UDMR's Kelemen on CNCD sanctioning President: A fair decision, necessary; its message is important

The fine issued by the National Council for Combating Discrimination (CNCD) to President Klaus Iohannis is important not in terms of its value, but in terms of the message, because all his statements meant discrimination of the ethnic community, Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) Chairman Kelemen Hunor told AGERPRES on Wednesday.

The head of state was sanctioned for his statements made in the context of the tacit adoption, by the Chamber of Deputies, of the bill on the Szeklerland autonomy.

"It is a fair decision and a necessary decision. Certainly, the value of the fine itself is not important, because 5,000 lei is not a high value for a president. Perhaps, he will challenge it with the Court of Appeals, we'll see. The message of the decision is important - that there has been discrimination against the ethnic community, against human dignity, and this message is much more important than the fine itself. That is why, I am glad that this decision has been taken by a very large majority," Kelemen Hunor said.

The UDMR leader believes that President Iohannis "owes some apologies," because he made "some unacceptable statements."

"I further on believe that the President owes some apologies because he made some unacceptable statement both from an ethical and political point of view. We further await President Iohannis' apologies," Kelemen Hundor added.

President Klaus Iohannis was ordered today a RON 5,000 fine by the Board of Directors of the National Council for Combating Discrimination (CNCD) for the offence of discrimination and ethnicity/nationality-based violation of the right to dignity.

The head of state was sanctioned for his statements in the context of the tacit adoption, by the Chamber of Deputies, of the bill on the Szeklerland autonomy.