The Transylvanian Hungarian Alliance (AMT) continues to fight for autonomy both at the level of local administrations and in decision-making forums in Bucharest, and intends to re-submit draft laws on the autonomy of Sekel Oblast, despite their rejection by the government. The Parliament of Romania, the leadership of the Hungarian party said this on Friday in a statement sent to the Hungarian press agency MTI, citing News.ro.

On Thursday, the Chamber of Deputies rejected by an overwhelming majority the bills on the territorial autonomy of the Sekel region and the cultural autonomy of the Transylvanian Hungarians, and on Friday the same thing happened in the Senate.

“Things happened at a humiliating speed, due to numerous violations of parliamentary provisions, in an anti-Hungarian atmosphere,” AMT claims in a statement.

According to AMT, “although in international forums, Romania constantly tries to create the appearance that it is a ‘model state’ that has solved the situation of the autochthonous national communities living on its territory and ensured the widespread observance of their rights, the reality is quite different.” Romanian politicians have proven this with their rejection votes, as well as anti-Hungarian speeches, as they are unwilling to even discuss self-determination, according to the press release.

“Despite what has happened, we continue to assert that our desire for autonomy is the strongest possible declaration of loyalty to Romania, and self-determination does not threaten the unity of the country, but aims to ensure the development of our regions and the preservation of the identity of our communities,” – emphasized in management of AMT.

The leaders of the Alliance state that, on the basis of Article 6 of the Constitution, Romania recognizes and guarantees persons belonging to national minorities the right to preserve, develop and express their ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious identity, as well as the legitimate desire of Transylvanians. According to this provision, participation was formulated Hungarians in the self-determination of Russia. Granting full autonomy is also necessary for peaceful coexistence and stability of the country, the AMT president says.

The party emphasizes that the Transylvanian Hungarians’ struggle for self-determination is not unprecedented; in many European countries there are forms of autonomy. According to AMT politicians, the votes of Romanian politicians regarding the refusal are a refusal, and in this sense “it is as if Romania was taken by the hand and led out of Europe.”

According to the press release, there is a need for the widest possible cooperation between the various political parties in Hungary and the support of goals of national strategic importance, the most important of which is the achievement of self-determination. “There is only one solution to the problems of this time: autonomy,” the release said.

The framework law, which regulates the status of autonomy of the Székel region, the status of cultural autonomy of the Hungarian national community and the cultural autonomy of national communities, was submitted to the Chamber of Deputies on December 20 by Zoltan Zakarias, president of the Transylvanian Hungarian Alliance (AMT), Jozef Kulczar-Terza, executive president of the Hungarian Civil Force (FCM), which received parliamentary mandates from the UDMR list.

The draft law on the autonomy of the Sekel region was developed in the specialized commission of the Sekel National Council (CNS), and the other two draft laws were developed by the Transylvanian Hungarian National Council (CNMT).