Referring to the December 5, 2004 referendum on the extension of Hungarian citizenship beyond the border, eight Transylvanian Hungarian local government leaders rejected Péter Márki-Zay's reception last October. Their letter from last year was not intended for the public, but the Székelyhon.ro portal obtained it and presented it on Friday, and one of the signatories confirmed the authenticity of the document.


The letter addressed to Péter Márki-Zay was sent by Csaba Borboly, Sándor Tamás, Ferenc Péter and Csaba Pataki, the presidents of the municipalities of Hargita, Kovászna, Maros and Szatmár counties, as well as the mayors of the county seats of these counties: Attila Korodi from Csíkszereda, Árpád Antal from Sepsiszentgyörgy, Soós from Marosvásárhely It was signed by Zoltán and Gábor Kerskényi from Szatmárném.

The local government leaders began their letter by saying that Kelemen Hunor is the legitimate representative of the Transylvanian Hungarian community, and that if the opposition forces pay attention to the Transylvanian Hungarians as part of the election campaign, they should primarily look for him.

They considered it an important and good step that the opposition in Hungary also wants to pay attention to Hungarians abroad, because according to them, the time must come when "the wounds of the Hungarian nation will heal, and no one will question the belonging of Hungarians abroad."

"At the same time, we respectfully point out that the Transylvanian Hungarians have not forgotten the referendum: the crime of December 5 has not expired. We are disappointed that you think that December 5 is already a thing of the past. For us, this clearly indicates that you do not feel the weight and significance of the referendum in the lives of Hungarians across the border. We would like them to know: we have not crossed it, and this is not even possible as long as those who considered the division of the nation to be natural, together with Ferenc Gyurcsány, are part of the opposition coalition," the letter reads.

The local government leaders also reminded that seven years ago, the Romanian anti-corruption prosecutor's office took away several Hungarian leaders from Transylvania and Székelyföld in handcuffs, who were later declared innocent by the court.

"In Romania, the prosecutor's office led by Kövesi was used as a tool to discredit and behead Hungarian community leaders. At that time, we did not feel the support of the Hungarian opposition, we did not hear their indignation regarding the arbitrary measures: we did not receive inquiries or letters of sympathy then. Above all, we find it worrying that you want the same thing in Hungary: to use the prosecutor's office for political purposes", they stated. They voiced their concern that the political leaders who want to take over power want to change two-thirds of the legislation with half-assed legislation and are preparing to dissolve the constitutional order. From our perspective, this is an extremely disturbing intention, because a politically stable motherland is essential for Hungarians living abroad, they say.

They concluded the letter by saying that although they appreciate the intention to meet, they will answer the request in the negative. They emphasize: after the parliamentary elections, they will negotiate with the representatives of all Hungarian political organizations, because they believe that the unity of the Hungarian nation must be restored.

Árpád Antal, mayor of Sepsiszentgyörgy, confirmed the authenticity of the letter to Székelyhon. He said: they did not receive an official response, but a member of Péter Márki-Zay's team indicated in a private message that they had taken note of the contents of the letter.

MTI

Cover photo: MSZP poster from 2004 urging against the granting of dual citizenship

Image source: Máté Kocsis' Facebook page