Many of us we know that Mr. Pal Cseresznyes is serving his 10 year
sentence and he NEEDS OUR HELP !!!
For those of You who are not familiar with the case I will give a brief
summary of it.

In March 1990 during the 142nd anniversary of the Hungarian revolution
from 1848 the Transylvanian city of Tirgu Mures [Marosvasarhely] and
surroundings witnessed the worst ethnic clashes I remember. In the press
of the fight several people died, and many were injured. During the fight
the Hungarian writer from Transylvania, Andras Suto lost one of his eye !
Close to 50 people were sentenced to a short period of time, mostly
ethnic Hungarians and Romas and only 2 ethnic Romanians. The lathers were
acquitted.
The most ruthless sentence [10 years] was given on the fall of 1990 to
Pal Cseresznyes for kicking twice during the fight an ethnic Romanian
named Cofariu. Mr. Cseresznyes was identified with the help of a
videotape.
Myself and many of the HL members – strongly convinced of Mr. Cseresznyes
innocence – wrote President Iliescu to grant him amnesty which he denied.
Why I do believe that Mr. Cseresznyes is innocent ?
1) His act was not premeditated;
2) He acted in self-defence;
2) The intoxicated and armed Romanian peasants brought to Tirgu Mures by
buses attacked the group of ethnic Hungarians situated in Bolyai Square,
while the local police and the army stood by.

********

This is wery sad, but please DO NOT WRITE to the new Romanian President
yet !!!
Here is why: last February my wife during a trip to the Transylvanian
city of Kolozsvar [Cluj] travelled to Marosvasarhely [Tirgu Mures] in
order to met Zonda Attila, president of DAHR for the county of Maros
[Mures], dr. Karoly Szabo and Erzsebet Szekeres, both managers of the
Cseresznyes Foundation, and one of the lawyers of DAHR. They advised us
of the following: if Mr. Iliescu will loose the elections [which he did]
Cseresznyes lawyer will act. In case if the new president declines to
pardon Pal Cseresznyes then WILL BE OUR TURN TO ACT. Therefore do not
rush into this please.

How can You help:

Mr. Pal Cseresznyes needs our (1)moral and (2)financial help.

1) Please send a fax for Christmas to Pal Cseresznyes to the DAHR’s fax
number from Marosvasarhely which should be addressed to Mr. Zonda Attila
fax: -40-65-168-511 [from Canada 011-40-65-168-511].
Small things like this kept him alive during the years !!!
[Please note: the phonelines are not the best in Romania. It may take
some time to get trough.]

2) Mr. Cseresznyes also needs Your financial help. He has no income,
however he has to pay a certain amount of money to the person he kicked
[Cofariu] until his recovery. He also has to support his daughter and his
elderly mother. His wife divorced [or separated ?] him after he was
sentenced.
To help him and solve his financial difficulties the DAHR set up the
Cseresznyes Foundation. [Be advised that the hard part of Cseresznyes
life will start when he will be released from prison. He has to start a
new life, therefore he needs this financial support !!!]
According to Mr. Attila Zonda no financial help has been received from
the western hemisphere.
In 1995 the Calvin Hungarian Presbyterian Church from Edmonton [Alberta,
Canada] set up its own Cseresznyes Foundation and since then the
community collected about 2,500 CDN$. In November the Church sent once
more 1,900 CDN$ to Mr. Cseresznyes. [All donations goes to the
Cseresznyes Foundation. The expenses are paid by the Church]
If You wish to contribute to the Cseresznyes Foundation You have two choices:

1) Make an International Money Order and send to DAHR from Marosvasarhely
with the mention “Cseresznyes Foundation”. Or You may send the amount
bank-to-bank. Be advised that in both cases the Romanian Banks charge a
handling fee [and tax] of 25 % !!!
[I might be able to obtain the account # and the necessary address if You
wish.]

2) Make an International Money Order [or personal cheque in Canada or
USA] and send it to:

The Calvin Hungarian Presbyterian Church
11701-86 Street,
Edmonton, Alberta,
T5B 3J7,
CANADA

Don’t forget to mark on Your donation: INTER-CSERESZNYES- FOUNDATION.

The Church sends the donations to Hungary, from there someone takes it
personally to DAHR.
My opinion is to send it via the Calvin Presbyterian Church. I did.

ON BEHALF OF MR. PAL CSERESZNYES I THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR KIND
SUPPORT!

Biro Zsigmond

P.S. Will inform You about the developments of the Cseresznyes case.
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