Foreign Relations of the United States, 1981–1988, Volume X, Eastern Europe

181. Telegram From the Embassy in Romania to the Department of State¹

5102.

Bucharest, July 8, 1988, 1353Z

SUBJECT

• Ethnic Hungarian Intellectual on Relations With Hungary, Status of Ethnic Hungarians, Impact of Outside Pressure on Ceausescu.

1. Confidential—Entire text.

2. Summary and comment: One of Romania’s leading ethnic Hungarian intellectuals told us the GOR decision to close the Hungarian Consulate in Cluj was a serious blow to the morale of ethnic Hungarians because of the support the Consulate had provided over the years. Source said Ceausescu’s push for rural sistematizarea² was rooted in his backward ideology more than in his dislike for Hungarians. Nevertheless, the project would undermine still further the already beleagured ethnic Hungarian culture in Romania. Source predicted protests if sistematizarea were pushed hard in Transylvania, but said he had heard no credible reports of any violent incidents to date. The outside pressure currently weighing on Romania on human rights issues is likely to have little impact on Ceausescu, but it at least is seen by the population as a sign they have not been forgotten. Although source’s views come from an unabashedly Hungarian bias, we think most of his judgements reported here are on the mark. End summary and comment.

3. A leading ethnic Hungarian intellectual spoke at length with Pol Chief July 6 in Bucharest. Please protect the information as well as source. Highlights of the conversation follow.

Closing the Cluj Consulate—A Serious Blow to Ethnic Hungarians

4. Source said the GOR had delivered a harsh blow to the morale of ethnic Hungarians when it closed the Hungarian Consulate on June 28, in the wake of anti-Armenian demonstrations in Budapest. The presence of the Consulate has acted to reassure ethnic Hungarians in Transylvania that there was at least someone looking out for them. More importantly, it had worked actively to help preserve Hungarian culture. Source explained that ethnic Hungarians, especially professionals such as doctors, lawyers, writers and teachers, often had extensive personal libraries and holdings, which the Romanian authorities frequently confiscated when the individual died. To avoid this, many Hungarians, as they got old, sent their holdings to relatives or friends in Hungary through the Consulate, generally stipulating that any items of value or historic interest be returned to Romania “when the situation improves.” That informal channel, which had real psychological value to ethnic Hungarians, has now been removed.

5. Source was reluctant to discuss whether the Consulate was also a channel for getting information in or out of the country. He did note, however, that the Consulate had been important to those seeking to track the status of ethnic Hungarians. He said the Romanian authorities had threatened for several years to close the Consulate, and increased the threats after the GOR closed their Consulate in Debrecen several years ago. Source said closing down use of the Consulate as an information channel had probably not been Ceausescu’s primary motive when he acted, but the police were certainly pleased they had accomplished that objective.

Rural Sistematizarea: Not Primarily Anti-Hungarian, but With a Powerful Effect on the Minority Culture

6. Source did not think the policy of rural sistematizarea was primarily aimed at the Hungarian population. Far more ethnic Romanians than Hungarians would be displaced. Source said Ceausescu has fixed ideas of what a socialist society should look like, and rural sistematizarea was part of that image. For him, small and rural meant backward. Ceausescu may be forced to slow down his project, but he will not renounce his “socialist vision”.

7. Source went on to note, however, that the ethnic Hungarian population and culture would be hard hit by rural sistematizarea. The movement of ethnic Hungarians from villages to towns would further dilute what is left of Hungarian communities, making it even harder to maintain Hungarian language schools and cultural institutions, and finally reducing ethnic Hungarian pride and consciousness. The new towns would break up what community spirit still exists.

8. Source said there continues to be an erosion of schooling possibilities in their native language for ethnic Hungarians. He claimed that while Romanian authorities had accurate statistics which show the erosion, neither they nor any area residents would talk freely about it. Source said he had been accumulating statistics from around Transylvania, however, and was convinced the process continued.

9. Source repeated predictions of other Romanians that there would be violent protests if authorities tried to implement rural sistematizarea in Transylvania. He allowed that the population around Bucharest is likely to continue to be quiescent as the project moves forward there, but said the character of the population in Transylvania is more independent and less submissive to authority. He admitted Romanians had shown little inclination until now to protest outrageous actions by Ceausescu, but insisted that uprooting people from their homes was different. To date, however, he had heard only rumors of actual clashes in Transylania, and had not been able to confirm any such rumors. He was skeptical anyone had been killed in the process so far (Budapest 6554).³

Western Pressure No More Effective Than That From the East, but a Morale Booster for the Population

10. Source said he was gratified to see the increasing pressure on Romania from abroad. He was especially pleased the West was pressuring the GOR hard in the CSCE forum. Source, who has contacts at several bloc embassies in Bucharest, said the East too was distancing itself from Ceausescu’s obstinence in Vienna. He claimed to have learned the Soviets would pressure the Romanians on its CSCE stance at the upcoming meeting of bloc General Secretaries in Warsaw.

11. Source said he had no illusion Ceausescu would give in to the pressure. Increasingly, he is using the charge of interference in internal affairs for the most irrelevant issues. It is not so much he thinks the stance will earn him popularity; he just has an obsession about the idea of independence. Still, source said the foreign criticism was a significant boost to the morale of the population. Romanians like to know that although they are suffering the consequences of Ceausescu’s policies, at least Ceausescu is made to feel uncomfortable from the criticism. They are gratified to know they have not been forgotten by the outside world. Source strongly urged that the U.S. and other Westrern countries keep up pressure on Romania.

Kirk

1. Source: Reagan Library, Rudolf Perina Files, Romania–Substance 1988 (1). Confidential; Priority. Sent Priority for information to Budapest; sent for information to Eastern European posts and Vienna for the delegation to the CSCE.
2. An unknown hand drew a line from this word to the margin and wrote, “destroying nearly ½ of Romanian villages.”
3. Telegram 6554 from Budapest, June 24, described a conversation between Palmer and Grosz, in which a rumor that the Romanian government blew up Hungarian houses was discussed. (Department of State, Central Foreign Policy File, D880540–0282)