The ethnic conflict that broke out in Nagybánya in Romania in September has been "forgotten", as evidenced by the fact that the local self-government board approved the erection of a statue to the founders of the artist colony in Nagybánya, Zsolt Pintér told MTI.
The president of the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (RMDSZ) in Máramaros county said: the conflict has been "forgotten", but the peace is not complete. Mayor Catalin Chereches did not return the deputy mayor's powers to his RMDSZ deputy, Zsolt István Pap.
In September, an ethnically colored scandal erupted in Nagybánya, after the mayor covered the Hungarian sign on the stall of the Székelyföld kürtőskalácsásár with the Romanian tricolor during the town festival. His deputy from RMDSZ recommended the vendors to remove the flags, and his superior stripped him of his deputy mayor powers.
Zsolt Pintér said: the deputy mayor has not regained his powers since then, but he is working, but he does not have the right to sign. The RMDSZ does not even ask for their reinstatement, since according to their point of view the mayor had no reason to take them away, they expect him to take the initiative. The regional president, who also has a mandate as representative of the Nagybánya local government, said that despite the previous conflict, the local council approved at the end of December to erect a statue to the founders of the Nagybánya artist colony. In the county seat of Máramaros, the number of Hungarians is ten percent.
"The fact that the mayor supported the statue installation plan is still a sign that there is further cooperation. (…)
We are rational politicians, we can move past certain disputes and continue to work for the city," Zsolt Pintér told MTI.
He pointed out: political representation in the scattered population is a "tight-rope" task, which must be constantly balanced. "It doesn't work here to be angry with someone, we are in a bad relationship with someone. We always have to make sober decisions, stay calm, don't go to war for a long time, because that doesn't lead anywhere," he said. He added that the results will be achieved "slowly but persistently".
The RMDSZ wanted to erect the statue of Simon Hollósy, István Réti, Béla Iványi-Grünwald, János Thorma and Károly Ferenczy on the 125th anniversary of the founding of the artist colony two years ago. The costs of the statue were included in the budget only at the end of 2021, the amount was increased to 960 thousand lei (78.4 million forints) last July. At the end of December, the local government also took over the installation, and success depended on a single vote.
The creator, Árpád Deák, a sculptor from Nagyvárad, has public sculptures in several Transylvanian cities, the best known being the Holnapos sculpture group in Nagyvárad. The public artwork in Nagybánya will also be interactive, the five figures do not stand on a pedestal, you can stand or sit next to them.
It would be inaugurated in May, the president of the area hopes that the payment will not be an obstacle either, since the project is also supported by mayor Catalin Chereches as an art supporter. The artist colony is a trademark of the city, "it's not just a Hungarian issue," he said.
"We commemorate the people who put Nagybánya on the map and created a world-renowned art center," said Zsolt Pintér.
The sculpture group will have a floor area of 5 meters by 3.5 meters and a height of 2.1 meters, and it will be made of bronze. The larger-than-life-size sculptures are set up in the old main square, popular with tourists, overlooking Híd Street leading to the artist colony.
The Nagybánya artist colony, founded in 1896, is of enormous importance in modern Hungarian fine art. Among its members, only Simon Hollósy has a statue in Transylvania, which was erected in 2021 in his hometown, Máramarossziget.
Source: vasarnap.hu
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