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"Tens of thousands of Hungarian-speakers in Transylvania celebrate their World Day today," writes Gândul. "As in past years, the Bucharest daily notes, “this one comes at a time of heightened tension." The 15 March event has often been marred by troubles between the Hungarian-speaking Szekler minority and Romanians in the country's Transylvania region. In 1990, confrontations in the city of Târgu Mures led to five deaths and nearly 300 wounded.
This year, the Szekler National Council asked that Hungarian be declared an official language in the counties of Hargita and Covasna, where the Hungarian-speaking population is particularly strong. The proposal has angered deputies from the far right, but Marco Bela, leader of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) and also a member of Romania's government, begs to differ. He believes such a move would simply "recognise the fact that Hungarian is spoken as much as Romanian in territories where the Szekler minority represents more than 20% of the population" or some two million people, reports Gândul.
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