Hungarian Minority in Romania: Persecuted Romanian Writer Dies
Andras Suto, a writer and human rights advocate for his fellow ethnic Hungarians in
Suto died Saturday night at a
Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany described Suto as a "creator, a sufferer and nearly a martyr of our common history."
"His rich life's work, individual example and personal tragedy is a warning to us all, that our region, Central-Eastern Europe, can have only one road - openness and tolerance toward each other and the finding of a common denominator called culture," Gyurcsany said in a statement.
Western Romania, including Transylvania, was part of
Suto for decades spoke up when the human rights of ethnic Hungarians in Romania were threatened, including attempts at forced integration, efforts by Ceausescu's communist regime to eliminate Hungarian-language schools and plans to bulldoze villages, many of them predominantly Hungarian.
In March 1990, Suto was nearly beaten to death and lost an eye during clashes between Romanians and ethnic Hungarians in the Romanian city of
In his works, Suto wrote much about the ordeals of living as a minority - often in humorous, melancholic tones - but he also called for the peaceful coexistence between ethnic groups.
"We lived in decades in which intellectuals, including writers, could not exclude themselves from the aspirations of a community," Suto told the British Broadcasting Corp. last year. A writer "has to be aware of the world he lives in and writes for and whose fate and historical and national status force upon him certain duties."
From 1980, the Ceausescu regime banned his books and plays, but they continued to be published and performed to great critical and popular acclaim in
Among his best-known works are the semi-autobiographical "My Mother Promises Light Dreams," the essay collection "Let The Words Come To Me" and a play "Advent On Harghita." His diary "An Eye For A Word" was published in 1993.