Thousands of people formed a human chain stretching across part of Transylvania on October 27 calling for `autonomy, but not independence' for "Székely Land", reports Szabadság.

Protest organisers, the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania and the Szekler National Council (CNS), reported more than 100,000 people waving the blue and gold Székely flag and Hungarian flags took part in the event, while Romanian authorities said the figure was closer to 15,000.

The human chain spanned a distance of some 53km, from Braşov to the counties that make up "Székely Land" (Covasna, Harghita, and Mureş). In a second demonstration in Budapest, around 10,000 people marched from Heroes' Square to the Romanian embassy in support of Székely Land autonomy following an appeal by the Civil Union Forum (CÖF), a group with close ties to Viktor Orbán's government.