The prefect of Covasna (Kovászna) county in Romania is seeking to ban any cultural event that has the word “Székely” in its name after media allegations in Romania that the ethnic Hungarian mayor of Târgu Secuiesc (Kézdivásárhely) sponsored a purportedly far-right Hungarian festival called “Székely Sziget” in Katrosa, hvg.hu reported earlier this month.
The Székelys – or Szeklers – are a minority group of ethnic Hungarians who mostly live in eastern Transylvania.
Mayor Tibor Bokor has dismissed allegations that the local council sponsored and organized Székely Sziget, saying the town’s “internal rules’ state that the council automatically lends “some props” to events organized by non-profit civil organizations but that does mean that it agrees with the goals of those events.
Covasna prefect Codrin Munteanu said steps need to be take to prevent county governments from sponsoring event that have the word “székely” in their names, including the “Székely Családok Napja” (Székely Families’ Day) and Székely Vágta (Székely Gallop) in Sfântu Gheorghe (Sepsiszentgyörgy).
Organized by extremist Hungarian movement Sixty-Four Counties Youth Movement (Hatvannégy Vármegye Ifjúsági Mozgalom) as a sister event of Magyar Sziget, the festival used chairs, benches and tables owned by the council.
Magyar Sziget made the headlines last year when Zsolt Tyirityán, leader of Jobbik-ally Betyársereg, urged listeners at the festival to “pull the trigger of the machine gun” when they see a Jew or “someone with a different skin color.”
László Toroczkai, the spokesperson for Betyársereg, is a consultant for Jobbik Chairman Gábor Vona.
