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Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Szijjarto Peter visited the Franciscan church in Sumuleu on Monday and laid a wreath at the Siculeni monument during his brief visit in Harghita County.
Peter Szijjarto was welcomed in Sumuleu by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Alba Iulia, Gergely Kovacs, and by Father Urban Erik, the director of the Franciscan Church, and then he went on to visit the place of worship and took a few moments of silence at the miracle statue of the Mother of God.
The Hungarian Foreign Affairs Minister was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Kelemen Hunor and did not make any press statements.
After his visit in Sumuleu, Szijjarto Peter went to the Siculicidium monument in Siculeni, erected in memory of the Szeklers killed in 1764 for refusing to join in the Austrian imperial troops. He was greeted with applause by about 200 people, some dressed in folk costumes and holding the Hungarian flag.
He delivered a speech and then laid a wreath at the monument. Szijjarto Peter spoke in his speech that Siculeni is a symbol for Hungarians from which they can learn that opposition can be successfully mounted "against the imperial will" only if there are enough people and they are highly organised.
The Hungarian Foreign Affairs Minister also recalled that the Hungarians were able to survive for over a thousand years in Central Europe and the Carpathian Basin because they were able to show solidarity at important moments in history.
Szijjarto Peter also spoke of the Hungarian national policy, according to which "every Hungarian is responsible for every Hungarian".
Szijjarto Peter urged Hungarians in Romania to participate in the Hungarian parliamentary elections, those who acquired Hungarian citizenship being able to express their electoral choice by mail.
The short event ended with the singing of the Hungarian national anthem, Agerpres.ro informs.
Szijjarto Peter was supposed to attend the commemoration in Siculeni in January, but canceled his visit at the last minute because he attended a special meeting of NATO foreign ministers.
After visiting the Siculeni monument, the dignitary from Budapest went to Remetea, where a potato processing factory is being built.
On Monday, Szijjarto Peter also visited Sfantu Gheorghe, where he met with local authorities, visited the local Reformed church, where a center for the elderly and disabled is being built, as well as the Sepsi OSK club's new stadium.
"Mr. Szijjarto Peter is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and in this last quality, we asked him to take steps so that as many investors as possible come to our area, because we have industrial parks, infrastructure is being built, and logistics parks can also be built. This was our most important message to him, the arrival of investors that could create as many jobs in the area as possible," said Mayor Antal Arpad.
