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Romanian Gendarmerie Passes the Buck on Fining for Desecration of Military Cemetery

MTI-Hungary Today 2023.07.17.
New wooden crosses erected in place of the removed concrete crosses by the Romanian organization Calea Neamului (Road of the Nation) at the military cemetery in Úzvölgye

The Romanian gendarmerie did not fine the nationalists desecrating the military cemetery in Úzvölgye on 8 July, the Transylvanian online news portal Krónikaonline.ro wrote on Saturday, citing the Harghita County gendarmerie.

Colonel Dan Iamandi, commander of the Harghita County Gendarmerie, and Captain Marian Stan, in their reply to the media outlet’s questions, said that no fines had been imposed on members of the Calea Neamului (National Road) organization led by Mihai Tirnoveanu, who had erected 150 wooden crosses without permission at the military cemetery in Úzvölgye (Valea Uzului) on 8 July.

The response stressed that the gendarmerie’s role was to establish and maintain calm and public order, and that their actions on the ground ensured the protection of all participants, regardless of their nationality.

“In the event that there is a regulation adopted by local administrative units prohibiting entry into a certain zone, it is the responsibility of the local authority concerned to enforce this regulation by providing its own guard service,” the response of the gendarmerie was quoted by the news site.

The portal recalled that

the gendarmerie of Satu Mare County had imposed a single fine of 500 lei (EUR 101) for the Tirnoveanu organization’s demonstration in Nagykároly, Romania, in April, when they tried to prevent the unveiling of a statue of Ferenc Kölcsey,

which was attended by President of the Republic Katalin Novák.

On 8 July, the Municipality of Csíkszentmárton (Sânmartin, in today’s Romania) filed a criminal complaint with the police against Mihai Tîrnoveanu and his supporters for the cross placement at the military cemetery in Úzvölgye. Sándor Birtalan, mayor of the Harghita County municipality, to which the cemetery administratively belongs, told MTI earlier that the case of an earlier illegal cross placement and desecration of the military cemetery was described in the complaint, and that they are asking for an investigation into the case and the perpetrators to be held responsible.

As we have reported earlier, supporters of the Romanian organization Calea Neamului erected 150 wooden crosses at the international military cemetery to replace the concrete ones removed on 29 June. The smaller crosses, covered with a Romanian national ribbon, were accompanied by a larger one and a flagpole with the Romanian flag on it.

Hungarians Welcomed while Romanian Nationalists Booed President Novák in Romania
Hungarians Welcomed while Romanian Nationalists Booed President Novák in Romania

The head of state paid a private visit to Carei (Nagykároly) to unveil a statue of Ferenc Kölcsey, author of the Hungarian anthem.Continue reading

Featured image: MTI/Veres Nándor


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