In Sepsiszentgyörgy, Székelyföld, a military ceremony was held to celebrate the city's "liberation from fascist-Horthyist occupation" on the 77th anniversary of the entry of Romanian troops. The county and city leaders elected in the colors of the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (RMDSZ) did not participate in the ceremony.  

According to the report of the Agerpres news agency, Lieutenant Colonel Dorin Neagu,

the commander of the Sepsiszentgyörgyi garrison expressed his disapproval that, despite their request, the Romanian national flag could not be hoisted on the tower of the mayor's office for the holiday this year.

Csaba Birtan Tóth, the deputy mayor of the city, however, stated: the mayor is on vacation, and he did not receive the request to display the flag. If they had applied, there would have been no obstacle to this.

At the ceremony, Szilárd Dulányi Balogh , the sub-prefect who also serves as the county president of the USR PLUS association, gave a ceremonial speech.

"The Romanian army did not give up on regaining the territories of Northern Transylvania lost by the Vienna Dictatorship, and in the fall of 1944 it regained 872 settlements in two months. There were eight cities among them, and the first of them was Sepsiszentgyörgy," Agerpres quoted the vice-prefect as saying.

    Szilárd Dulányi Balogh also mentioned that the Romanian army was not alone. He always enjoyed the support of the local Romanians, who saw the heroic Romanian soldiers as the embodiment of liberation from occupation and national freedom.

"Today we pay tribute to memory, courage, heroism, loyalty and patriotism," declared the sub-prefect. He also added: it is necessary to work for a future in which no person has to sacrifice his life for the unification of the country, in which every citizen feels at home.

    The county and city leaders elected in the colors of the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (RMDSZ) did not participate in the ceremony.

Mayor Árpád Antal and Prefect István Ráduly are also taking their vacation.

The issue of the tower flag of the mayor's office has been a source of tension in Sepsiszentgyörgyön for years. The local representatives of the army and the nationalist organizations regard this as a memory of the Romanian flag displayed in the same place in 1944 and insist on it.

Last October, following a lawsuit filed by the Citizens' Association for Dignity in Europe (ADEC), which has filed hundreds of lawsuits against Hungarian symbols and inscriptions, the Brasov Court of Appeal declared in a final judgment that there is no need to display the Romanian flag on the tower. During the trial, the city management referred to the same article of law, on the basis of which the court removed dozens of Székely flags from public buildings. According to this article of law, the flag of Romania and the European Union must be displayed on the facade of public buildings.

In Sepsiszentgyörgy, which has a population of nearly 55,000, 77 percent of the population declared themselves Hungarian in the 2011 census.

MTI

Photo: Kovászna County Prefecture