Ádám Maksay, coordinator for restoration of the Bánffy Castle in Bontida/Bonchida, Cluj/Kolozs County told Szabadság that the restoration of the castle progressed during the past year. The Ministry of Culture's has already supported reconstruction efforts of this edifice historically important to the Hungarian community with 2.5 billion Lei ($100,000). The amount far exceeds the originally allocated 500 million Lei [see report of October 30, 1999]. Since last year's opening of the reconstruction site, one-third of the main building's roof has been prepared. Archeological research is also underway specifically around the kitchen section. Archeological and art history research must be conducted, in addition to soil examination, before actual restoration can begin. Local authorities along with the population are increasingly supportive of the reconstruction efforts carried out by the Transylvania Trust Foundation and a 24-hour patrol provides heightened security for the castle's environs. [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár), Sep. 29, 2000]

The National Audiovisual Council adopted regulations regarding television and radio broadcasting during the election campaign removing earlier discriminatory measures affecting national minorities. Ethnic Hungarian member of the Council, Attila Gáspárik, told Szabadság that the new regulation will extend the range of broadcasting allowed, which now will include unlimited Hungarian and German language radio airtime in Bucharest and Timisoara/Temesvár. It will also allow for the use of national flags of foreign countries and church symbols, which were previously prohibited. In addition, the Council removed the word "unconstitutional" from the regulation thereby leaving no room for vague interpretation and terminated the provision which stated that language of the election campaign is Rumanian. [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár), Sep. 30, 2000]

Education Minister Andrei Marga told journalists that introduction of Hungarian-language classes in Csángó-inhabited communities is the exclusive domain of the Bacau/Bákó County School Board. "It is the District Superintendent's responsibility to locally examine the legal basis for establishing Hungarian classes if a minimum of seven requests exist," stated Marga. Recently, a commission consisting of experts from the education ministry and the county superintendent office conducted a field trip to three Csángó-inhabited communities [see report of September 22 and 14]. The commission registered sufficient number of requests for Hungarian-language instruction in two Csángó communities, specifically eight in Pustiana/Pusztina and ten in Cleja/Klézse. However, the installment of Hungarian-language classes has been protracted in the local primary school. Furthermore, Education State Secretary József Kötő told Szabadság that the Bacau County School Board has turned to Prime Minister Mugur Isarescu, demanding that the Education Ministry's Decree No. 3113, allowing for minority-language instruction if seven requests exist, be immediately suspended. [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár), Sep. 26, 2000]

"The Education Ministry will allow for Hungarian-language instruction in the two Csángó-inhabited localities of Pustiana/Pusztina and Cleja/Klézse," said Attila Sántha, senior advisor at the ministry, at the Rumanian Helsinki Commission's press conference. Previously, a commission consisting of representatives from the Education Ministry, the Government Office for the Protection of Minorities, the Bacau/Bákó County School Board and the County Prefecture visited these communities to determine the number of request for Hungarian-language instruction [see report of September 14]. The commission concluded that ten requests exist in Cleja and eight ones in Pustiana. The Education Ministry's Decree No. 2000/3113 establishes that a minimum of seven students are necessary for installing Hungarian-language instruction. On behalf of the Education Ministry, Constantin Sergiu stated that the schools' leadership and local authorities exerted pressure on the parents to rescind their request for native-language instruction. In addition, Sergiu confirmed earlier reports that a group of hecklers numbering 25-30 insulted parents and commission members alike, saying "Get out with the Hungarians," "We don't need Hungarians" and "Hungarians die." Chairman of the Helsinki Commission, Gabriel Andreescu, told the Hungarian-language daily Szabadság that a report will be prepared on the situation of the Csángos so that the Council of Europe can conduct further investigations. [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár), Sep. 23, 2000]

The court date of September 18 was postponed until October 16 by the Cluj/Kolozsvár Court in the case of the Hungarian Reformed Church versus the Ministry of Education, the district school board and the Sincai Lyceum. Each of the defendants have failed to recognize the church's rightful ownership of the Kogalniceanu Street school building and enter into a rental agreement with the church. Government Decree 83/1999 mandated the return of the property to its rightful owner last September [see report of September 2, 2000] but the school has been unable to regain even partial use of its classrooms. Elek Tőkés, Legal Counsel for the Reformed Church, told the Hungarian-language daily Szabadság that the hearing was postponed because the Gheorghe Sincai Lyceum, the building's current occupant, had no legal representation. [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár), Sep. 19, 2000]

The Spanish daily El País reported newer information on the connection between former Rumanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and the infamous assassin Ilich Ramírez Sánches, better known as Carlos who is currently serving a life sentence in France. According to evidence provided by Rumanian Military Prosecutor's Office, Ceausescu ordered a total of seven assassinations from Carlos with whom closer ties dated back to 1981 [see report of November 22, 1997]. During that period, the terrorist was unwelcome in rogue states and he undertook the assassinations in exchange for weapons, money, a training camp in Transylvania and fake documents. Details of their affiliation were revealed by two former Securitate (Rumania's secret service) officers Nicolae Plesita and Sergiu Nica—both of whom have since died under unidentified conditions—to the Rumanian Prosecutor's Office, which began investigations in the early 1990s. No evidence was, however, released at that time. The Spanish daily lists several assassinations executed by Carlos, namely against Emil Georgescu, Head of the Romanian Section of the Radio Free Europe, in July 1981; France-based dissident writers Paul Goma and Virgil Tanase; and the dissident state security officer Ion Serban and his wife in Geneva in 1982. The article concludes that based on evidence gathered from several sources, Carlos was responsible for the death of 80 people and the injuries of many others. [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár), Sep. 19, 2000]

An oversight commission consisting of representatives from the Ministry of Education, the Government Office for the Protection of Minorities, the Bacau/Bákó County Prefecture and the County School Board held hearings in the ethnic Hungarian Csángó-inhabited localities of Pustiana/Pusztina, Lespezi/Lészped and Cleja/Klézse to determine if the need for native-language instruction exists [see report of August 29]. Currently, no Hungarian-language instruction exists in these ethnic Rumanian majority-inhabited communities. The education law amended last July [see report of July 1, 1999] allows for native-language instruction if the number of students meets the established minimum of seven children. At several meetings with parents, the commission found that a total of 24 children (13 in Cleja, 9 in Pustiana and 2 in Lespezi) confirmed their requests to include Hungarian as a subject in the academic curriculum. Importantly, Attila Sántha, advisor at the Education Ministry, described the atmosphere of the hearings in Cleja as increasingly hostile and pogrom-like when a mob consisting of 25 intoxicated men prevented the parents from entering the hearing room. Furthermore, incited by the local mayor, Ioan Joca, the priest, Augustin Pascaru, and the Director of the Bacau Prefecture, Dumitru Nada, the mob insulted the parents saying that "we will hinder Hungarian instruction at all cost," and also labeled them "Hungarian intruders." Some hecklers attacked and almost turned over the car bearing two officials from the Alliance of Csángó Hungarians, Ilinka Cecilia and Szilvia Róka. State Secretary, József Kötő stated that despite the intimidation, the number of parents requesting Hungarian-language instruction is sufficient to begin Hungarian classes. [Krónika (Cluj/Kolozsvár), Sep. 15, 2000; Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár), Sep. 16, 2000 and Romániai Magyar Szó (Bucharest), Sep. 19, 2000]

The Cluj/Kolozs County Administrative Court suspended—for the third time—the County Prefect Bogdan Cerghizan's order to refill the excavation site in the main square of Cluj/Kolozsvár. The Prefect decided that since NATO-led "Cooperative Best Effort—2000" military training exercises will begin this week in the city, he will temporarily suspend his efforts to compel Cluj Mayor Gheorghe Funar to abide by his lawful decrees despite the damage to the city and country’s reputation. Funar began the excavations in 1994 to provoke the Hungarian community. [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár) Sep. 12, 2000]

By the order of County Prefect Bogdan Cerghizan [see reports of September 8, 7, 5 and 4] several fully-loaded trunks belonging to the Public Maintenance Company appeared in the main square of Cluj/Kolozsvár to begin refilling the archeological excavation site, which was opened six years ago. Having attempted to provoke hostilities between Rumanians and the country's ethnic Hungarian community, the excavation project initiated by the city's extremist Mayor Gheorghe Funar in 1994 involved the removal of the equestrian statue of Mathias Rex, a Renaissance Hungarian king, a preeminent national symbol. The construction efforts were, however, once again obstructed by the mayor’s office and the extremist Greater Rumanian Party. Minodora Fritea, Head of the City Maintenance Department, ordered the Salpres Public Cleaning Company to form a tight cordon around the excavation site with its dirt wagons, preventing any other trucks from approaching the site. In addition, Greater Rumania Party local counselors parked their own cars on the sidewalk while a few demonstrators lied under the loaded trucks. To further intimidate the Public Maintenance Company’s truck drivers and run them off the scene, bodyguards from a private security firm closely allied with the mayor's office threatened the drivers with truncheons. The stand-off continued until 3.00 p.m. when workers abandoned the scene. Throughout the day, only one policemen came by who fined the above-mentioned cars for parking in a prohibited zone. [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár) Sep. 11, 2000]

At its Targu Mures/Marosvásárhely meeting, the Council of Alliance Representatives, the highest decision-making body of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Rumania, voted to field Senator György Frunda, as its own candidate for the country’s president, during the upcoming election on November 26. [DAHR Bulletin (Bucharest) Sep. 11, 2000]

County Prefect Bogdan Cerghizan issued an order—his third this week—on Friday afternoon after the Cluj/Kolozs County Administrative Court had—in response to continued objection by Mayor Gheorghe Funar—suspended his earlier orders (No. 556 and No. 551) on refilling the excavation site in the main square of Cluj/Kolozsvár. [See reports of September 7, 5 and 4.] The Prefect’s timing was not accidental as nobody works in the court’s offices between Friday 3.00 p.m. and Monday 8.00 a.m. who could torpedo his efforts to have the excavation site covered over the weekend. Ethnic Hungarian Deputy Prefect Gyula Somogyi told Szabadság that preparations are underway to put an end to the calamity surrounding the excavation site. The necessary 200 cubic meters of sand and 2000 cubic meters of soil amounting to 58 million Lei, await transportation. Somogyi also said that he ordered the County Chief of Police Nelu Pop to form a tight police cordon around the archeological site in order to prevent the civic guards controlled by the mayor from interfering. [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár) Sep. 9, 2000]

In response to continuing objections by Cluj/Kolozsvár Mayor Gheorghe Funar, the County Administrative Court suspended County Prefect Bogdan Cerghizan's second order (No. 556) to fill up the archeological excavation site in the main square of the city [see report of September 5]. The court's decision came a few hours after the Public Maintenance Company's workers began construction work on the excavation site, which ultimately had to be stopped. [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár) Sep. 7, 2000]

Minister for Minority Affairs Péter Eckstein Kovács told journalists that the cabinet adopted a government decree on anti-discrimination, which will go into effect on November 2. The new legislation will prohibit any form of discrimination on grounds of nationality, race, ethnicity, age, gender, or sexual orientation and will carry fines ranging from 500,000 to 20 million Lei for violation of its provisions. Eckstein-Kovács said the decree was necessary because apart from the Constitution and two provisions in the penal law, no regulations deal specifically with discrimination. The decree also provides for the creation of a special bureau to investigate discriminatory acts and to devise preventive measures. The Government Office for the Protection of National Minorities, headed by Eckstein, drew up the decree with the support of the Gabriel Andreescu-led Rumanian Helsinki Committee as part of the effort to bring Rumanian legislation in line with EU standards. [Krónika (Cluj/Kolozsvár) Sep. 6, 2000]

The U.S. State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor released its Annual Report on International Religious Freedom, describing the status of religious freedom in each foreign country; government policies violating religious belief and practices of groups, religious denominations and individuals; and U.S. policies promoting religious freedom around the world. While the report acknowledges that the Rumanian government "generally does not impede the observance of religious beliefs," it also points out recent shortcomings in religious tolerance. For example, the document notes that the government approved a new restrictive bill on religious affairs last September, which included the restoration of Orthodoxy as a state religion [see report of September 9, 1999], which was ultimately withdrawn due to objections by the international community. The report also concludes that the "the restitution of religious property remains a problem" as legislation establishing the procedures for restitution of religious or communal property is lacking. For the Hungarian historic churches, the report establishes that "the Communist regime confiscated many of their secular properties, which still are used for public schools, post offices, and student dormitories. Of about the 1,400 to 1,450 buildings reclaimed by the Hungarian churches, it has been able to take possession of only about 10." [U.S. State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (Washington, D.C.), Sep. 5, 2000]

At the objection of Cluj/Kolozsvár Mayor Gheorghe Funar, the County Administrative Court suspended Prefect Bogdan Cerghizan's order to fill the archeological excavation site in the main square of the city, which has been there since 1994 [see report of September 4]. Following the Court's suspension, the Prefect's issued another order No. 556, which reiterated the previous one. The mayor retorted by filing lawsuits against the Prefect and the Liviu Medrea-led Public Maintenance Company in the amount of 61 million Lei for abuse of power and disruption of public order. Nelu Pop, County Chief of Police, told Szabadság that the police cannot enforce the Prefect's order if the Mayor objects and must wait for the court's final decision. [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár) Sep. 7, 2000]

Mayor Gheorghe Funar hindered the covering of a highly controversial excavation site in the historic main square of Cluj/Kolozsvár which has been left unearthed since 1994. Just inches away from the equestrian statue of Mathias Rex, a Renaissance Hungarian king, and the Saint Michael Church, the archeological excavation was ordered and carried out illegally by the ultra-extremist mayor in July 7, 1994 — a move, which was widely seen as an attempt to provoke hostilities between Rumanians and the country's ethnic Hungarian community. In the morning, Cluj County Prefect Bogdan Cerghizan issued Order No. 551 requesting that the Public Maintenance Company fill the site with sand and gravel. The basis for the Prefect's decision was Official Record No. 2163 issued by the Department for the Protection of Historic Monuments of the Ministry of Culture, which determined that the excavation site in Cluj's main square be fully covered. The department also held out the prospect of launching new excavations between 2001-2004. To reinforce the ministry's position, the Prefecture's Secretary Ioan Stanica cited in an interview with Szabadság the opinion of archeologists at the Historic Museum of Transylvania, an organization which assisted Funar in carrying out his ill-conceived endeavor: "the findings are important but not spectacular, they do not deserve to be exhibited for touristic purposes. During the past six years, their state has severely deteriorated due to weather conditions. Therefore, their covering and preservation can no longer be postponed." Hours after the Prefect issued the order the Public Maintenance Company's workers and a half-loaded truck appeared on the scene, attempting to execute the Prefect's order. Immediately after their arrival, several civic guards, under the authority of the Mayor's Office, rushed to the scene to physically block reconstruction efforts. The workers left the excavation site without carrying out their instructions. [Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár) Sep. 5 and 7, 2000]

In Cluj/Kolozsvár, the Hungarian Reformed High School was prevented from occupying its Kogalniceanu Street building, which the Rumanian-language George Sincai Lyceum and the Viitorul Sport Club continue to occupy. Government Decree 83/1999 issued last September mandated return of the 3,400 m² property, which includes two buildings, and the Hungarian Reformed Church was subsequently re-registered as the rightful owner. Last May, however, the Church was constrained to sue the Ministry of Education, the local school board and the Sincai Lyceum for their failure to recognize the church's rightful ownership of the building and enter into a rental agreement regarding use of their own facilities. Prior to the 2000/2001 academic year, representatives of the Cluj/Kolozs County School Board, the Reformed High School, the Lyceum and the Sport Club had signed an agreement for the Hungarian-language high school to occupy 13 of the building's 117 classrooms, specifically eight classrooms, two laboratories and three offices. The agreement was even approved by a senior official at the Ministry of Education, Mariana Neagu in Order No. 39303. However, due to pressure exerted by the faculty of the Sincai Lyceum and Cluj Mayor Gheorghe Funar, County Superintendent Mariana Dragomir reneged on her earlier position, annulled the original document and prepared a new agreement without the consent of the Reformed High School. The Sincai Lyceum's obstruction—supported by the mayor's office— has forced the students of the Hungarian-language school to begin the new year in their former building, School No 16, located on the city's outskirts. The next scheduled court date is September 18. [Krónika (Cluj/Kolozsvár), Sep. 4, 2000; Szabadság (Cluj/Kolozsvár) Sep. 4 and 5, 2000]