Kelemen Hunor on Valea Uzului inter-ethnic incident: An act of vandalism, we will complain to international bodies

Chairman of the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) Kelemen Hunor said on Friday that he will take all the legal steps with international bodies from the European Union to all of Romania's partners in connection with the incidents at the Valea Uzului military cemetery, adding that UDMR representatives will document their complaint with pictures and video recordings so that the world may see "how a majority behaves with a minority at a very sensitive moment." "It was a vandalistic, barbaric act to break into the cemetery, attack those who prayed there, break the fence and the gate, tear the crosses off the ground, throwing stones under the claim that you come to commemorate heroes who are indeed buried just 10-12 kilometers away in another forgotten graveyard in Poiana Uzului. This was a provocation set up by some non-governmental organizations, plus a few priests, retired military men, General Chelaru included, former MEPs; it was obviously a very precisely coordinated attack on the people who formed a chain. What happened there is unacceptable. We need a constructive dialogue. Yesterday Romania showed its true face, the European minority protection model, this is the true face of Romania in 2019. We asked for the punishment of those who provoked this situation and that all those who played a role in this incident, starting with the Darmanesti mayor who disregarded all laws, be held accountable," UDMR leader Kelemen Hunor told RFI. He said that in his opinion, the intervention of the gendarmes should have been firmer, and the government and all competent institutions should have stepped in, providing two explanations for this situation: "Either they didn't want to - and then we have a serious problem, or were unable to - which means these are weak institutions, a weak government that should leave." Kelemen Hunor went on to say that "the responsibility lies with the mayor of Darmanesti, with the county authorities and then with the authorities in Bucharest". Referring to the move to establish a memorial site for Romanian soldiers inside the cemetery, Kelemen Hunor said: "When we signalled there was an illegal building there, they should have stopped it by the power of state institutions, if this was otherwise impossible. I wrote the Prime Minister, spoke to the coalition, pleading with them to stop what is going on there, because it's not good, moral or legal," concluded Kelemen Hunor. AGERPRES (RO - author: Florentina Stefanescu, editor: Catalin Alexandru; EN - author: Simona Klodnischi, editor: Simona Iacob)

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