A crowd consisting of about 25 000 protesters coming from all Transylvanian counties has expressed its disagreement with the injustice and its solidarity with those fighting for justice in Sf. Gheorghe, on September the 1st, on the “Day of the Truth”. The representatives of the historic churches and of the political organizations, as well as the individuals taking the floor asserted together in their protesting speeches, prayers and declarations, that the ethnic Hungarian community will stand up for its rightful properties, the Székely Mikó High School Building having a symbolic meaning in this endeavor. The protest has been organized by the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania and the Transylvanian Calvinist Diocese.

At the beginning of the event, Árpád András Antal, the mayor of Sf. Gheorghe and Kató Béla, the vice-bishop of the Transylvanian Calvinist Diocese, have raised their voice together against the re-nationalization of the property of the Hungarian community: “Today we have asked you to join us to appeal together to the one just judge, to our God, for the severe injustice inflicted upon us. How bad the situation is, is also shown by the fact that it is now for the first time since 1989, that the Bishops of all the four ethnic Hungarian historic churches of Transylvania, the representatives of the political parties and the civic organizations, have stepped up together in our common cause” -  Béla Kató, the Calvinist vice-bishop emphasized, whose idea was then continued by mayor Árpád András Antal, who explained that on the question that many people had asked him, namely why the local community did not want to take over the building of the Székely Mikó High School, “The answer is simple and clear. The reason is, that the building had always belonged to the Calvinist Church. If anybody has doubts about that, I have upon me three documents attesting this. I am holding in my hand a document from the 1800’s. It is the construction contract signed between the constructor and the Calvinist Church. Many of you also know the book printed in 1897, the title of which is “The History of the Founding of the Calvinist Székely Mikó High School”. One of the documents is the Permit of the Ministry of Education allowing the high school to function, issued in 1928, between the two world wars by the Romanian authorities. Everybody can read that: it says that the owner of the school is the Calvinist Church. Attached to it, the Official Journal from 1948 regarding the nationalization, which says that the building was taken from the Calvinist Church.” – the mayor of Sf. Gheorghe argued.


Anybody can be next tomorrow

“Today we have come to raise our voice for the Mikó high school, for Attila Markó and Tamás Marosán. We wish to speak against injustice and in the defense of ownership rights. Today we say: take your hands off the property of the church, off the property of a community.” – Hunor Kelemen, said. The president of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ) considers that after this infamous attack suffered by the Calvinist Church, anybody may follow tomorrow. “Under the cover of justice, they can reach tomorrow for the property of the Catholic Church, the day after tomorrow they can re-nationalize ancient and rightful property of the Unitarian or of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. But, if it has happened once, the over 800 000 ha common property of forest land may follow, but also the real estates, the houses, anything. And if two persons, who have carried out community tasks, may be imprisoned, then another 200 may follow the very next day.” – Hunor Kelemen added, enumerating the perils lurking around the ethnic Hungarian community and stressed that a clear disapproval of injustice must be shouted out, that’s the least the Hungarians need to do, as they know that one of the stakes of their future resides in the re-establishment of their property rights.


The restituted properties are in danger

The representatives of the historic churches have expressed their worries regarding the possible loss of the already restituted church property.

Géza Pap, the Bishop of the Transylvanian Calvinist Church spoke about the fact that the decision of the Buzau county court sends a message to the European Union, namely that in Romania there is no rule of law, since it disregards the right to private ownership. The court does not seem to be willing to mend injustice, but it tries to stop the restitution and even restore the nationalization with political backing. “This decision sends the message to the Romanian population that in this country you may bluntly steal or use stolen property, because even if the case is taken to trial, with political will and juridical dodging justice can be delayed” - Géza Pap stressed.

György Jakubinyi, the Archbishop of the Alba Iulia Catholic Diocese quoted the thoughts of Bishop Áron Márton on the Day of Truth. “This is not about politics. This is about our lives! And we have gained the right to live from God himself. Our self-respect and our responsibility for the fate of the following generations demands that we protest in defense of our rights and against the pronouncing and the enforcement of such an unfair sentence” – the Archbishop evoked, who considered it to be a disgrace that the ethnic Hungarian community be obliged to justify its very right to exist and to be compelled to fight for the restitution of its property.


The relationship between the state and the church is unclear

The ethnic Hungarian community needed to take to the streets because the relationship between the state and the church is not clarified – Ferenc Bálint-Benczédi, the Bishop of the Hungarian Unitarian Church emphasized in his speech: “They should stop asking us to leave this country, when all we want is to defend our goods. The school has and will always be our second home, where children are being taught and educated in honor and love  to the glory of God, for the progress of our existence” the Bishop concluded.

István Csűry, the Bishop of the Piatra Craiului Calvinist Diocese, took the opportunity to share the message of his diocese’s community: “Before we are accused of coveting the property of the Romanian state, when we are asking only for our rightful property all around Transylvania, let’s say it openly that our Hungarian built heritage inherited in a questionable way by the Romanian state, has only got into the hands of the greedy-to-own-everything communists through shameful nationalization” – the Bishop protested against the traps of those unfair times.

Attila Fehér, counselor in chief of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of Romania, also transmitted the message of his community emphasizing the importance of solidarity. “We fight as one against disenfranchisement, deception, lies and sins. Our presence is a message saying that we are not the children of fear, but those of courage, justice and love. This is why we cannot leave it at that and we cannot ignore the theft of the heritage of our future generations, thus jeopardizing the secure future of our children and of our nation” – the counselor in chief concluded the message of the Day of Truth.

At the end of the event the participants read out the declaration and the prayers prepared for The Day of  Truth and gave the floor to State Secretary Attila Markó and to legal counselor Tamás Marosán under the loud cheering of the crowd.