In its compilation of news for the week of 20-26 January 2004, Transitions Online reports that the Szeklers, a minority within the Hungarian minority in Romania (see map), are making another push for autonomy. (Access to TOL archives is by subscription only.)
It may have no chance of success, but the call for a Hungarian autonomous region reveals how deep the rifts now are between Romania’s Hungarians as well as with Romanians….
The document appears not to have the slightest chance of becoming a bill, let alone law, as the majority of even Democratic Alliance of Hungarians from Romania (UDMR) parliamentarians have clearly stated that they do not back the idea. The proposal will be sent to the Romanian parliament in early February….
Territorial autonomy for the Hungarian minority has, in the past year, become one of the most disputed issues in Romanian society. And the demands seem to be becoming more and more radical with each passing day….
Szekler is another name for the East Transylvanian Hungarians. Originally, the Szeklers were a Turkish group, brought in by Hungary’s kings around 1200 to guard Transylvania’s eastern borders.
Over the centuries, they lost their language and almost all their traditions. Even their names are now pure Hungarian. But, to this day, they carry their separate origin as a badge of pride….
According to the 2002 census, there are 1,434,377 ethnic Hungarians in Romania (6.6 percent of the population). This makes them the country’s largest ethnic minority according to official figures. Almost 99% of them live in the western reaches and center of the country, in Transylvania, and the regions of Crisana, Maramures, and Banat.
Other sizeable minorities are the Roma (officially 535,250, although most estimates are at least twice that figure), Ukrainians (61,091), and Germans (60,080).
Hungarians are the majority population in two of Romania’s 41 counties, more than a third of the population in another two, and in another two account for over 20 percent.
Far Outliers 
Regarding the Szeklers region in Eastern Transilvania( Harghita and Kovasna counties) they are totally free there to do whatever they want.
The problem there is the hungarian speaking population who is oppressing the rumanian population which is in minority in this two counties.The rumanian population has suffered have losses in the 1941-1944 and 1952-1968(during the autonomous Hungarian Mures region existance).I can gave you and example in 1944 in 3 september in the center of the town Gheorgheni(i don’t know the hungarian name) – 138 families of rumanians have been decapitated . It is a shame for rumanian government that rumanians are mistreated in their own country and even now- schools in rumanian languange are distroyed in the Eastern Transilvania and orthodox and greco catholic churches are closed only to satisfy the hungarian szeklers demands from that region.Every day bands of hungarians in the hargita and covasna counties are therorizing rumanian population and by using force they are threathening them to leave the harghita and covasna counties.
Anywhere else in the romanian Transilvania this is not happening because the hungarians represents less than 15% of the all transilvania region population and they don’t behave like in the Szeklers Region( but even if they represent at least 20% from the villages or towns population they have schools in their own languages and the right to use the own language in offical documents).In the Szeklers region they don’t even speak romanian language.I cannot explain this behavior of hungarian population there since there was not recorded any aggression against them.(even during the Ceasuescu regime they have schools and high scholls and amaizing they even have a university in hungarian language – the Babes Bolyai University in Targu Mures – Marosvasarhely).
The rumanian corupt government has steped back and lost control in the Szeklers region for years ago so i could say the Szeklers autonomous country exist in Romania for at least 15 years even is not mentioned on official documents.
The Hungarians from Szeklers region are always complaining in the international press that they are oppreesed there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!which is not true…the hungarians are the oppressors…Their representetives in the romanian government which are members of the hungarian party from Romania(which always get arround 6% of the votes at the national level from the 1,5 mil of hungarians ) are always complaining in the EU Parliamnet that the hungarian population is opressed and mistreated!!!!!!!!!!.. which is a untrue.
Congratulations!