Regional and minority policy has to be coordinated
The Cultural department at the Cristuru Secuiesc Mayor’s office organized a series a presentations on April 30, where beside viewing century old crests, seals and flag, those present also listened to Csaba Sógor’s speech.
The event started with historian János Mihály’s presentation about the Szekler flag entitled Blue-gold or red-black? followed by heraldic Attila István Szekeres’ about the crests created by him.
The historian said that we have very few written records about the Szekler symbols, there are only two flag-codes dating back to the Transylvanian principality. He stated that the flag adopted by the Szekler National Council can be traced back to the time of Mózes Székely, the only Transylvanian ruler to come from a Szekler family. As he has shown, today we can even find examples where the motives of the Szekler flag are placed amongst 12 stars like in the European flag.
Even if this alloy flag will not become official, it has great symbolic value because the European Union can have an important effect on Szeklerlands future – this was the main idea of Csaba Sógor’s speech entitled Transylvania and Szeklerland’s future in the European Union and beyond.
DAHR’s MEP stressed that although the Lisbon treaty encourages efforts to combat discrimination based on nationality, until we have a frame agreement about national minorities, we need to use other means to preserve our Hungarian heritage and ensure Szeklerland’s future. Sógor believes that minority protection should be paired with other policies as well. This means that Hungarians living near the border need to make use of the cross-border cooperation programmes, while those living in Szeklerland need to profit from regional development.
- Because most of them live in rural surroundings, building regional networks is a new tool in reaching the goals set by the minority policies. The survival of the rural communities is closely linked with the ability of local government to provide them with the necessary living conditions – said the MEP who also stated that those living here need to set good examples apart from talking about the grievances of the past. Sógor Csaba made the example of the roma issue where the new Hungarian government can be of assistance. The new governing party, FIDESZ, is preparing a new portfolio system where a secretary of state will be in charge of Roma integration in the Administration and Justice Ministry.
The historian said that we have very few written records about the Szekler symbols, there are only two flag-codes dating back to the Transylvanian principality. He stated that the flag adopted by the Szekler National Council can be traced back to the time of Mózes Székely, the only Transylvanian ruler to come from a Szekler family. As he has shown, today we can even find examples where the motives of the Szekler flag are placed amongst 12 stars like in the European flag.
Even if this alloy flag will not become official, it has great symbolic value because the European Union can have an important effect on Szeklerlands future – this was the main idea of Csaba Sógor’s speech entitled Transylvania and Szeklerland’s future in the European Union and beyond.
DAHR’s MEP stressed that although the Lisbon treaty encourages efforts to combat discrimination based on nationality, until we have a frame agreement about national minorities, we need to use other means to preserve our Hungarian heritage and ensure Szeklerland’s future. Sógor believes that minority protection should be paired with other policies as well. This means that Hungarians living near the border need to make use of the cross-border cooperation programmes, while those living in Szeklerland need to profit from regional development.
- Because most of them live in rural surroundings, building regional networks is a new tool in reaching the goals set by the minority policies. The survival of the rural communities is closely linked with the ability of local government to provide them with the necessary living conditions – said the MEP who also stated that those living here need to set good examples apart from talking about the grievances of the past. Sógor Csaba made the example of the roma issue where the new Hungarian government can be of assistance. The new governing party, FIDESZ, is preparing a new portfolio system where a secretary of state will be in charge of Roma integration in the Administration and Justice Ministry.
