Székely Land
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
Please see the discussion on the talk page. |
Székely Land (Hungarian: Székelyföld; Latin: Terra Siculorum; Romanian: Ţinutul Secuiesc) is used today in a cultural-ethnographical sense to refer to the territories inhabited by the Székely, a Hungarian minority lying in the centre of Romania. They live in the valleys and hills of the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, corresponding to the present-day Harghita, Covasna, and parts of Mureş Counties in Romania.
Originally, the name Székelyföld denoted an autonomous region during the Kingdom of Hungary. It ceased to exist as a legal entity after the Habsburg Monarchy took control of the region.
There is a local Székely initiative to attain regional autonomy for the Székely Land, within similar boundaries to those of Romania's Hungarian Autonomous Region (1952-60). Most Romanians, however, oppose this idea. It is also doubtful whether the present constitution of Romania (which defines the country as a unitary nation-state) could accommodate any autonomous regions based on ethnicity.
Contents |
[edit] Population
There are approximately 670,000 Székely, an ethnic group kin to the Magyars, living in Harghita, Covasna and parts of Mureş Counties, with the highest densities in Harghita and Covasna (~85% and ~74% respectively).
[edit] Geography
Most of the land inhabited by the Székely lays within the Harghita, Covasna, and Mureş Counties of Romania. Historically centred in the town of Odorheiu Secuiesc (Székelyudvarhely), other important centers of Székely Land have included Miercurea Ciuc (Csíkszereda), Sfântu Gheorghe (Sepsiszentgyörgy), and Târgu-Mureş (Marosvásárhely).
[edit] History
From the 12th and 13th centuries until 1876, the Székely Land enjoyed a considerable but varying amount of autonomy, first as a part of the Kingdom of Hungary, then inside the Principality of Transylvania, and finally as a part of the Habsburg Empire. The autonomy was largely due to the special service the Székely provided as border guards until the beginning of the 18th century. As a result of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise in 1867, Transylvania became part of the Kingdom of Hungary within Austria-Hungary and ceased to exist as a legal or administrative entity.
In 1876, a general administrative reform abolished all the autonomous areas in the Kingdom of Hungary and created a unified system of counties. As a result, the autonomous Székely Land came to an end as well. Four counties were created in its place: Udvarhely, Háromszék, Csík, and Maros-Torda.[1]
In the Treaty of Trianon of 1920 following World War I, the Kingdom of Romania acquired Transylvania. This was accompanied by unsatisfied promises of autonomy for the new Hungarian minority. The Romanian language officially replaced Hungarian in Székely Land, but Székely county boundaries were preserved, and Székely districts were able to elect their own officials at local level and to preserve a church-based Hungarian-language education. In 1940, Romania was forced to cede Northern Transylvania to Hungary in the Second Vienna Award; this territory included most of the historically Székely areas. Hungarian authorities subsequently restored the pre-Trianon structure with slight modifications.
Following the territory's restoration to Romania after World War II, a Hungarian Autonomous Region was created in 1952, which encompassed most of the land inhabited by the Székely. This region lasted until 1968 when the administrative reform divided Romania into the current counties.
Since 2005 and 2006, representatives of the Hungarian minority have presented their desire to re-create the autonomous region under the name "Székely Land (Szekler Land)". The proposal stirred a series of scandals within the Romanian press and political system. With the re-creation of the autonomous region, the Hungarian minority is trying to obtain rights similar to those in autonomous South Tyrol (Italy), Catalonia (Spain), Basque Country (Spain), Gagauzia (Moldova), Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijan), Åland Islands (Finland), Faroe Islands (Denmark), etc.
At this time, the Hungarians are the only major national minority that does not have any sort of autonomy (cultural or regional).[citation needed] So far, Romania has denied a wide variety of rights of the Hungarian minority.[citation needed] The right for autonomy is just one in the long list of themes which are controversial in the Romanian society.
Hungarians usage of the Székely symbols, Hungarian inscriptions, or singing the Hungarian and Székely anthems face aggressive opposition from the Romanian side.[citation needed] The Székely banner is a dark blue field, which contains a golden Sun and a silver Moon. This symbol, though it is in the Romanian state's official banner, is forbidden for free public usage by the Romanian authorities.[citation needed] In 2006, a group of Székely Hungarians placed a plaque containing the Székely banner near a road at the entrance to Covasna County. The act got to the headlines of Romanian newspapers and the Romanian Police removed it from the spot.
Often, Romanian representatives consider Székely and Hungarian symbols in general "attempts against the national security and threat against the territorial integrity of Romania"[citation needed] and therefore forbid them. At this time, the Székely symbols are highly controversial in Romania.[citation needed]
Székely Hungarians are seeking territorial autonomy, inspiring from Western European models, such as the Catalonian minority's model in Spain. The autonomy must have a legal basis and will have to be voted by the Romanian parliament. The Romanian political system and the press considers this initiative an "attempt against the Romanian state's territorial integrity" and therefore rejects it.
In 2006, President Traian Băsescu of Romania condemned the idea of an autonomous Székely region.
In February 2007, a local Székely commission organized a public opinion research campaign in the Székely areas. Over 80% of the population voted "yes" for the autonomy of Székely Land, but this act created conflict again and the subject appeared in the headlines of the Romanian news. The public opinion research campaign was called a "separatist attempt" by the Romanian side.
On February 11, 2007 Emil Boc, the mayor of Cluj-Napoca, maintained the referendum is illegal and called it an "instigation to territorial separatism".[2]
On February 12, 2007, President László Sólyom of Hungary visited Romania and met Băsescu. The discussions included the controversial topics of minority rights and and autonomy. Băsescu has pointed out the situation of the Székely in Romania is in full respect with the standards of the European Union. He also mentioned a referendum for territorial autonomy is illegal and characterized the Székely initiative not as a test of the public opinion, but as a test of Romanian laws.[3] Romania's Interior Ministry has said that organizing an informal poll is actually not illegal.[1]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Only half of the territory of Maros-Torda originally belonged to Székely Land, as the other half belonged to other regions. Roughly speaking, present-day Harghita County encompasses Udvarhely (capital city: Székelyudvarhely, now Odorheiu Secuiesc) and Csík (capital city: Csíkszereda, Miercurea Ciuc); Covasna County covers more or less the same territory as did Háromszék (capital city: Sepsiszentgyörgy, Sfântu Gheorghe); and what used to be Maros-Torda (capital city: Marosvásárhely, Târgu-Mureş) is part of present-day Mureş County.
- ^ An article on Székely referendum published in Ziua, 13 February 2007 (Romanian)
- ^ Romanian presidency's press release, 12 February 2007 (Romanian)
