The Eighth Tribe, 1978 (5. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1978-02-01 / 2. szám
Page 6 THE EIGHTH TRIBE February, 1978 Europe's largest ethnic minority consists of the 2.5 million Hungarians in Rumania, principally in the western province of Transylvania, east of Hungary. Károly Király, a Hungarian who is now vice president of the Hungarian Nationality Workers Council, the Communist Party-controlled organization representing the ethnic Hungarians, was an alternate member of the Rumanian party’s Politburo until he resigned in 1972, and a Central Committee member until 1975. In the accompanying letter, which was smuggled out of Rumania at his behest (and excerpted by The New York Times)—it is said to be his third to high Communist officials —Mr. Király complains about what he says are Government policies of forced assimilation of the Hungarians. The letter, dated Sept. 10, 1977, and sent from Marosvasarhely, in Transylvania, to James Vincze, a Central Committee member, was given to The Times by the Committee for Human Rights in Rumania, based in New York City. It was translated from Hungarian by László Hamos. Mr. Hamos says that Mr. Király’s arrest is believed imminent. AN ETHNIC-HUNGARIAN COMMUNIST IN RUMANIA COMPLAINS TO HIS PARTY ABOUT BIAS By Károly Király My Dear Friend: Anxiety and concern compel me to write to you about the manner in which the nationality question has been handled in our country of late, and how the Nationality Workers Councils on both the national and county levels are performing their work. It is well known that the party resolution adopted 10 years ago to establish these councils was accepted and greeted enthusiastically by millions of workers of the various nationalities in our country. They considered it a well-thought-out and responsible act which would serve the preservation of their national identities, provide an organizational framework through which they could voice their various problems and complaints, and advance the development of their social, material and intellectual well-being. Although from the very beginning the organizational structure as well as the rules of operation proved narrow and inadequate, encouraging signs did appear in their activity. At meetings it was permitted to speak freely and openly; of the numerous proposals raised, a good many were considered; there were also some plenary sessions which were attended by Comrades (Nicholae) Ceausescu (the President) and (Ion Gheorghe) Maurer (a former Prime Minister). The speech given by Comrade Ceausescu at the spring 1971 joint plenary session of the Nationality Councils was met with lively enthusiasm and deep satisfaction. Unfortunately, the satisfaction and the hope were short-lived. 4Purposes of Propaganda In practice, it became clear that these beautiful speeches, incorporating so many sound principles, were not made for our sake, but to serve the purposes of propaganda, especially propaganda directed abroad. We are compelled to state that the chasm between theory and practice is vast and that while one thing is said entirely different things are done. We were promised new secondary vocational and technical schools in which studies were to be conducted in the language of the nationalities, but we have witnessed a decline in the number of these schools. Children cannot study in their native tongue; compulsorv instruction in the Rumanian language has been introduced even at the kindergarten level. In 1976 a decision was made to eliminate Hungarian institutions of higher edncation. Rumanian Mayors Named It is no secret of course that the Hungarian State Theater of Marosvásárhely has a Rumanian director who does not speak Hungarian. In the same way, it is nothing new that in cities where the majority of the population is Hungarian—such as Nagyvárad, Marosvásárhely, Szováta—Rumanians who speak no Hungarian are being appointed as mayors. Use of the native tongue is severely restricted at meetings of the party, the Young Communists League, the trade unions, and in the various workers councils; indeed, use of the native tongue is prohibited even at meetings of the Nationality Workers Councils. Signs identifying institutions, localities and so on in the native tongue of the local inhabitants have almost completely disappeared. In 1971 when I was party First Secretary in Kovászna County, we posted bilingual Rumanian and Hungarian signs, but their existence was short-lived. The signs were simply removed, and by 1975, not a single locality was identified in Hungarian. Nationalities cannot use their native tongues even in state offices. With regard to the question of personnel, the replacement of Hungarian officials (where there still are any I with Rumanians is being carried out with incredible persistence. This applies equally to the politico-administrative apparatus and to the various economc and industrial enterprises. I don't even wish to think of such cities as, for example, Nagyvárad,
