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László Tőkés and the Knight's Order of the Star of Romania:


Congressmen Frank R.Wolf (R-VA) and James P. McGovern (D-MA), Co-Chairmen of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the United States Congress, today sent a letter to Traian Basescu, President of Romania, in connection with Bishop Tokes and the threatened revocation of the Order of the Star of Romania.01/30/2014 - Congressmen Frank R.Wolf (R-VA) and James P. McGovern (D-MA), Co-Chairmen of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the United States Congress, echo AHF's call and send a letter to Traian Basescu, President of Romania, in connection with Bishop Tokes and the threatened revocation of the Order of the Star of Romania.

The co-chairmen express their surprise and deep disappointment  "that the ethics committee of the Order of the Star of Romania revoked its award to Rev. Tokes." They further states that the "development with regard to Bishop Tokes is troubling on a number of levels, not the least of which is that seems to indicate a closing of democratic space in Romania"

The co-chairs close their letter by urging President Basescu "to do everything within your power to request that the ethics committee rescind its unjust action against Reverend Tokes."

"The Federation appreciates Congressmen Wolf's and McGovern's ongoing concern with human rights and hopes that their letter will lead to a greater respect for human, minority and religious rights in Romania -- essential pillars of democracy," said Frank Koszorus, Jr., president of the American Hungarian Federation.

The Press Release appears in full below or available for [download]

PRESS RELEASE
Co-Chairman                                                Co-Chairman
James P. McGovern                                      Frank R. Wolf

January 30, 2014

[download] the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Press Release regarding the withdrawal of the "Star of Romania" from Laszlo Tokes.
[download] the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Press Release regarding the withdrawal of the "Star of Romania" from Laszlo Tokes.

For Immediate Release
   
Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Co-Chairmen Express Concern over Revocation of Award to Bishop Laszlo Tokes, Noted Champion of Freedom and Democracy in Romania

Washington — Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Co-chairmen Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Frank Wolf (R-VA) today sent a letter to the President of Romania expressing concern about decision of the ethics committee of the Order of the Star of Romania to revoke its award to Bishop Laszlo Tokes, who had previously been recognized for his extraordinarily courageous role in toppling the Ceausescu dictatorship during the 1989 revolution.  The co-chairs noted that the revocation was occasioned by Reverend Tokes exercising his constitutional rights by “peacefully speaking up on behalf of a minority population within Romania.”  The complete letter text is below.

Your Excellency:

We write to you today regarding Bishop Laszlo Tokes, whose heroism and leadership in helping to end Nicolae Ceausescu’s dictatorship during the 1989 Revolution are undeniable. Bishop Tokes championed the freedom of all Romanian citizens through his ministry in Timisoara — frequently reaching across ethnic and religious boundaries to help liberate Romania from the burden of Communism. He was given the Order of the Star of Romania in 2009 in recognition of his service to the country. 

[download] AHF's letter to the US Helsinki Commission regarding the withdrawal of the "Star of Romania" from Laszlo Tokes.
[download] AHF's letter to the US Helsinki Commission regarding the withdrawal of the "Star of Romania" from Laszlo Tokes.

We were therefore surprised and deeply disappointed to learn that the ethics committee of the Order of the Star of Romania revoked its award to Reverend Tokes. The revocation was made on alleged grounds of “anti-constitutional” acts by Reverend Tokes, when in fact it is our understanding that he was exercising his constitutional rights, including his right to free speech, by peacefully speaking up on behalf of a minority population within Romania.

The development with regard to Bishop Tokes is troubling on a number of levels, not the least of which is that seems to indicate a closing of democratic space in Romania.

Mr. President, we urge you to do everything within your power to request that the ethics committee rescind its unjust action against Reverend Tokes. His courage, which helped bring about a free and just Romania, deserves due recognition.  Thank you for your consideration of this request.  We look forward to your reply.

The bipartisan Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission was established in the U.S. House of Representatives to educate Members of Congress on human rights issues and advocate on behalf of human rights defenders world-wide.

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AHF organizes meeting with the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the United States Congress, discusses revocation of the Order of the Star of Romania from Bishop Laszlo Tokes.5/30/2014 - AHF organizes meeting with the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the United States Congress, discusses revocation of the Order of the Star of Romania from Bishop Laszlo Tokes. [read more]

Amerikai képviselők tiltakoznak Tőkés László miatt Amerikai képviselők tiltakoznak Tőkés László miatt: Frank Wolf és James McGovern amerikai kongresszusi képviselők, a Tom Lantos emberjogi bizottság társelnökei tiltakozó levelet küldtek Traian Basescu román elnöknek, amiért Tőkés László kitüntetését Románia visszavette. [tovább]

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"What have I done to deserve to become the scapegoat for almost all the agents of Romanian politics as the target of the nationalist-postcommunist media..."The "Declaration from Arad" by Laszlo Tokes
...on the 25th anniversary of the church protest against the demolition of villages:
"What have I done to deserve to become the scapegoat for almost all the agents of Romanian politics as the target of the nationalist-postcommunist media, and all this to peak in the fact that „thanks” to the intervention of Victor Ponta social-democrat party president and Corina Creţu socialist EP-member and the comrades joining her official proceedings for the withdrawal of my state award have started?!" [download] and read more.

We, Members of the European Parliament, have learned with great concern that Romanian politicians have recently requested the withdrawal of the Order of the Star of Romania awarded to MEP Laszlo Tokes"We, Members of the European Parliament, have learned with great concern that Romanian politicians have recently requested the withdrawal of the Order of the Star of Romania awarded to MEP Laszlo Tokes. We believe that such a move would contradict the values of freedom and democracy that Mr. Tokes was deservedly awarded the order for."
[download] and read more.

"The persecution, legal or other, of a citizen, any citizen, even a Member of the European Parliament, for exercising his/her freedom of expression and opinion, is never acceptable.""Romania, as a member of both the Council of Europe and the European Union, has obligations clearly stated in the Statute and the Treaties and the European Convention on Human Rights. The persecution, legal or other, of a citizen, any citizen, even a Member of the European Parliament, for exercising his/her freedom of expression and opinion, is never acceptable." - Göran Lindblad President of The Platform of European Memory and Conscience, Former MP [download] and read more.

The hero of the Romanian revolution, respected European politician, and iconic figure of Transylvania’s Hungarian community is being stripped of his decoration based on a deliberate misinterpretation of his political beliefs.Statement by the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the revocation of the Star of Romania state decoration László Tőkés: "We acknowledge Romania’s sovereign right to decide who to award state decorations to, as well as its right to decide who to revoke it from. The revocation of the Star of Romania from László Tőkés nonetheless raises concerns. The hero of the Romanian revolution, respected European politician, and iconic figure of Transylvania’s Hungarian community is being stripped of his decoration based on a deliberate misinterpretation of his political beliefs. [download] and read more.

Amerikai magyarok tiltakoznak a Helsinki Bizottságnál
Mint ismeretes, a román kormány visszavonta Tőkés Lászlótól a Románia Csillaga kitüntetést, amelyet az 1989-es, Ceaușescu-ellenes forradalomban betöltött szerepéért kapott. Tőkés nem tett mást, mint gyakorolta az alkotmányban biztosított jogát, és felemelte szavát a magyar kisebbségekért. A visszavonást azonnal hatálytalanítani kellene - mutat rá az Amerikai Magyar Szövetség. [tovább]

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Levélben sürgette az Amerikai Magyar Szövetség (AMSZ) elnöke az amerikai Helsinki Bizottság két társelnökét, hogy mint az emberi jogok megsértését és magyarellenes jelenséget nyilvánosan vessék fel az általuk vezetett testület nevében, hogy semmisítsék meg Tőkés László kitüntetésének visszavonását. [tovább]

Kiáll majd a Helsinki Bizottság Tőkés mellett?Kiáll majd a Helsinki Bizottság Tőkés mellett?
Az amerikai Helsinki Bizottság két társelnökét buzdította Tőkés László melletti kiállásra az Amerikai Magyar Szövetség (AMSZ). „A visszavonást meg kell semmisíteni” – áll Koszorús Ferenc, a szövetség elnökének levelében. Koszorús kifejtette: Tőkés „bűne” a magyarsága melletti kiállás volt. Az elnök figyelmeztette a jogvédő szervezetet: ha nem fejezi ki tiltakozását a Tőkést ért atrocitások miatt, azt sokan egyfajta belenyugvásként értékelik majd. [tovább]

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AHF Applauds US Congress and urges the community to thanks the co-sponsors of House Resolution 1916/1/2005 - AHF Applauds US Congress and urges the community to thanks the co-sponsors of House Resolution 191...The United States House of Representatives recently passed H. Res. 191 on May 23, urging the "Government of Romania to recognize its responsibilities to provide equitable, prompt and fair restitution to all religious communities for property confiscated by the former Communist government."
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Why So Many Hungarians Across the Border?

How Hungary Shrank: Ostensibly in the name of national self-determination, the Treaty dismembered the thousand-year-old Kingdom of Hungary, a self-contained, geographically and economically coherent and durable formation in the Carpathian Basin and boasting the longest lasting historical borders in Europe. It was imposed on Hungary without any negotiation, drawing artificial borders in gross violation of the ethnic principle, it also transferred over three million indigenous ethnic Hungarians and over 70% of the country's territory to foreign rule.One thousand years of nation building successfully delineated groups based on culture, religion, geography, and other attributes to create the countries with which we are so familiar. While some Western European nations would continue power struggles and princely battles and civil wars, Hungary, founded in 896, was a peaceful multi-ethnic state for a 1000 years and her borders were virtually unchanged. Until 1920...

The Treaty of Trianon in 1920... in the aftermath of WWI, was extremely harsh on Hungary and unjustifiably one-sided. The resulting "treaty" lost Hungary an unprecedented 2/3 of her territory, and 1/2 of her total population or 1/3 of her Hungarian-speaking population. Add to this the loss of up to 90% of vast natural resources, industry, railways, and other infrastructure. The clear winner of the land grab, was Rumania, who, established only 60 years earlier, more than doubled in size overnight.

Ethnic Distribution in the Kingdom of Hungary in 1910 (Hungarians shown in red)

Ethnic Distribution in the Kingdom of Hungary in 1910 (Hungarians shown in red)
[download extra large image 4962x3509]
[download large image 1000x707]

Hungarian populations declined significantly after forced removals such as the Benes Decrees and other pograms, the effects of WWI, and Trianon in 1920. With continued pressure and discriminative policies such as the 2009 Slovak Language Law, this trend continued over the past 90 years.

Hungarian populations declined significantly after forced removals such as the Benes Decrees and other pograms, the effects of WWI, and Trianon in 1920. With continued pressure and discriminative policies sucha s the 2009 Slovak Language Law, this trend continued over the past 90 years.

  • In Upper Hungary (awarded to Slovakia, Czechoslovakia): 1,687,977 Slovaks and 1,233,454 others (mostly Hungarians - 886,044, Germans, Ruthenians and Roma) [according to the 1921 census, however, there were 1,941,942 Slovaks and 1,058,928 others]
  • In Carpathian Ruthenia (awarded to Czechoslovakia): 330,010 Ruthenians and 275,932 others (mostly Hungarians, Germans, Romanians, and Slovaks)
  • In Transylvania (awarded to Romania): 2,831,222 Romanians (53.8%) and 2,431,273 others (mostly Hungarians - 1,662,948 (31.6%) and Germans - 563,087 (10.7%)). The 1919 and 1920 Transylvanian censuses indicate a greater percentage of Romanians (57.1%/57.3%) and a smaller Hungarian minority (26.5%/25.5%)
  • In Vojvodina 510,754 Serbs and 1,002,229 others (mostly Hungarians 425,672 and Germans 324,017)
  • In Vojvodina and Croatia-Slavonia combined (awarded to Yugoslavia): 2,756,000 Croats and Serbs and 1,366,000 others (mostly Hungarians and Germans)
  • In Burgenland (awarded to Austria): 217,072 Germans and 69,858 others (mainly Croatian and Hungarian)

[read more on the Treaty of Trianon]

AHF Statements on Trianon:

Articles and Essays by AHF Members
  • "NATO Enlargement" by Frank Koszorus Jr. March 29, 2004
    Remarks on the Occasion of the Enlargement of NATO, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. [download]
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  • "Nato Enlargement And Minority Rights: Prerequisites To Security" by Frank Koszorus, Jr., April 2003
    A memorandum that was submitted to Robert A. Bradtke, Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, and Heather A. Conley, Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs during a roundtable discussion on "NATO Enlargement and the Current State of the Trans-Atlantic Alliance." This submission follows several other intiatives, including submissions to Lord Roberston, Secretary General of NATO. [download]
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  • “Nato Enlargement: Promoting Western Values, Strengthening The Alliance” by Frank Koszorus, Jr., April 29, 2003
    A Statement Before The United States Senate Committee On Foreign Relations.
    [download]
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  • "U.S. Senate Unanimously Ratifies Nato Treaty; Senators Raise Rights Of Minorities: Federation Supports Efforts Aimed At Encouraging Romania And Slovakia To Respect Rights Of Hungarian Minorities And Restore Communal Properties" - Press Release by Zoltan Bagdy, May 9, 2003 [download]

Congressional Resolutions and Records

  • H.RES 191 - A RESOLUTION urging the "prompt and fair restitution of church properties by Romania and Slovakia - TOM LANTOS / TOM TANCREDO (April 6th 2005) in the House of Representatives [download]
  • A RESOLUTION REGARDING THE ISSUE OF TRANSYLVANIAN HUNGARIANS -- HON. DONALD E. `BUZ' LUKENS (Extension of Remarks - February 26, 1990) in the House of Representatives [download]
  • VIOLENCE IN TRANSYLVANIA -- HON. DON RITTER (Extension of Remarks - March 22, 1990) in the House of Representatives [download]
  • Transylvanian Monitor #14: Property Restitution.
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