Csaba Sógor’s speech in the EP regarding the Great March of the Szeklers
2013-11-19
At the European Parliament’s plenary session from Strasbourg, RMDSZ MEP Csaba Sógor, besides other topics, also talked about the Great March of the Szeklers. The MEP expressed his hope that many understood the message of the movement - that in Romania the situation of minorities cannot be considered solved and that the Hungarians from Romania are prepared to draw the attention on unresolved issues through such actions.
The MEP’s speech can be read below:
“The creation on 27 October of a human
chain of almost 150 thousand Hungarians from Romania to protest against the Romanian
Government’s plan of territorial reorganisation and to support the idea of
autonomy of Szeklerland made headlines in European newspapers. The march,
through which participants insisted on the several decade-old demands of the strong
Hungarian community from Romania of almost 1.5 million, drew
attention to two important facts: that in Romania the situation of minorities is not
yet settled and that Hungarians are willing to draw attention to problems
through such instruments as well. I hope that many understood the message,
although it seems that is not the case of the Romanian authorities, which
started to harass the organizers of the human chain. The situation of
traditional national minorities is not regulated adequately at European level,
and existing good practices are not automatically followed in all member
states. This is why there is a need for European coordination and for the sincere
discussion of the problems.”