred it to the General Prosecutor’s Office. If the General Prosecutor had refused the case, it would have been dealt with at the Court to determine whether the General Prosecutor’s decision was founded. What eventually happened was that the Prosecutor upheld our complaint and ordered the investigation to be reopened, accepting all the arguments we had risen, including the fact that not all the witnesses were heard. Furthermore, in view of the final court decision so far that the cemetery does not belong to Dărmănești/Dormánfalva, but to Harghita/Hargita County, they reffered the whole case to the Prosecutor’s Office in Miercurea Ciuc/Csíkszereda. The case is currently continuing there, a decision which was upheld by the Moineşti Court on the 21st of December.
In addition to this, other suits are ongoing, too. According to local council resolution No. 29 of Dărmănești/Dormánfalva, the cemetery in the Uz Valley is part of their own public property. Based on this local council resolution the ownership of the cemetery was registered in the cadastral survey. We appealed and requested the annulment of this local council resolution. This case was heard at the Bacău Tribunal at first instance and according to the decision taken on the 26th of May, they annulled the above-mentioned resolution. Dărmănești/Dormánfalva appealed this ruling and the case was finally heard at the Bacău Court of Appeal in October, 2021, when they ruled out the annulment of the council resolution.
As it was stated above, on the basis of local council resolution No. 29 in 2019 they declared the cemetery to be part of Dărmănești/Dormánfalva’s public property. Our request from the Moinești Court is to delete the cadastral survey entry, as it is based on a resolution, which had already been annulled.
Another case, which started at the Bacău Tribunal, concerns the annulment of the building permit which allowed the erection of the crosses for the Romanian heroes in
the area of the cemetery. We also requested that the Tribunal order the demolition of the illegal works done so far.
On the 10th of February, 2022, the Bacău Tribunal ruled out the annulment of the building permit and ordered the demolition of the illegal structure. Furthermore, according to the ruling of the Moinești Court on the 24th of March, the cadastral survey entry, which marks that the cemetery in the Uz Valley is part of Dărmănești/Dormánfalva’s own public property, must be deleted.
The Moinești Court also transferred one of the cases during the violent occupation of the cemetery on the 6th of June, 2019, to the Court of Miercurea Ciuc.
CONCLUSION
Even though minority protection is enshrined in the Constitution of Romania, due to the permissive legal framework, the lack of concrete norms, monitoring and accountability the Hungarian community encounters discrimination every year. The Hungarian minority was subject to political attacks in 2022, too, which aim to disrupt the community’s ability to sustain and develop its own cultural identity.
Although the use of the mother tongue by national minorities, including Hungarians, is a fundamental right, many unfortunate cases show the opposite of this. Politicians, anti-Hungarian provocateurs and individuals continue to attack the Hungarian community for using their mother tongue in cases of inscriptions, place name signs and street signs. Many individuals demonstrate a dismissive attitude toward the Hungarian minority by destroying bilingual place name signs, spraying over the Hungarian inscriptions. Well-known anti-Hungarian provocateurs continue to initiate lawsuits against municipalities with a Hungarian majority for using their mother tongue. Almost all of the ”Town Hall” inscriptions in Hungarian have been removed in Szeklerland based on trumped up arguments. It is disconcerting that these cases are generally lost and courts acquit, sometimes, aggressive perpetrators.
Discrimination is still present in the education system, which is shown by the case of a kindergarten in Huedin/Bánffyhunyad. A kindergarten for Hungarian pupils, which was built on the land of the Transylvanian Reformed Church three years ago, failed to be opened.
Despite the adoption of a new national curriculum the quality of minority language education did not increase. This is proven by the results of Hungarians pupils in Romanian language and literature assessment at the national evaluation (at the end of the 8th grade). The grades of the Hungarian pupils remain below the national average. There is room for improvement in the methodology of teaching Romanian, too.
The issue related to the administrative flags is of utmost importance. The administrative flag of the Municipality of Sfântu Gheorghe/Sepsiszentgyörgy and the one of Covasna/Kovászna county were attacked by the well-known anti-Hungarian provocateur, Dan Tanasă. The same court annulled both government decrees which made the adoption of these two flags possible.
Hateful and discriminatory messages and ideologies are still present in the political rhetoric. Well-known politicians continue to target the Hungarian minority and persist to incite to discrimination, hostility or violence. Anti-Hungarian hate-speech is rampant on social media platforms, as well.
Xenophobic messages have become commonplace during football matches. AntiHungarian supporters manifested severe violent behaviour during almost all of the football matches where a team with Hungarian connections played against a team representing a region with a Romanian majority. Due to the vague legislation, it is difficult to tackle this problem.
In addition to this, a torchlight procession in Cluj Napoca/Kolozsvár had to be cancelled because of a football match between a Hungarian- and a Romanianrelated football club, because of the hostile attitude of the Romanian supporters.
It is unfortunate that there has not been much progress concerning the Minority Safepack Initiative.
Even though there have been some favourable results regarding the cases related to the military cemetery in the Uz Valley, there is a need for futher positive outcomes.
Taking into account the above-mentioned issues, there is an urgent need of improvement when it comes to the rights of national minorities in Romania. The situation is much the same as the last years, in some cases even worse. Therefore, the Mikó Imre Minority Rights Legal Services Assistance will continue to monitor the situation of minority rights in Romania, and use all legal means to fights for the causes which are relevant for the Hungarian community in Romania.
In the current international situation, a tendency can be observed that does not favor the representation of minority rights. We hope that this is only a temporary state and that we can return to peace in the long term. It is in the interest of all Eastern European minority groups in this geopolitical zone that the conflict in Ukraine ends as soon as possible and that balance between the majority and the minority population is restored.
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