Hungarian American Coalition News, 2003 (12. évfolyam, 1-2. szám)
2003 / 1. szám
Regaining use of these properties is a prerequisite for the Hungarian minority’s ability to maintain community and church life. The continued failure of the current Romanian government to return the unlawfully confiscated properties constitutes a major blow to religious freedom and civil society. Thanks to efforts by the Hungarian-American community, the U.S. Administration and members of Congress are monitoring the church property restitution issue in Romania. During a two-week series of meetings in New York in Washington, János Antal of the Hungarian Reformed Church Diocese of Királyhágómellék (Romania) met with U.S. government and non-governmental leaders to describe the plight of the Hungarian churches and to ask for their concrete support for the restitution issue. Antal’s meetings, organized by the Hungarian Human Rights Foundation (HHRF), included a briefing at Congressional Human Rights Caucus on April 16, and a separate meeting at the Helsinki Commission, the body of the U.S. Congress charged with monitoring human rights in Europe. Referring to the Romanian government’s Special Commission on restitution, Antal stated: “They have yet to consider a single claim. But even if they began to return our properties tomorrow, at the rate of one per day, it would still take seven years before we get our 2,140 buildings back.” As part of his Washington visit, Antal met with Randy Bell, the State Department’s Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, who is also charged with general restitution matters in Europe. Mr. Bell expressed his concern at the operations and mandate of Romania’s Special Commission, and indicated that his office would “actively” pay attention to developments. “7 am also hopeful that Romania will move forward with steps to ensure progress on outstanding property restitution issues, including those of significance to Hungarian and other minority groups in Romania. ” - Senator George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio On May 8, the U.S. Senate voted 96:0 to ratify the treaty concerning NATO accession of seven Central and Eastern European countries, including Romania. Although the outcome of the vote was never in question, the surrounding debate offered Hungarian- Americans an opportunity to encourage their elected representatives to go on the record on the church restitution issue. As a result, Senators Voinovich (ROH) and Lautenberg (D-NJ) mentioned the issue specifically during their Senate floor statements preceding the NATO ratification vote. “I do have one concern that I would like to mention: the rights of the large historic Hungarian minorities in Slovakia and Romania. I urge both countries' governments to continue to work with their Hungarian communities to resolve property restitution disputes and other contentious issues. ”- Senator Frank Lautenberg, D-New Jersey In recent months, many members and supporters of the Hungarian American Coalition have joined the effort to keep the Hungarian minority’s church restitution issue on the agenda of U.S.-Romanian relations. A few examples: • Jenő Megyesy (Hungarian Club of Colorado) organized meetings for Rep. Tom Tancredo’s recent fact-finding trip to Hungary (see article, page 1) • From the Cleveland area, Coalition leaders Edith Lauer, András Ludányi, and Gabriella Nádas contacted the office of Senator Voinovich. • In the Washington area, the American Hungarian Federation of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. and other Coalition supporters submitted statements and letters to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Armed Forces Committee, and NATO Secretary- General Lord Robertson to raise minority rights concerns. • The Minnesota Hungarians contacted Senators in their state. In connection with the NATO ratification vote, the Senate also adopted a declaration urging consideration of a new NATO mechanism to suspend membership for NATO states which fall short of democratic norms, or which systematically violate human rights. In future, this mechanism could be another avenue for the Hungarian-American community to gain a hearing for the human rights concerns affecting Hungarian minorities in East Central Europe. For more information and documentation on the failure of the Romanian government to restore confiscated church properties, please visit the Hungarian Human Rights Foundation online at: www.hhrf.org and see the Status Report (next page), issued by HHRF, on the status of twelve concrete requirements for fair and equitable church-property restitution in Romania. 2 - Hungarian American Coalition - May 2003
