The candidate of the „Romania Forward” electoral alliance, Crin Antonescu, who paid a visit to the Covasna county on Thursday at the invitation of the UDMR (Democratic Union of Hungarians of Romania), PSD (Social Democratic Party) and PNL (National Liberal Party) organizations, visited the Szekler National Museum in Sfantu Gheorghe, one of the representative cultural institutions for the Hungarian community in Romania, and sent its members a message on the occasion of the Day of Hungarians Everywhere, celebrated on March 15.
„Being a conservative, I hold, defend, understand those who hold and defend identity, tradition, community. And I believe that a country that cultivates its diversities, a country that cultivates in its heritage everything that is valuable, history, tradition, language, religion and so on, is a truly rich country. Romania, from this point of view, is a truly rich country and a significant part of this wealth is brought by the Hungarian community, with its history, with its tradition, with all the things that enrich us all and make us feel like European citizens in a truly European country (…) I did not come with thoughts of enmity before March 15, on the contrary, (…) I come with the friendliest thoughts, with thoughts of respect, of appreciation and I wish all members of the Hungarian community a joyful celebration, a celebration with decency, a celebration without division,” Crin Antonescu told a press conference.
Asked what he would say to the members of the Hungarian community who advocate for the territorial autonomy of the Szeklerland, Crin Antonescu said that he could not agree with the violation of the unity of the Romanian state.
„Cultural autonomy, autonomy in the sense of preserving identity should not hinder anyone, that’s what I said. Territorial autonomy has a different connotation. If it has a connotation of federalization or affecting the unity of the Romanian state, it has other connotations and I cannot agree with that. That is very well known. Otherwise, I think everyone has gotten used to the fact that there is a Szeklerland (…) It is a reality, it was a historical reality and it is a cultural, ethnic reality,” said Crin Antonescu.
As for the issue of Romania’s administrative-territorial reorganization, Crin Antonescu believes that this must be „done carefully” and will have to be the subject of a national debate.
The leader of the UDMR Covasna, Tamas Sandor, who is also the president of the County Council, as well as the mayor of Sfantu Gheorghe, Antal Arpad, welcomed the presence of Crin Antonescu in the Szeklerland, noting that the interest of the Hungarian community is for Romania to have a president with whom it can cooperate and behind whom there is a coalition and a stable parliamentary majority.
AGERPRES
