Hungarian American Coalition News, 2006 (15. évfolyam, 1. szám)
2006 / 1. szám
Hungarian American Coalition NEWS June 2006 Vol. 15, No. 1 THE LAW ON THE STATUS OF NATIONAL MINORITIES IN ROMANIA by Katalin Vinkler Graduate of the Law School of Babes-Bolyai University, Kolozsvár, Romania, Hungarian American Coalition Congressional Intern 2006 A Short Overview of the Legal Framework of Minority Issues in Romania in the Last Decade With the overthrow of Romania’s Communist dictatorial regime in 1989, the 1.7-million strong Hungarian minority expressed its aspirations for the restoration of democratic minority rights. Their newly formed political party, the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (DAHR), remains the most significant political voice of the Hungarian minority. In December 19911 a new Constitution was approved by a referendum. It declares that “Romania is a sovereign, independent, unitary and indivisible national state” and that the State recognizes and guarantees the right of persons belonging to national minorities, to the preservation, development and expression of their ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious identity. (Continues on Page 2) Dear Reader: Given the importance of the Law on the Status of National Minorities for all minorities in Romania, we are publishing this article to give you the background and current status of the law, which to date, has not been passed by the Romanian parliament. As most readers know, arbitrary changes to the political map of Eastern Europe at the end of World War I created the state that we now know as Romania, which is home to almost two million ethnic Hungarians. Due to their minority status, these ethnically Hungarian Romanian citizens were subjected to 75 years of oppression and persecution by a series of Romanian Communist regimes. After the fall of Communism in December 1989, ethnic Hungarians in Romania were afforded greater rights, although the process remains incomplete. Even though the Romanian parliament has passed a number of laws on minority rights since 1990, including legislation on education and public administration, these laws have failed to address the full range of issues facing Romania’s minorities. Furthermore, even where they have been implemented, the laws are insufficient for the preservation and promotion of minority linguistic and cultural identities, and have failed to support the legitimate aspirations of the minority to restore Hungarian educational institutions which were forcibly closed down under Communism. At present, the political representatives of the Hungarian minority are engaged in passing the Law on the Status of National Minorities. The proposed statute’s most significant provision concerns “cultural autonomy,” which enables the minority to shape and implement important cultural/linguistic policies and institutions which concern them. Cultural autonomy as defined in the draft statute is a practicable legal framework that has multiple precedents in modern-day Europe and has been examined and found satisfactory by several EU bodies. There is nothing radical or secessionist about the statute, which does not affect the political structure or constitutional framework of the Romanian state. It is time to pass this important legislation and move forward to implement this much needed legal framework. Maximilian Teleki President, Hungarian American Coalition
