Romania in ethnic tiff
BUCHAREST (AFP) - Romania's new government yesterday sparked protests from
nationalists by appointing members of the large ethnic Hungarian minority to
posts of governors in three local regions.

Incoming Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu said that the new governors of the
Covasna, Bistrita Nasaud and Maramures regional authorities, all home to
large Magyar or ethnic Hungarian populations, would be members of the
Hungarian community.

However some politicians from the regions involved have said that the
appointments could threaten Romania's territorial integrity by encouraging
hopes for secession among some Magyars. There have also been charges that
the government was discriminating against ethnic Romanians.

"The appointment of a Magyar-origin governor in Covasna is the result of the
political changes seen in recent years, and shows that we do not have any
taboos as regards nationality," Tariceanu said.

"The governor of Covasna is bound by Romanian laws. If he does not respect
those laws, he will have to pay for it, as anyone else would," he added.

Officials from Covasna who are members of Tariceanu's own Justice and Truth
Party, and also members of the Humanist Party, a government ally, wrote
early this week to President Traian Basescu to ask him to oppose the
appointments.

The politicians claimed that the move would encourage the Magyar Democratic
Union of Romania (UDMR), which is also a member of the coalition, to "impose
territorial autonomy on ethnic grounds" in regions with very large Magyar
populations.

Romania's Magyar community makes up some 7 percent of the population, or 1.4
million people.