The U.S. ambassador to Romania, Hans Klemm, recently visited the Romanian town of Sfântu Gheorghe (in Hungarian Sepsiszentgyörgy), which has a majority ethnic-Hungarian population. Mayor Árpád Antal, an ethnic Hungarian himself, asked him to stand behind a flag to make a photo.
The flag is the so-called Szekler flag which is controversial in Romania; it is illegal to fly on public buildings. Romania’s law allows public buildings to fly only the Romanian flag, the European Union flag or a flag representing the public institute where it is displayed.
Mayor Antal (far left) and US Ambassador Klemm (next to him) are posing with the Szekler Flag.
Szeklers are a Hungarian-speaking minority living in the Transylvania region of Romania; it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until 1918. There are about 1.2 million ethnic-Hungarians living in Romania and some Hungarians seek to increase their autonomy.
The Hungarian-speaking minority and the Szeklers have legitimate issues and grievances concerning language and other minority rights. Ethnic-Hungarian leaders are not satisfied with the response they get from the Romanian government.
But like it or not, the Szekler Flag has also become a favorite symbol of the Far-Right movement. Hungary’s Jobbik Party often uses it and Hungarian neo-Nazis also march under this flag. Ambassador Klemm’s hosts should have never asked him to pose with it.
Far Right Jobbik Party MPs are demonstrating with the Szekler Flag in the Hungarian Parliament during session.
Neo-Nazi Hungarian Guard march with the Szekler flag.
Let’s face it, the Ambassador was tricked. The mayor knew that he was stirring up controversy; this is not a polite way to treat an American guest. Ambassador Klemm also made a faux pas; he should have known about the symbolism of this flag.
Just imagine the uproar if U.S. President Obama would be photographed with the Confederate Flag.
A small U.S.-based right-wing organization, The American Hungarian Federation, immediately seized the opportunity. “We write to congratulate you for your moral and political courage in being photographed with the Szekler flag,” Mr. Koszorus wrote. (Read here.)
The Romanian Foreign Ministry informed the U.S. Embassy about “the necessity to understand and take into consideration … certain sensibilities” and Ambassador Klemm stated that he “regularly travels throughout the country, meeting with diverse groups from all parts of Romanian society.” He also praised Romania’s commitment to democracy.
Moral of the story: U.S. ambassadors in the region should be very careful when photographed. They should be aware that various groups and individuals will try to trick them and shamelessly exploit staged photos for their own political propaganda purposes.
György Lázár
