Romanian deputies vote against Szeklerland autonomy

The Romanian Chamber of Deputies rejected in the plenary sitting on Wednesday, April 11, the legislative proposal on the autonomy of the Szeklerland. According to the report of the Commission for Public Administration within the Chamber of Deputies, “the legislative initiative is basically aimed at creating a distinct state entity, parallel to the Romanian unitary national state,” local Mediafax reported. The bill, which was initiated by the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDRM), targeted the autonomy of Covasna and Harghita counties, as well as part of Mures county, and their constitution as an autonomous region, with legal personality, within the Romanian state. It also provided that the Szeklerland would have its own administrative organization, with public authorities and institutions at all levels, and that it would have the Hungarian language as an official language. “Autonomy does not mean secessionism, it does not mean an attack on Romania's integrity. Autonomy means the message of a community that manifests its desire to organize public administration in a certain way,” said UDRM MP Korodi Attila, according to local Mediafax. The Chamber of Deputies was the first of the Romanian Parliament’s chambers to vote on this legislative proposal, with the Senate having the final vote. Szeklerland represents a group of three counties in central Romania, namely Harghita, Covasna and Mures, where a large part of the population is Hungarian. These counties have been asking for autonomy for many years. Thousands march for Szeklerland autonomy in Romania Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com