Laszlo Tokes: Background Information
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/574200.stm
Laszlo Tokes was the ethnic-Hungarian pastor of the Romanian Reformed Church in Timisoara, Romania that is recognized as a revolutionary, instrumental in sparking the Romanian Revolution of 1989. Timisoara, located on the western side of Romania, was the birthplace of what became known as one of the bloodiest, short-lived revolutions of European history. Tokes condemned the injustice and cruelty of the communist regime in Romania, headed by the president and dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, through his sermons delivered at his largely Hungarian congregation in Timisoara. When his dissidence against the Romanian dictatorship that was in place before the Revolution of 1989 caught the eye of the government, Tokes was punished. Shortly afterwards, the dictator and his wife were executed on the account of genocide. Now Laszlo Tokes fills the role of one of the 14 Vice Presidents of the European Parliament and continues to have an impact on the politics of Romania as well as other nations.
