The leadership of the Hungarian Peoples Party from Transylvania is concerned about the Romanian Secret Service’s actions which took place on the 1st of December (Romania’s National Holliday) at Targu Secuiesc/Kézdivásárhely. Their undertaking can easily result in ethnic tension.

As known, on the 1st of December István Beke an ethnically Hungarian, Romanian citizen was accused for acts of terrorism and therefore arrested. Provided that the accusations will be confirmed we are asking for his punishment according to the rule law.

According to our present knowledge, as a result of perquisition the only supposed evidence the authorities found are supplies for the game called ‘Airsoft’. That is why the HPPT’s leadership calls upon the authorities and opinion leaders that the presumption of innocence should be respected in Istvan Beke’s case.

The HPPT calls upon the authorities and media to stop creating an atmosphere resembling the one of the 90’s Romania. It is very solicitous that in the past week the Hungarian community was accused several times: first by a Social Democrat MP who said that the tragic Colectiv Club accident (where more than 60 people died due to a fire accident) was organized by Hungarians; in the second case Hungarians were accused for the „flag scandal” (one day before Romania’s National Holliday, in Sfantu Gherghe/Sepsiszentgyörgy, when a Romanian flag was stolen of a monument and it was said the it was replaced with a Szekler flag. There was no evidence in this regard but the media treated it as fact). These accusations can have unpredictable effects and can easily trigger ethnic tensions.

It is unacceptable, that hiding behind actions of war on terror and taking advantage of the sensitive situation of the Romanian National Holliday which has charged significance for the Szeklers as well, the Romanian authorities tune the Romanian public against the Hungarian community.

Considering that the terrorist threat in Europe is real, and needs to be managed professionally and with responsibility by the authorities it is imminent for the stabilization of Romania not to tune the public against the Hungarian community using ungrounded accusations. As leaders of the Hungarian community living in Romania, we always fought for our rights using democratic and peaceful means. It is the responsibility of the international community and the Romanian authorities that the Hungarian-Romanian relations are good and peaceful.

Instead of being a real Holliday the Romanian National Holliday turned into an anti-Hungarian hysteria. We believe that is imminent for the sake of stability and unimpeachable Hungarian-Romanian relations, that the political leaders and opinion leaders remain level-headed and keep their forbearance.

The Leadership of the Hungarian People’s Party from Transylvania