The Romanian authorities are threatening the peace of the country!
Since three days the public opinion of the country is focused on the announcement made by the authorities, stating that on the National Day they have prevented a terrorist attack and arrested the man who planned it. According to the accusation he planned to produce a hand made bomb from fireworks that are available in stores for public use and to fire it in the center of Kézdivásárhely/Tg-Secuiesc.
Knowing that in fact the man was retained a day earlier, it is possible that this is not about the prevention of a real danger, but a manipulation of the authorities, but whatever the truth is, some things have to be pointed out.
Logically there are two possibilities, and both of them are worth to be examined.
The first is that the young man who was arrested really planned to fire a bomb. In this case must be taken in consideration that despite the fact that Romania became member of the Council of Europe and the European Union, ratified a number of documents related to the rights of minorities, in the last years, with the active contribution of the authorities, it is visible the increasing of the anti-minority sentiments. The authorities chase the Szekler symbols and the Hungarian inscriptions, withdraw existing rights, declare that the autonomy movement of the Szeklers is a security risk, and the secret services assume openly that they are acting for preventing Szeklerland to gain autonomy. Based on these, the Romanian population considers the Szekler people dangerous and enemy of the country. The Szekler National Council drew the attention of the domestic and international decision-makers on the risks of these actions, but neither this, nor his calls for dialogue were taken in consideration. If the young man from Kézdivásárhely/Tg-Secuiesc was really planning to fire a bomb, two of the main reasons of that must be considered the way how the authorities are dealing with the Szekler issue and the indulgence of the international organizations. If Romania would respect her international commitments, than such things could not happen. We condemn all forms of violence, but we also state, that in this case the responsibility of the authorities who are permanently provoking the Szeklers is significant, and if they do not change their attitude, than the situation can even turn worse.
The other possibility is that the charge is false and we are facing a provocation of the authorities. This is at least equally serious problem, because playing with the fire in the actual European context is dangerous. We can state without exaggeration that this is also plausible, because the communication of the authorities, as well that of the politicians and other opinion leaders goes far beyond the facts in this case, they stigmatize the whole Szekler and Hungarian community and criminalize their legitimate claims. It is symptomatic that in front of the TV-cameras a well known politician, former minister affirmed, that this could happen just because the authorities were far too tolerant with the minorities. This is a clear call for collective punishment, irresponsible and dangerous.
Concluding we can state, that whichever of these two possibilities is true, it is without doubt that the Romanian authorities are on the wrong way, they are fueling permanently the interethnic tensions and that cannot lead to a good end. They have to change their attitude as son as possible and have to begin dialogue with the legitimate leaders of the Szekler people, in order to find a peaceful solution for the problem of Szeklerland, in accordance with the relevant international principles and documents.
A great responsibility falls also on the international organizations. It is time for them to face, that by not intervening, they encourage the Romanian authorities in their anti-minority acts and that can lead to undesired consequences. So we ask them to assume an active role in solving the problem of Szeklerland, according to their mission. In this sense we expect them to observe with special attention the case of the arrested young man, and to assure that the authorities will not commit any abuses against him.
Gyergyószentmiklós/Gheorgheni, the 3rd of December 2015
The Szekler Council of Gyergyószék