Offense against national symbol

On the 21^st of January 2008, Nagy Joszef Barna, the EMI Oradea President (Organization of the Young Hungarians), wrote an offending article against our national poet, Mihai Eminescu, in a Hungarian newspaper in Oradea.

On the 21^st of January 2008, Nagy Joszef Barna, the EMI Oradea President (Organization of the Young Hungarians), wrote an offending article against our national poet, Mihai Eminescu, in a Hungarian newspaper in Oradea.

The frustration of the young leader of EMI Oradea was caused by the fact that Wass Albert, Hungarian poet, convicted in Romania in 1964 for war crimes, was not commemorated in the schools on the day in which 100 years passed from his birth.

GRIEVANCE

The young Hungarians wanted Wass to have manifestations similar to the ones that took place at the commemoration of Eminescu. Moreover, the accusations in the article of Nagy Jozsef targeted the board of the “Mihai Eminescu” National College in Oradea. He targeted a certain “Hungarian deputy director” who refused a donation of ten volumes written by Wass Albert. “Why do the Hungarian pupils have to commemorate this Romanian poet? Because the school in which they study is named after him? Because he was a <>? Can we, the Hungarians, call <> the one that called us the faultiest people in Europe? However, the teacher I wrote about commemorated Eminescu together with his pupils. I wonder: did anyone force him to do that? Or did he do it to be overzealous, to promote the Romanian poet that wanted the Romanians to hate the Hungarians? Why does he have to make the pupils think the same way? If it wasn’t compulsory to study Eminescu’s work or if there weren’t Hungarian teachers like this one to commemorate him, no one would read his work!”, the furious young representative of EMI says. He concludes in his pure irredentist style: “There are no sane people to read Eminescu in their spare time or to publish his work. The comparison itself is defying for a person like Wass Albert – I am sorry I have to mention both names on the same page – because one cannot compare an elephant to a mentally ill flee!”

TENDENTIOUS ACTIONS

Prof. Iosif Eilender, the director of the “Mihai Eminescu” National College, says he is deeply indignant at the statements of Nagy Joszef Barna in the Hungarian publication, especially when he doesn’t know the irredentist and, as far as the book donation was concerned, he didn’t know about it until he read the article. “I believe the actions of this young man are tendentious. I am disappointed to see that there still are people who want to provoke hatred between the inhabitants of the same country”, Prof. Eilender confesses. The deputy director of the same college, Prof. Diana Costin, remembers that, approximately one year and a half ago, a colleague of hers, a religion teacher, brought to the school’s library several volumes donated by the Reformed Church of the Bishop Tokes Lazslo. “We didn’t refuse those books because they are welcome. However, I would be happy to see the children of the internet era read at least the compulsory literature…”

• Translated by Sorin Bălan