Addressing a wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial of Szekler martyrs in Siculeni (Mádéfalva), in central Romania, Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the April 3 general election would decide whether Hungary would have a government pursuing policies focusing on enforcing Hungarians’ national interests, or if the country would see a return “to the era of subservience to imperial will”. The massacre of 1764 made the Szekler locality a symbol of courageous resistance to the cruelty of imperial oppression, the foreign ministry cited Minister Szijjártó as saying. On January 7, 1765, the troops of Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary, retaliated a protest by some 2,500 Szeklers who refused to serve in the Habsburg army.
“Mádéfalva reminds us how cruel an imperial logic wanting to bend everything to its will can be just because a community has a different vision for its future, thinks differently about its fate and dares to make all this clear,” the minister said. “The only way we have a chance of standing up to imperial will is if there are enough of us and if we’re organised enough,” Minister Szijjártó said. “Otherwise not only will we not be able to enforce our truth, but we could lose everything we fought so hard for: our homeland and our freedom.”
“Our task is to continuously strengthen our nation and national unity so that we are not overrun by the imperial aspirations that are constantly besieging us,” he said. “In just a few weeks the Hungarian nation will again have to make an important decision,” Minister Szijjártó said. “It will again decide whether Hungary is to see a return to the era of subservience to imperial will or if we can continue to enforce our national interests as we began twelve years ago.”
Photo credit: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter