10th
of May has a threefold significance in the history of Romania,
marking three important moments: the country’s independence from
the Ottoman Empire, the arrival of Carol of Hohenzollern
Sigmaringen in Bucharest and his enthronement.
10th
May is National Independence Day. The Russian-Turkish war that broke
out in April 1877 was an ideal opportunity for Romania to shake off
its official status as a vassal state to the Ottoman Empire. Although
the country’s independence was proclaimed in Parliament, it also
needed to be won on the battlefield. The Romanian troops under the
command of Carol I had a decisive contribution to the Russian-Turkish
war, and the proclamation of Romania’s independence was one of the
most important moments in this king’s reign. The Congress of Berlin
of 1878 confirmed Romania’s absolute independence from the Ottoman
Empire.
In
a statement issued on 10th
May, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said the sacrifices of our
forerunners were the foundation of European Romania: It is now our
duty to support and defend the values and principles we share with
our
Euro-Atlantic partners, said
Iohannis. He added that the development of Romania’s culture,
industry, transport and infrastructure, as well as international
relations were the immediate and direct gain of the independence. He
said that event is all the more important today as we are witnessing
a rebirth of the imperialist mentality on behalf of which a state is
subjected to barbarian aggression. President Iohannis emphasised that
freedom, every nation’s right to choose and forge its own destiny
and the protection of life and dignity are fundamental elements of
the democratic community we are part of. Prime minister Nicolae Ciucă
also issued a statement on 10th
of May, saying that during these complicated times, membership of
NATO and the European Union puts Romania under full protection of its
irreversible pro-European choice, as consolidated by the
trans-Atlantic partnership.
10th
of May was also Romanian Monarchy Day. From 1866 until 1947, when the
communists came to power, 10th
of May was Romania’s national day, marking the start of the
48-year-long reign of Carol I, the first of Romania’s four kings.
With the approval of the French emperor Napoleon III and Prussian
king William I, prince Carol set off to Romania, arriving in
Bucharest on 10th
May 1866. On 10th
May 1881, Parliament voted that the country become a kingdom, with
Carol becoming Romania’s first king. The celebration of 10th
of May was first banned in 1917 by the occupying German
administration, and later by the communists after the forced
abdication of King Michael in 1947. (CM)