A new chapter is unfolding in the history of the Székely Region’s firs quest for administrative autonomy within Romania. At a public forum organized by the Székely (Szekler) National Council (SZNT) in Sfântu Gheorghe/Sepsiszentgyörgy on January21, they announced that MPs Zoltán Zakariás and József Kulcsár-Terza will submit the Autonomy Statute of the Székely Region to the Romanian Parliament for the sixth time. This move is a calculated political strategy designed to signal resilience to both the Romanian leadership and the international community.

A Shift in Strategy: Dialogue Over Dismissal

Past experiences have shown that the Romanian Parliament typically rejects autonomy proposals through emergency procedures without holding any substantive debate. In response, SZNT and the legislative sponsors are reversing their approach. Before formally filing the document in Bucharest, they will initiate broad civic discourse across the region and the country.

Balázs Izsák, President of the SZNT, stated that the goal is to make it “impossible” for the Romanian political elite to ignore the Székely community’s demands. “A sixth submission is not indicative of failure; it is showing resolve,” he affirmed, suggesting that abandoning the cause would mean the political demise of the community. The upcoming forums, online campaigns, and conferences aim to familiarize the Romanian majority with the actual content of the statute, moving beyond inflammatory rhetoric.

Clarifying Misconceptions: Subsidiarity, Not Secession

A crucial element of the discussion focused on debunking myths surrounding the kind of autonomy being sought. The demand for self-governance is not directed against Romania’s territorial integrity, nor is it about secession. Instead, it is based on the European principle of subsidiarity—a model that has successfully ensured stability in regions like South Tyrol, Italy and the Åland Islands, Finland.

MP József Kulcsár-Terza reasoned that even amidst economic hardship, autonomy remains a relevant topic, as self-administration would allow for more efficient resource management within the region. However, speakers acknowledged that the rigid opposition of Romanian political parties is unlikely to soften without significant international pressure or a shift in the geopolitical landscape.

Shadows of the Past and Hopes for the Future

The announcement brings recalls 2020 in the collective memory when then-president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, used the autonomy issue as a political weapon in his infamous “Jó napot, PSD!” speech, inciting ethnic tensions for political gain.2Organizers hope that this new campaign will manage to bypass such demagoguery and lead to more professional, fact-based debate. Simultaneously, the SZNT continues its legal battle at the European level for the recognition of “National Regions,” challenging the European Commission’s previous dismissal of their citizens’ initiative.

1 The Székely (Szekler is an oft-used phono-semantic matching word in English) are a distinct group of ethnic Hungarians living compactly on about 10,000 square kilometers in Transylvania, Romania. The Székely Region roughly encompasses the current-day administrative counties of Harghita/Hargita, Covasna/Kovászna and parts of Mures/Maros in Romania. The approximate ethnic breakdown of the Székely Region is 808,739 people of whom 609,249 (75.33%) are Székely and 175,787 (21.73%) are ethnic Romanian.

Second listen to an exclusive May 2020 Zoom discussion with RMDSZ president Hunor Kelemen about the paradigm shift because of Iohannis’ actions and other anti-Hungarian legislative developments. (In Hungarian and English)

Source: Kronika.ro

Please follow and like us: