Reconciliation in the Ethnic Conflict in Transylvania

Abstract

"In March 1990 a violent street confrontation between the Romanian population and the Hungarian ethnic minority in the town of Targu Mure~ was a clear sign that the situation of the ethnic minorities in post-Ceau~escu Romania had to be addressed without delay. Located in the heart of Transylvania, an area that has been co-inhabited by various ethnic groups for many centuries, Targu Mure~ contains a large Hungarian community. This violent clash, occurring just over three months after the collapse of the totalitarian regime in Romania, was a first warning sign indicating the social instability that the previous regime had managed to create. As Romania prepared to embark on its long journey towards democracy, the problem of ethnic minorities posed one of the greatest dangers to social and political stability. This particular explosion of interethnic hatred had no serious long-term consequences, mainly as a result of the moderate responses of the political representatives of the Hungarian and Romanian governments, but it highlighted how quickly such unresolved tensions inherited from the past could intensify and lead to serious interethnic and international conflicts in Eastern Europe."