HHRF ACTION: Call your Member of Congress today to Support Church Property Restitution in Romania!
Dear Friend,
You have an important opportunity today to stand up for the human, minority and religious rights of the Hungarian community in Romania. Please contact your Member of Congress NOW and ask him/her to sign the letter by Representatives Andy Harris (R-MD), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Chris Smith (R-NJ) and David Royce (R-OH) to Secretary of State John Kerry asking for church properties confiscated from the Hungarian minority under communism to be finally restored to their rightful owners.
This is our chance to secure the exoneration of three innocent victims—Attila Markó, Tamás Marosán and Silviu Clim—sentenced to 3 years imprisonment because as members of the official Romanian Property Restitution Committee they did the right thing, and restored the Székely Mikó Reformed High School in Sepsiszentgyörgy/Sfantu Gheorghe to the Hungarian Reformed Church.
Rep. Andy Harris is the only Hungarian-American Member of Congress and he needs our support.
We need at least 40 signatures on this letter for it to be effective, so FORWARD this email to your friends as well.
The window of opportunity closes on FRIDAY, MAY 31, so please take the following ACTION NOW:
- CALL the Washington, D.C. office of your Member of Congress
- Ask to speak with the Foreign Policy Legislative Assistant for Central/Eastern Europe.
- If the person is not there, request voicemail and leave a message asking that your Representative "sign the Harris/Kaptur letter to Secretary Kerry on religious property restitution in Romania." Make sure you leave your name, phone number and address, and ask to be kept informed.
A call takes 5 minutes, and you can usually leave a phone message after hours as well.
If you can't call, then please
- FILL OUT your Member's online form or send them an email
- If you are not sure of your congressional district, or who your Representative is, you can
- Call the HHRF office 10am-6 pm EST (212) 289-5488 or send us an email info@hhrf.org
- Enter your ZIP code here: http://house.gov/representati ves/find/.
(This service will assist you by matching your ZIP code to your congressional district, with links to your Member's website and contact page.)
- If your member is already a supporter, make sure you call or write to thank them.
- Inform HHRF of what action you have taken. Write us at info@hhrf.org
Please do this by Friday, May 31
Why are we asking you to do this?
It has been 23 years since the fall of communism and the Romanian government has still not restored over half of the 2,140 schools, hospitals, orphanages and other charitable and civic institutions it illegally confiscated from the Roman Catholic, Hungarian Reformed, Evangelical Lutheran, and Unitarian churches after 1945. All they've done is delay, obfuscate and hinder. Now, on April 17, the Romanian Parliament adopted yet a newer law the government drafted without consulting the effected churches, and against their express objection. The bill was rushed through the Romanian Parliament, without debate. It doubles the time period from 5 to 10 years religious denominations are prevented from reoccupying their buildings. In yet another blow to religious liberty, on April 23 the Romanian Parliament adopted a discriminatory law which deliberately omitted return of archival materials to religious denominations confiscated from them in 1974.
The Congress has acted on these human rights violations in the past, when it adopted H. Res. 191 in 2005, but the Romanian government just ignored it.
What makes this matter even more urgent now?
On June 28, 2012, Attila Markó and Tamás Marosán were handed down three-year prison sentences on false charges of official abuse of power, simply for doing their job and trying to serve justice by returning the Székely Mikó Reformed High School Sepsiszentgyörgy (Sfantu Gheorghe) to its rightful owner, the Hungarian Reformed Church. After a long trial this summer the Romanian Supreme Court will make its decision on June 27 deciding the fate of the two ethnic Hungarians and the third innocent defendant, Silviu Clim, an ethnic Romanian.
We are calling on Secretary of State Kerry to vigorously raise these issues with the Romanian government including the charges against Attila Markó, Tamás Marosán and Silviu Clim, keeping the Székely Mikó Reformed High School in the church's possession, and providing equitable, prompt, and fair restitution to all religious institutions.
We need your help, so please contact your Congressman today! Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Barátsággal,
HUNGARIAN HUMAN RIGHTS FOUNDATION
László Hámos
President
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