The Hungarian minority in power in Romania:

the failure of a “European model”?

By Olivér-Tamás Kiss, journalist at Szabadság, Hungarian Language Regional Newspaper, Cluj-Napoca, Kolozsvár/Klausenburg, Transylvania, Romania. Dated August 1998.

The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania

The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (DAHR) is the safeguarding organisation that represents the interests of the territorial, political and specific organisations of the Hungarian minority in Romania. It represents the interests of this community on national and local levels, co-ordinates and encourages the different forms of social self-government.
In order to accomplish its basic aims, the DAHR has an active role in Romania's public life. It represents the principles of the constitutional order mainly through its deputies and senators in legislative debates, and since the 1996 elections it is member of the ruling coalition. The DAHR is also represented at local level. A conceptual system is being elaborated in order to decentralise local self-governments, to develop local societies and to support any model of civil society.
At international level the DAHR has established important relations. Since May 1993, the Alliance is member of the Federal Union of European Nationalities. It brings its contribution to promote solving the nationality question according to the principles of self-government applied distinctively in each country. In September 1993, the Alliance became member of the European Democratic Union. Consequently, it became member of a union where the most important West-European ruling parties are also represented. Thus, the nationality question can be solved at European level. The DAHR deputies are present in the permanent delegations of the Council of Europe, of the European Parliament, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the Union of the Countries bordering the Black Sea and the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
After the changes of December 1989, the Hungarians founded their own self-governing organisations parallel in several Transylvanian cities (Kolozsvár/Cluj, Temesvár/Timisoara, Marosvásárhely/Târgu-Mures) beginning on December 22, 1989. On December 25, 1989, the Provisional Executive Committee of the DAHR was appointed in Bucharest. Its Appeal promoted the organisation on national level. Presently, the DAHR has half a million members.
Fundamental objectives: the maintenance of the Hungarian minority in Romania and the preservation of its traditions, language and culture through self-determination within the borders of Romania. The DAHR wishes to solve the most important questions of this Hungarian society within a democratic and legal framework, through the establishment and consolidation of its own cultural and educational institutions that contribute to the preservation of its national identity.
One of Europe's largest national minorities, the Hungarians of Romania represent 7.1% of the population of the country according to the 1992 census. The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (DAHR) was formed after the December 1989 overthrow of dictatorial rule to represent the interests of Romania's Hungarian minority.
At national elections in 1990 and 1992, the DAHR gained legitimacy and has since played a major role in Romania's political life. By participating in the legislature (12 senators, 27 deputies), it assumes a dual role. On the one hand, it works in partnership with those political forces, which seek the establishment of democracy, rule of law and a market economy. On the other hand, one of its major tasks is to assert the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the ethnic Hungarian community through internal self-determination within the framework of the constitutional order.
The success of the organisation was reflected in the 1992 local elections, which resulted in the election of 161 DAHR mayors, 2,681 town council members and 151 county council members.
The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania is a member of the European Democrat Union (EDU), Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) and the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO).

Legitimacy

The DAHR represents the interests of the Hungarian minority and takes part in Romania's political life. The exterior proofs of its social and political legitimacy are the results obtained at the general and local elections. In May 1990, the Hungarians in Romania elected 41 deputies and senators. As the largest opposition party after the 1990 election, it has an important role in the elimination of the (new) communist structures as well as in the elaboration of laws that favour Romania's democratisation. The result of the 1992 election is as follows: 27 deputies (7.46% of the votes) and 12 senators (7.58% of the votes), while during the 1996 elections it obtained 36 seats in the Parliament (11 senators, 25 deputies).
The DAHR was also successful at the 1992 local elections when 161 mayors, 2681 local councillors and 151 county councillors were and during the 1996 elections 139 majors, 2438 local councillors, and 133 county councillors were elected. Its internal legitimacy results from the votes of almost 600 thousand members who elected the leading boards of the DAHR.

The situation of the Hungarian minority after 1989

After the fall and execution of Ceausescu and the violent revolution in December 1989, the Hungarian population of Romania expected an end to the large-scale violation of human rights that took place during the communist era. Indeed, much progress occurred during the first post-communist months, but gradually the general situation in Romania worsened, and it become obvious that the former second echelon of the Communist Party was in charge. The result was not only a slow pace of economic reforms, but also a deterioration of the position of the minority groups. The dissatisfaction among Hungarians increased, especially about their limited right to use the Hungarian language in public life and education. Some of the Hungarian leaders expressed the wish for more autonomy, preferably some form of territorial autonomy. They referred to the existence of such form of autonomy in South Tyrol and the Republic of Moldova. The Romanian government strongly criticised the idea of territorial autonomy, since it would undermine the status of Romania as a unitary state. For many years the position of the Hungarian minority disrupted good relations between Hungary and Romania.
Moreover, the fight for independent educational institutions has begun. In March 1990 a serious riot broke out in Târgu Mures/Marosvásárhely because of the decision to re-open Hungarian schools and to allow bilingual signs. The strong Romanian opposition to these plans resulted in riots. Officially three people were killed and about 269 injured.
Especially since the elections of 1992, the situation of the minorities has deteriorated in several aspects. Many of the initial promises have not been fulfilled and many measures actually taken have been reversed. In February 1992 the access of minority groups to the television media was reduced.
The re-opening of independent Hungarian schools in Transylvania proceeded very slowly and encountered many difficulties. But in spite of local opposition many special schools for Hungarians and Germans were created, either separately or as part of other schools.
An alarming phenomenon was the rise of right-extremist Romanian nationalism during the post-communist years. One of the most fanatic movements was Vatra Romaneasca (Romanian Hearth), which provoked a primitive hatred against all minorities, including Jews. The Romanian Government did not vigorously condemn these Romanian nationalist organisations. Perhaps it did not want to. For the ruling party, president Iliescu’s PDSR (Social Democrat), the Greater Romania Party lead by the xenophobe Corneliu Vadim Tudor and the National Unity Party, lead by the extreme nationalist mayor of Cluj/Kolozsvár/Klausenburg were allies in the government.
In November 1991, after months of discussion, the Romanian parliament approved a new constitution. But the representatives of the minority groups opposed this constitution because of the formulation that ‘Romania is a unitary, nation state with the Romanian language as the single official language.’
In 1995 the Hungarians protested against a new education law which discriminates against the Hungarian language. The law made teaching of history, geography and civic courses compulsary in Romanian even in schools for the minorities.
In September 1996, after many years of negotiations a basic treaty between the two countries has been signed, in which territorial autonomy is rejected. Dissatisfaction about this treaty was considerable among Romanian nationalists as well as among a large number of Hungarians in Transylvania.

Results and failures

A new episode started recently after the change of government as a result of presidential and parliamentary elections in November 1996. The RMDSZ/UDMR/DAHR, the political party of the Hungarians living in Romania, now takes part in the new coalition. The relationship between Romania and Hungary has radically improved.
The new democratic government lead by Prime-Minister Victor Ciorbea saw the basic treaty as the first step towards closer co-operation between Hungary and Romania. Immediately after the change of the government the differences were more and more obvious. In the programme of the newly formed government full rights for the Hungarian minority have been put down, including mother tongue education from kindergarten until university. The representatives of the Hungarian minority thought that this programme point included the way to the reopening of the Hungarian University is paved. They proved to be wrong.

The Hungarian University and the Law on Education - failure

The debate about the re-opening of the Hungarian “Bolyai” University started in January 1997 after a group of sociologists presented an opinion poll showing that Hungarian students from the Babes-Bolyai University do not want the re-establishement of the Hungarian institution. The survey was heavily criticized by profesionals and important public figures alike. The Hungarian Student Union of Cluj-Napoca/Kolozsvár/Klausenburg (its main goal is the re-establishment of the Hungarian “Bolyai” Univeristy) created its own Bolyai group and started to fight for the institution. Students said the first steps are to be taken on political level by the DAHR as member of the ruling coalition. Once the juridical background created, the rest of the plan to re-establish the university can easily be acomplished. The DAHR replied that the government programme includes the lifting of the prohibitions concerning mother tongue education, so it only a matter of time till the university is re-established. The "strategy" was to create independent Hungarian faculties within the Babes-Bolyai University and than proceed with the re-opening.
The DAHR proved to be wrong. The coalition partners were reluctant in going on with what they have promised and what was included in the executive’s programme. The government’s emergency ordinance changing the Law on Education hasn't been voted by House of Representatives yet, so the re-establishment of the Hungarian Bolyai University is still not possible.
Some groups within the DAHR suggested that if this demand is not fullfilled by the coalition partners, the Hungarian Party should leave the coalition. The reply from the DAHR leaders has always been that we have to wait till the emergency ordinance changing the Law on Education is fully rejected both by the Senate and the House of Deputies.
In March 1997 Prime-Minister Victor Ciorbea announced that the Hungarians’ demand to have its own institutes of higher education was legitimate and in line with European norms. But the re-opening of the Hungarian “Bolyai” University (closed by the communists in 1959 after the anti-Communist revolution that took place in Budapest in 1956) in Cluj-Napoca/Kolozsvár/Klausenburg would depend on the decision of the opposed autonomous faculty senate. On March 12, 1997 the Rector of the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj/Kolozsvár called a "crisis meeting" of the institution's committee following Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ciorbea's pronouncement in Budapest that the coalition partners agree on a two-step process for restoring an independent Hungarian university in the city: the creation of a separate Hungarian section within the existing structure, to be followed by full independence at a later time. [Magyar Nemzet (Budapest), March 13, 1997]
The Law on Education prohibiting mother tongue education at all levels has been changed by the Governments emergency ordinance no. 36, but it did not pass in the Senate. Therefore on December 9, 1997, the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania ministers suspended participation in the government after a large majority of the Senate voted for Romanian-language instruction of history and geography in all Hungarian-schools and prevented the restoration of a minority-language university despite a previously adopted government decree allowing broad minority-language education rights. DAHR President Béla Markó stated that the coalition partners have broken their commitments by changing other minority-related clauses as well, which they had guaranteed in an agreement last week signed by the Presidents of all four coalition partners: Ion Diaconescu, Christian Democratic National Peasants Party, Petre Roman, Democratic Party, Mircea Ionescu Quintus, National Liberal Party, and Béla Markó. "DAHR cannot accept an alliance in which agreements and compromise solutions are not respected," said the President, showing the agreement to the press. [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár), Dec. 10, 1997]
The main ruling party, the Christian Democratic National Peasants Party desperately tried to fulfil its promises to allow all level mother tongue education. Therefore, on February 13, 1998 as reported by Medifax press agency, the leadership of Christian Democratic National Peasant Party disciplined its fellow member, Chairman of the Senate Education Committee Senator George Pruteanu for publicly advocating views that are not in accord with the party’s standpoint on minority education. Even though Pruteanu had demanded severe minority-related restrictions to a government decree amending the Education Law, winning Senate approval last December, he has retained his position as the head of the Senate Education Committee. Concerning the debate in the Chamber of Deputies over removal of restrictions on minority educational rights, Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania representative in the Chamber of Deputies Education Committee Ferenc Asztalos stated that his party and the Peasant Party have agreed to postpone it until February 27, 1998. However, as National newspaper reported recently, the Senate Committee on Local Public Administration is ready to adopt discriminatory provisions to a government decree, which would only allow communities that are at minimum 30 percent minority-inhabited to post bilingual signs. The Government Decree (No. 22/1997) in effect requires a 20 percent minority population for the placement of bilingual signs. [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár), Feb. 13, 1998]
On July 6, 1998 Education Ministry Secretary of Minority Affairs József Kötô declared that, in light of the recent arguments within the coalition over the reestablishment of the Hungarian-language university in Cluj/Kolozsvár, he does not see the need for his position because he does not think it likely that a council will be established to organise the independent university. While the Education Ministry continues to speak of multiculturalism as realised in the Babes-Bolyai University (and as opposed to an independent Hungarian university), Kötô pointed out that currently true multiculturalism does not exist in Babes-Bolyai either, for the Romanian majority in the university senate does not allow independent groups within their ranks, and there is no Hungarian-language instruction in many important subject areas. He called the situation anti-democratic because the majority is attempting to dictate to the minority what is good for them. In conclusion, Kötô emphasised that he accepted his position because he wanted to bring the coalition’s program to fruition, but he feels he is representing only the viewpoint of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania and is receiving support from neither the Education Ministry nor the coalition partners. Kötô is not very optimistic about the reestablishment of the university under these circumstances. [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár), Jul. 6, 1998]
The re-establishment of the Hungarian Bolyai University is vital for the Hungarian minority in Romania. Still, the majority of the Romanians heavily opose this democratic demand. Especially after the open minded Prime Minister Victor Ciorbea resigned in March 1998, coalition partners are more and more reluctant (or not willing) to talk about the issue. The DAHR has warned that if the emergency ordinance changing the Law on Education will not pass in the Parliament it would leave the coalition. Still, the DAHR is a ruling party in Romania.

Bilingual signs – failure

On May 29, 1997 a government decree amending the Law on Local Self-government went into effect applying to about half a thousand communities where minorities constitute over 20 percent of the local population. In these communities, the decree allows local self-governments (1) to post minority-language place name signs (2) issue minority-language public notices, and (3) use native language during town council meetings if requested by one-third of the participants. [Magyar Nemzet (Budapest), May 30,1997; Népszabadság (Budapest), May 30,1997]
But the democratic measure did not have many effects. Although the placement of bilingual signs was successfully accomplished in due to the co-operative effort of the mayor and other DAHR officials in compliance with the government decree which allows communities that are at minimum 20 percent minority-inhabited to post bilingual place-name signs. However, in Magyarléta one of the recently posted bilingual signs was stolen and police have begun an investigation. Even though several ethnic Hungarian mayors have made promises, only seven communities have been able to place bilingual signs in Cluj/Kolozs County where altogether 90 communities are eligible. [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár), Nov. 27, 28, 1997]
Media reports of bilingual signs being painted or hammered down did not cease to appear. According to eyewitnesses, a group of people emerged from a Dacia brand car (license plate no. CJ-07-CLC), hammered down and removed one of the bilingual road-signs in Baciu/Kisbács which had already been painted over the previous day. The four civilian patrolmen and six civilians standing nearby did not intervene. Hungarian-language signs have recently been exposed to violent attacks in the village with this incident being the fourth in a week. [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár), Feb. 5, 1998]
On January 2, 1998 unknown vandals in a Dacia car spray-painted black the place name sign of Sárvásár in Cluj/Kolozsvár County yesterday. The sign was restored the next day with the help of police [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár), Jan. 14, 1998]
On February 1, 1998 The Council of Europe’s Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities and Regional Languages went into effect today in 13 of the organisation’s member states. The agreement, which Romania was one of the first to sign in 1993, guarantees broad political, cultural and religious rights for minorities, among others, the right to native-language education, while banning restrictive measures and forced assimilation. Reflecting on the agreement, Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania Senator Péter Eckstein-Kovács emphasised its relevance to the ethnic Hungarian community, pointing out that two of its provisions, "from the point of view of ethnic-Hungarians could be applied to current political issues," namely, (1) the exercise of native-language in local administration, and (2) the placement of bilingual signs. If the Romanian Parliament ratifies the Council’s agreement, it will override all domestic laws that are not in accord with its provisions. [Magyar Hírlap (Budapest), Feb. 2, 1998; Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár), Feb. 4, 1998]
On February 2, 1998, soon after Hungarian-language place-name signs had been posted at the city limits of Baciu/Kisbács, Cluj/Kolozs County, they were spray-painted and damaged by a gang of people. Although the road-signs were restored on the following day, the local administration has begun to take measures by calling on volunteers to help guard the signs [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár), Feb. 2, 1998]
On February 11, 1998 the Cluj/Kolozs branch of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania issued a protest letter to Prime Minister Victor Ciorbea, Interior Minister Gavril Dejeu, top government Secretary Romus Opris and Minister for Minority Affairs György Tokay, appealing for measures to prevent "commando troops" from further destroying bilingual place-name signs in the County. The letter calls for a criminal investigation and punishment of the perpetrators. Senator Péter Eckstein-Kovács noted the gravity of the situation since in one incident civilian patrolmen did not intervene to prevent the destruction. [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár), Feb. 11, 1998]

The return of illegally confiscated church properties – half failure, half success

On March 2, 1998, Árpád Mózes, Lutheran Bishop, stated that despite the government’s pledge to return illegally confiscated properties to the Hungarian Lutheran Church, including several schools, no concrete steps have been taken. Additionally, after the government’s announcement, the conditions of buildings have severely deteriorated as most of their doors and windows were stolen. The Bishop also said that Hungarian Lutheran Church of Cluj/Kolozsvár has appealed to the World Council of Churches for support in regaining significant real estate illegally confiscated in the 1960’s and given to the Romanian Orthodox Church in the 1990’s instead of back to its rightful owners. [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár), March 2, 1998]
On March 13, 1998, the Permanent Congress of Historic Hungarian Christian Churches in Romania publicly called for the return of illegally confiscated church assets and will begin on March 15 to collect signatures on a petition to this effect since the government has failed to take action in the past eight years. [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár), March 13, 1998]

Leaving the government?

The situation of the coalition has worsened as on December 13, 1997 a special Conference of the Council of Representatives of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, the organisation’s highest decision-making body, in Cluj/Kolozsvár concluded that withdrawal from the government would not benefit either Romanian society or ethnic Hungarian communities. Therefore, DAHR will remain in the coalition, with its participation tied to specific conditions: (1) the government must stop ignoring anti-Hungarian propaganda, and (2) problems concerning native-language education and the return of church assets need to be resolved. DAHR Executive Committee President Csaba Takács stated that the party did not aim to impose new conditions on the coalition, it merely seeks fulfilment of the previously adopted government program. [Népszabadság (Budapest), Dec. 15, 1997; Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár), Dec. 15, 1997]
On January 6, 1998 Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania Executive President Csaba Takács stated that should the Chamber of Deputies pass the government decree amending the Education Law in the form approved by the Senate, it would evidently lead to DAHR’s non-participation in the coalition. Furthermore, Takács firmly rejected the accusations of several Romanian dailies, among others, the Curierul National, that DAHR is "cruelly blackmailing" the coalition, pointing out that by the time the party joined the government, it had already agreed to the removal of minority-related restrictions from the Education Law, instead of implementing its own educational proposal, which bears the support of 500,000 signatures. [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár), Jan. 7, 1998]
On February 28, 1998 Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania Parliamentary Deputy Sándor Kónya-Hamar sharply criticised the government’s performance, stating that "DAHR cannot adopt the Peasant Party’s aggressive politics . . . DAHR has to reconsider whether or not it can participate in the coalition," pointing out that the debate in the Chamber of Deputies over removal of restrictions on minority educational rights is likely to be a watershed in Peasant Party—DAHR co-operation. [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár), March 2, 1998]
On July 13, 1998 Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (DAHR) President Béla Markó discussed the relationship of the DAHR with the rest of the Romanian Government in the recently concluded parliamentary session in an interview with MTI Press Service. Markó stated that it particularly affected the ethnic Hungarian minority that neither the amendments to the Education Law nor the Law on Local Government had been passed, although DAHR did have some recent successes with the appointment of Senator Gábor Kozsokár to the Constitutional Court and Zsolt Gálfalvi’s nomination to the state television commission. Although he claimed that postponing some of these measures could be beneficial because of the disputes within the ruling coalition, Markó feels that, since the inception of the new government, DAHR has been hurt by having to fight for those measures it had already achieved. DAHR Minister György Tokay, however, did have an optimistic view: he feels that since many of the goals of the DAHR are part of the ruling coalition’s program, they will eventually be passed. [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár), Jul.13, 1998]
The big question is whether after all these failures the Hungarian Party should stay in power or leave the Government. Many say that after two and a half years in power there are almost no results: the Law on Education is not changed, the Hungarian “Bolyai” University is not established, the Law on Local Self Government has not passed in the Parliament, Hungarian pupils have to learn history and geography in Romanian, illegaly confiscated church property were only partially given back, etc.
Many say that leaving the coalition would mean suicide for the Hungarian Party. They claim that Hungarians can better fight for their rights from inside the Government rather than form outside. If the DAHR will leave the coalition, it would mean to work together with the extreme nationalists, former communists who form the opposition. Still, collaborating with those Romanian parties which don't understand to respect their promises seems to be a too big compromise.
What has started to be a model for Central and Eastern Europe, but also for the EU countries, namely that a national minority is in power in a nation state, failed to work.

Sources:

Comments? Contact the author, Oliver Kiss.
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Last modifications: 27-8-1998