Open Letter to Mr. Łukasz KOHUT, Member of the European Parliament

Dear Mr. Kohut,
I would like to thank you for addressing the plenary in your mother tongue during the session of the European Parliament held in Strasbourg on July 10. I could have also written “congratulations,” and that expression would have been entirely appropriate. However, “thank you” means even more, because with this gesture you not only sent a message to your own people but also to us, the Székelys. The meaning and significance of that message is that we are not alone.

In our case, it is not our language, culture, or national identity that is being questioned, but our homeland itself. For the Romanian political elite, Székely Land does not exist. This is not merely demonstrated by their refusal to acknowledge it, but by their public declarations denying its existence. We have lived in Székely Land for a thousand years, and for one hundred years within the borders of Romania. Yet throughout this century, we have managed to maintain our majority in our ancestral homeland.

Thank you for affirming, by speaking in your native language, that the Silesian people preserve their language, culture, and national identity.
Thank you for contributing in this way to the strengthening of a regional movement that began in 2013 with the submission of the European Citizens’ Initiative “Cohesion policy for the equality of the regions and sustainability of the regional cultures.”

With the expression of the Székelys' solidarity, I wish you and all our Silesian brothers and sisters great success — in the hope that regardless of how the European Commission decides by September 4, we have found each other and will continue the journey together towards greater freedom and true Europeanism.

Respectfully,
Balázs Izsák
President of the Szekler National Council