The Eighth Hungarian Tribe, 1983 (10. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1983-08-01 / 8. szám
To the Honorable RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States Mr. President: We, American citizens of Hungarian descent, are deeply concerned over your recommendation to renew Favored Nation Status to the government of the Socialist Republic of Rumania. It is our conviction that you are a man of integrity, courage and compassion. Therefore, it is impossible for us to comprehend your position in this regard. Hungarians in the United States supported you both financially and at the ballot box, and worked diligently for your election. It is impossible to believe that you are aware of the horrible atrocities perpetrated by the Ceausescu regime on the native Hungarian population of Transylvania. We urge you to investigate the situation carefully and consider the effects of your decision. We are enclosing with this letter documented material concerning the situation. Since April 1983, the date of our last quarterly report, the conditions in Transylvania have grown even worse. On April 29, 1983, the newspaper KURIER in Vienna, Austria reported that Rumanian government agencies had placed posters and placards in railroad stations and bus terminals as well as inside buses and railroad cars urging "Rumanian patriots" to "exterminate the Hungarians anywhere they can be found." On May 10, 1983, Dictator Ceausescu declared in his speech, heard by millions of people: "Contrary to the principles of Marxist socialism, the glorious achievements of our Rumanian socialism are solely for the benefit of our own Rumanian brothers and sisters, and in no way can benefit those foreigners who lurk in the dark corners of our beloved country! Tell them, wherever you happen to encounter one of those Hungarian dogs, that they have no place under the Rumanian sky! They can be nothing more in our land but slaves! Unless they change their names and prove themselves good Rumanians, not even their children's children will ever be more in this land of ours than lowly beasts of burden, carrying rocks for our pyramids of the glorious Rumanian future!" The next issue of the Transylvanian Quarterly will publish a long list of those Hungarians who were beaten to death or tortured and imprisoned by the Rumanian SECURITATE for expressing their opinions or just for talking in Hungarian on the streets of a Hungarian town during these last three months. Mr. President, we sincerely hope that in view of these facts you will reconsider your recommendation to Congress and make the renewal of the Favored Nation Status to the Rumanian government dependent upon the conditions suggested in our statements and memorandums. According to the last figures published by the Census Bureau, there are 1,556,092 American citizens of Hungarian descent, and they are all deeply interested in the fate of our brethren in Transylvania. Respectfully yours, June 17, 1983 Albert Wass de Czege President of the U.S. Branches of the Transylvanian World Federation and Affiliated Organizations Charter Member of the Republican Presidential Task Force Member of the U.S. Congressional Advisory Board and the Republican National Committee
