Radio România Internațional

Tag: 1989 Revolution

  • December 14, 2024 UPDATE

    December 14, 2024 UPDATE

     

    NEGOTIATIONS In Bucharest, negotiations on a future coalition of the pro-European parties in Parliament have made progress with respect to the structure of the new government. The Social Democratic Party will control 7 ministries, the National Liberal Party 4, Save Romania Union 3, and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania 2, said the Social Democrats’ senior vice-president Sorin Grindeanu. It has not yet been decided which ministries will go to each party and the names of the new ministers. On the other hand, the Social Democrats and and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians plead for a single presidential candidate of the coalition. After the Constitutional Court cancelled the election for president, the future executive will have to decide by the end of the year on a new presidential election calendar, the UDMR believes. The pro-European parties elected in Parliament hope to come up with a cabinet by Christmas.

     

    EU FUNDING Romania collected EUR 1.9 billion in EU structural and cohesion funds in 2021-2027, and the overall absorption rate, 6.11%, is close to the EU average of 6.19%, the minister of investments and European projects, Adrian Câciu announced. The absorption rate for the structural and cohesion funds under centrally managed programmes is higher, namely 7.3%, Caciu said in a Facebook post. He emphasised that Romania is yet to to catch up on Regional Programmes, where the absorption rate is 3.2%, but he voiced confidence that the example set by the current coalition comprising the Social Democrats and the Liberals in terms of management and implementation of European funds, including decentralisation, will be followed by the new government, and the pace of EU fund absorption will be sustained, so as to replicate the success of the 2014-2020 period.

    PARLIAMENT On Monday the last week of work for the current legislature begins, with many bills still unfinished for Romanian Senators and Deputies. Until the new Parliament is convened, the Chamber of Deputies should adopt the new Forestry Code, which has been on the agenda for several months. The code is a benchmark in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and a priority for the Government, which says the document must be adopted by the end of the year. The bill provides, among other things, for the seizing of vehicles carrying stolen wood, for green belts around major cities, for preemptive rights and reasonably priced quality materials for local furniture manufacturers, for video monitoring of forest roads, and bans clear-cutting in all protected areas. Meanwhile, the Senate is expected to vote on a bill punishing holders of multiple positions financed from the state budget and on another one limiting to two the number of terms in office for the heads of the secret services. The current MPs remain in office until December 20, when the first session of the new Parliament is scheduled, following the December 1 general elections.

     

    ECONOMY Romania’s trade deficit was EUR 5.5 billion higher in the first 10 months of the year than in the same period in 2023, according to data made public by the National Bank. More than half of this deficit is the result of growing imports of goods. The central bank also says that the total foreign debt went up over EUR 18 billion and exceeded EUR 186 billion. According to analysts, along with the very high budget deficit, these are the main problems of the Romanian economy, and they must be solved concurrently, which is very difficult. They believe that through a correct budget adjustment, expenses would be cut, and revenues could be raised by eliminating corruption and through a fair tax system.

     

    ANNIVERSARY Timişoara marks 35 years since the anti-communist Revolution of December 1989, which broke out in this city in western Romania. Under the motto “35 years of freedom”, events dedicated to the 1989 heroes and celebrating the three and a half decades since Timişoara became the first city free from communism in Romania will take place between December 15 and 20. The agenda includes, as every year, religious services, wreath-laying, exhibitions and film screenings. A concert entitled Requiem in Memoriam is scheduled on Sunday at the Banat Philharmonic, Monday will see the inauguration of the Freedom Portal, a light installation that reproduces sounds from the Revolution, followed by the traditional march “Heroes Never Die”. Tuesday will be a day of mourning, and the events on December 20 will end with a concert called “Rock for revolution”. (AMP)

  • December 17, 2023 UPDATE

    December 17, 2023 UPDATE

    Budget. Parliamentary procedures for the adoption of the 2024 budget begin on Monday morning. The deadlines are very tight and the entire legislative process should be completed in just three days. On Monday and Tuesday, the debates will take place in the specialized committees, first to approve the allocations for each field of activity, then the members of the budget-finance committees must complete the reports. The plenary debates would begin on Tuesday evening, and the final vote is expected the following day, Wednesday, December 20. The drafts of the state budget law and the state social security budget law for 2024 include the pension and salary increases already announced, a percentage of approximately 7% of the gross domestic product for investments, significantly higher allocations than this year for education, transport or health. According to the calculations presented by the Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, the Government estimates an economic growth of 3.4%, a budget deficit of 5% and an average annual inflation of 6%. The parliamentary opposition in Bucharest, however, believes that the draft budget for 2024 has nothing to do with the real needs of Romanian society and is only an electoral document. The Save Romania Union estimates that the deficit will be much higher than in the executives calculations, because revenues are overestimated and certain expenses are not included. The party announced that it has submitted over 400 amendments to the draft budget, changes which it claims would correct the normative act.



    Commemoration. It was a day of mourning on Sunday in the western city of Timisoara, in memory of the heroes who lost their lives during the anti-communist Revolution of December 1989. December 17 is the day when dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu ordered the repression forces to open fire on the demonstrators. Memorial services were held in churches and at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Timisoara, and wreaths were laid by local authorities and revolutionary associations at the monuments dedicated to those who sacrificed their lives for freedom. Saturday was an open gates day at the Museum of the “Revolution Memorial” Association in Timisoara.. There were also exhibitions, concerts, a festive meeting of the City Council and a march in memory of the martyred heroes. The revolt against the communist regime in Romania broke out in Timişoara on December 16, 1989 and then spread, starting December 21, to Bucharest and other cities across the country. In total, over 1,000 people died and around 3,000 were injured in the fighting that took place in the only country in Eastern Europe where the regime change took place violently.



    Hostage. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has stressed that Romania is with the international community in supporting the efforts of the State of Israel to release all the hostages kidnapped by Hamas. “The death of the 27-year-old artist Inbar Haiman, Pink, killed by Hamas terrorists, deeply saddened me. My heart goes out to her family and friends”, he wrote on social media on Sunday. According to the prime minister, negotiations to resolve conflicts are the viable solution for restoring peace and security in the region. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bucharest had announced, on Saturday, the death of another hostage with dual citizenship, Israeli and Romanian, in the Gaza Strip, and the Embassy of the State of Israel in Bucharest announced her identity. The MFA communique reiterates the need for the release of all hostages in the Gaza Strip and emphasizes that, currently, only one Romanian with dual Israeli and Romanian citizenship is still a hostage there. The Romanian Embassy in Tel Aviv is in permanent contact with the Israeli authorities.



    Schengen. Hungary will veto Bulgarias entry into the Schengen Area if Sofia does not remove the transit tax for Russian gas, the Hungarian Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday in a statement, Reuters reports. While Western European countries have made great efforts to get rid of Russian gas, landlocked Hungary has received 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas a year from Russia under a deal signed in 2021, mainly via Bulgaria and Serbia. We recall that at the European Council on Friday in Brussels, the Netherlands officially announced that it agreed with Bulgarias entry into the European area of ​​free movement. In this context, the only country that should change its position and accept the accession of Romania and Bulgaria – states that technically meet the necessary criteria – to Schengen is Austria. Over the last year, Vienna has spoken out against the enlargement of the free movement area, citing the fact that it is not functional as many unregistered migrants arrive in central and western Europe. Late last year, Austria voted against the accession of either country in the Schengen area, while the Netherlands opposed only Bulgaria.



    AUR.The President of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), George Simion, participated in the annual conference of the Fratelli dItalia party, led by the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni. Simion, whose parliamentary group is in opposition in the Bucharest Parliament, stated that the solution to defend the Latin and Christian roots of Europe is for a center-right government to be established in Brussels, and the patriotic parties to win all the electoral battles to come. In a press release, AUR reported that Simion and Meloni discussed the possibility of establishing an alliance and emphasized the common roots of the two peoples, Italian and Romanian. The event, organized by the party led by the head of the government in Rome, brought together conservative and reformist European leaders, but also personalities from the business world, such as Elon Musk. On Saturday, George Simion had a private audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican.




    Oil. In the first ten months of 2023, Romania extracted 4% less oil than in the same period last year, according to the National Institute of Statistics in Bucharest. Crude oil imports amounted, in the indicated period, to 6.35 million TOE and were 12 percent below those recorded in the first ten months of 2022. According to the National Strategy and Forecast Commission, this years crude oil production was estimated to approximately 3 million tons of oil equivalent, down 2.3% compared to last year. The commission signals that Romanias crude oil production will be on a downward trajectory in the period 2023-2026, with an average annual rate of -2.2%, a consequence of the natural decline of deposits and the maintenance of existing production units.(MI)

  • December 16, 2023 UPDATE

    December 16, 2023 UPDATE

    BUDGET The 2024 state budget and social security budget bills will be reviewed by Parliament’s specialist committees as of Monday. On Tuesday the draft laws will be discussed in a joint plenary
    meeting, with a final vote expected on Wednesday. The budget is based on a 3.4%
    economic growth rate, with investments amounting to 7% of GDP and the largest
    appropriations in history for public education. PM Marcel Ciolacu dismissed
    claims that the figures are over-optimistic, and voiced his confidence that budget
    revenues would be raised from 27% to 30% of GDP. Under the bill, as of June 1
    whole-economy minimum wages will be around EUR 745. Ciolacu also said he was
    counting on better EU fund absorption, on improved tax collection and on
    curbing tax evasion.


    EU President Klaus Iohannis says the EU winter summit, which came to an
    end in Brussels on Friday, will be remembered for the historic decision to
    initiate accession negotiations with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. The
    Romanian official encouraged the government of Moldova to step up the reforms
    required for EU integration. As for Ukraine, the president of the European
    Commission,Ursula von der Leyen, says
    the decision was a promise kept and an investment in stability and security. EU
    leaders also discussed the Israel-Hamas war, and condemned the continuing
    hostilities with growing numbers of victims among Palestinian civilians in Gaza
    and the West Bank. They argued that peace will only be achieved through a
    two-state solution. A revision of the 2021-2027 Multi-Annual Financial
    Framework, support for Ukraine, security and defence, migration and the future
    EU Strategic Agenda were also discussed at the European Council meeting on
    Thursday and Friday in Brussels.


    COMMEMORATION In Timişoara (west) events were organised to mark 34 years
    since the start of the 1989 Revolution which eventually led to the fall of
    dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu’s communist regime. The rally in support of the
    Reformed pastor László Tőkés, who was under political police (Securitate)
    surveillance, turned into an uprising against the communist dictatorship. In
    this context, the Revolution Memorial was opened to the public in Timişoara on
    Saturday. The organisers prepared a complex programme, providing information on
    the events of 1989. The commemoration also includes exhibitions, concerts, a
    special meeting of the Local Council, and a commemorative march. In this
    context, the Senate Speaker Nicolae Ciucă said in a message that the sacrifice
    and courage of Timişoara’s heroes were the foundation of today’s free and
    democratic Romania.


    UNEMPLOYMENT Around 63% of the Romanians aged 15 to 64 had a job in
    July-September, according to the National Statistics Institute. The
    unemployment rate was 5%, but among youth aged 15 to 24 the rate reaches 22%. The
    economic analyst Constantin Rudniţchi says the INS data is not very different
    from previous reports and that the Romanian labour market is below its
    potential. As for unemployment, he believes the overall trend is to look for
    and to create jobs. Rudniţchi believes the most urgent issue to be the one
    million Romanians who are outside the social and employment system, i.e. who
    are neither in school nor employed.


    AGREEMENT Romania, Turkey and Bulgaria intend to sign an agreement on
    January 11, 2024, concerning a joint plan to remove mines floating in the Black
    Sea as a result of the war in Ukraine, the Turkish defence minister Yasar Guler
    said, according to Reuters. Officials from the 3 NATO member states met with
    the authorities of Georgia, Poland and Ukraine in April 2022 to discuss the
    issue, and also discussed the plan in a NATO meeting in Brussels in October and
    in Ankara, last month. Yasar Guler explained that the initiative will only
    include Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria for the time being, and the signing
    ceremony will take place in Istanbul.


    FAIR A special Christmas fair was opened at the Săvârşin Castle of
    Romania’s late King Michael I. The organiser, Her Majesty Margareta, Custodian of
    the Crown of Romania, said the event was intended to promote and preserve the
    authenticity of Christmas traditions. It is something spiritual, and we often
    forget that Christmas has grown a little too commercial. So we are glad to have
    valuable people here, she said. On the estate in Arad County, western Romania,
    a Royal Automobile Museum, a souvenir shop, the auto repair shop of King
    Michael I and a Tea House are also opened to the public. During the event, carol
    performances and handicraft exhibitions are also organised for the visitors. (AMP)

  • December 18, 2020 UPDATE

    December 18, 2020 UPDATE

    Negotiations. In Bucharest, the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Save Romania Union – PLUS Alliance (USR PLUS) and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians (UDMR) have reached an agreement to form a parliamentary majority and a center-right governmental coalition, following the December 6 legislative elections. The Liberal leader, Ludovic Orban, has announced that the current Liberal Finance Minister Florin Cîţu will be the Prime Minister. The presidency of the Chamber of Deputies will return to the National Liberal Party, and that of the Senate to USR PLUS. In the future Cabinet, PNL would hold nine portfolios, USR PLUS six, and UDMR three. There will also be two positions of deputy prime minister. Dacian Ciolos, co-president of the Save Romania Union – PLUS Alliance has stated that negotiations will continue over the following days to establish the governing program. On the other hand, the Social Democrats, who came in first in the December 6 election, insist that the correct solution, in the current pandemic, is to form a government of national union, led by Dr. Alexandru Rafila, who entered the new Parliament on their list.



    Covid-19 Ro. According to the Strategic Communication Group, 5,340 new cases of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 were registered in 24 hours in Romania, following 27,482 tests at national level. In the same period, 188 infected people died, bringing the total number of deaths to 14,157. 1,270 people are hospitalized in intensive care. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, 582,786 cases of people infected with the new coronavirus have been confirmed in Romania, of which over 484 thousand have been declared cured. The number of Romanians abroad confirmed with the new coronavirus increased to 7,036, two more than the last report, and the number of deaths increased to 128. The restrictions established to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus remain in force at Christmas and New Year, said President Klaus Iohannis on Friday. He visited the CantacuzinoNational Institute for Medical-Military Research-Development in Bucharest, which is the national center for receiving and storing doses of COVID-19 vaccine. The head of state advised the Romanians to stay at home for the holidays. In turn, the Minister of Health, Nelu Tătaru, announced that the Executive approved the norms regarding the authorization, organization and operation of the vaccination centers.



    Restrictions. All persons entering Greece, starting December 18, are obliged to isolate themselves at home for a period of three days, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports. The measure, valid until January 7, 2021, is complementary to the other conditions already in force: the obligation to present a negative result of a PCR test performed no later than 72 hours before entering Greek territory, filling in the location form and, in case of road border crossings, performing a quick test with immediate result. Exceptions are drivers of international goods transport who are in transit or take over goods from Greece and immediately leave the territory of that state. On the other hand, from December 19, people traveling to Austria, including Romanians, will be placed in quarantine for 10 days immediately after entering Austrian territory, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also announced. The quarantine measure may be suspended following the presentation of the negative result of a test for SARS-CoV-2 infection, carried out not earlier than the 5th day after entry into Austria, at the expense of the person concerned. The Romanian MFA states that the restriction will apply for an indefinite period.



    Pandemic. Vaccination against Covid-19 in the EU will begin immediately after Christmas, between December 27-29 – announced the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. The European Medicines Agency will soon take a decision on the authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, already administered in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. On Friday, US Vice President Mike Pence was given the Pfizer / BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, and the moment was broadcast live on television as the US prepares to authorize a second vaccine, that of Moderna. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the health minister will open the vaccination campaign in front of the cameras on Saturday, to serve as personal examples. Vaccination of medical staff across the country and then people over the age of 60 will begin on Sunday. On the other hand, more and more European countries are reintroducing restrictions in an attempt to limit the growing number of Sars-Cov-2 infections, which are considered worrying. The Czech Republic has announced traffic bans during the night, the closure of restaurants and bars. Restrictions have also recently been imposed in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Bulgaria.



    Minorities. President Klaus Iohannis on Friday conveyed a message on the occasion of the National Minorities Day in Romania, stressing that its essential that all responsible political forces understand the need to eliminate hate speech, chauvinistic and extremist agendas. On this day, we honor the essential role which all national minorities play in society, history and future projects of Romania President Iohannis also said in his message. Klaus Iohannis also stressed that Romania, in full agreement with the values ​​of the great European family to which it belongs, recognizes the importance of unity in diversity, of spiritual richness resulting from historical coexistence, mutual respect and the current commitment to protecting the rights of national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. There are almost 20 ethnic minorities in Romania.



    Commemoration. 31 years after the December 1989 Revolution, Timisoara (in western Romania) continues to commemorate its heroes, in the context of the new coronavirus pandemic. On Friday, the Revolution Memorial Association organized a pilgrimage to 14 monuments in Timisoara, which were erected in the hottest places of December 1989 uprising, and where people laid wreaths. Thursday was a day of mourning in the town on the Bega River, where, on December 17, 1989, dictator Nicolae Ceausescu ordered the use of lethal ammunition against people who contested the communist regime in the street. The protests in Timisoara, where almost 100 people died and about 350 were injured, were the spark that led, a few days later, to the fall of the dictator, following the bloodiest Revolution in Southeastern Europe.



    Digitalization. The Ministry of Education and Research launched for public consultation the Strategy for the Digitalization of Education in Romania 2021-2027: SMART-Edu. The proposed targets are the following: 90% of the countrys population to be digitally literate, the training of 82% of the population aged between 20 and 34 for emerging trades, in order to successfully enter the labor market., and quipping all educational units in Romania with infrastructure and technological resources adapted to permanent changes. The relevant minister, Monica Anisie, has stressed that this document must become a country project. More than 1,200 people, 72 experts, 24 civil society organizations and 18 companies with relevance in the field of digitization have contributed to its development. (M. Ignatescu)

  • December 17, 2020 UPDATE

    December 17, 2020 UPDATE

    Covid-19 Ro — 5,697 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 contamination have been registered in Romania in the last 24 hours, after 28,099 tests have been made at national level – the Strategic Communication Group informed on Thursday afternoon. In the same period, 107 infected people died, taking the total death toll to 13,969. 11,860 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized in specialized health units, of whom 1,297 in intensive care. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, 577,446 cases of people infected with the new coronavirus have been confirmed in Romania, of whom over 477 thousand have recovered. The number of Romanians abroad confirmed with the new coronavirus increased to 7,034, three more than the latest figure reported, with the number of deaths remaining at 127. President Klaus Iohannis convened a new working meeting to manage the COVID-19 epidemic, to be attended by the interim Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă and the main officials in the health domain. The health minister Nelu Tataru announced that the executive approved on Thursday the norms regarding the authorization, organization and functioning of vaccination centers against COVID-19. The document creates the legal framework for the involvement of the Defense and Interior Ministries in this campaign. Funds were also approved that are necessary for the organization and functioning of vaccination centers as well as additional funds for the Health Ministry, meant for the purchase of new medicines stocks and anti-COVID-19 treatments.



    Rules — The National Committee for Emergency Situations on Thursday established a series of health protection rules for the organization of official events, parliamentary sessions, meetings, preparatory working meetings, as well as ceremonies commemorating the events of December 1989. At official ceremonies taking place indoors the participants are obliged to wear face masks and to keep physical distance of at least one meter. Also the organizers of the events have to ensure areas of four square meters for each person and to ventilate the rooms for at least 10 minutes every 2 hours. The first 3 rules also apply to official events held in open spaces where a maximum of 100 participants are allowed. Also on Thursday, the National Committee for Emergency Situations updated the list of countries and territories considered to have a high epidemiological risk. The people coming to Romania from these countries must be quarantined for 14 days, a period that can be shortened after the 3rd day based on a negative COVID-19 test. The list of so-called yellow zones includes the Republic of Moldova, the Netherlands, Cyprus and Turkey, with Italy having been eliminated. All in all, 37 states and territories are on the updated list of the Romanian authorities.



    Donation — Germany has donated to Romania medical equipment for the intensive care units where COVID-19 patients are being treated. The equipment consists of 40 pulmonary ventilation devices intended for the treatment of patients suffering from moderate and severe forms. The equipment was transported to Bucharest by a Romanian air force aircraft. The same aircraft brought home 4 Romanian soldiers who had been wounded in October in a mission in Afghanistan and who were treated at a medical center in Germany. According to the Romanian Defense Ministry, they will be hospitalized for evaluation by a medical commission. Depending on the outcome of clinical and paraclinical investigations, the military will benefit from specialized medical treatments, psychological assistance and counseling and postoperative neuromotor recovery programs that are adapted and individualized.



    Negotiations — In Romania, the negotiations between PNL, USR-PLUS Alliance and UDMR for the formation of a center-right governing coalition will continue on Friday, the leaders of the three parties have announced. In a joint statement, they said that all solutions were on the table and that each party expressed flexibility. The negotiations resumed on Thursday, after the three parties had not managed to reach an agreement in the last two days. The Liberals have come up with two options for the prime minister post – the current finance minister, Florin Cîţu and the former PM, the Liberal president Ludovic Orban. According to the Liberals, this decision could make the negotiations more flexible, but the USR- PLUS Alliance has already rejected the idea of ​​Ludovic Orban re-entering the race for the PM position. On the other hand, the Social Democrats propose Professor Alexandru Rafila for this position. President Klaus Iohannis urged the parties to reach a compromise and adding that he would nominate for the post of prime minister any person supported by a center-right coalition.



    Commemoration — Thursday was a day of mourning in Timişoara (western Romania), where, on December 17, 1989, the dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu ordered the use of lethal ammunition against people who challenged, in the street, the communist regime he was leading. The protests in Timisoara, where almost 100 people died and about 350 were injured, were the spark that led, a few days later, to the fall of the dictator, following the bloodiest Revolution in Southeast Europe. In memory of the heroes of Timisoara, religious services were scheduled for this years commemoration as well as wreath laying ceremonies, pilgrimages to the monuments erected in the city in the hottest places of the Revolution, an exhibition and a special meeting of the Local Council.



    Research – The interim government in Bucharest, led by Defense Minister Nicolae Ciucă, approved, in Thursdays meeting, a draft decision on the reorganization of the National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics. Thus, the Institute will be able to open, develop and put into practice the latest technologies and discoveries in the field of informatics and cyber security. At the same time, two other projects related to the payment of contributions to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have been approved. The executive also analyzed a memorandum on the negotiation of the financing contract between Romania and the European Investment Bank, worth 250 million Euros, to support the Iasi Regional Emergency Hospital (northeast). (tr. L. Simion)

  • The file of the 1989 Revolution in court

    The file of the 1989 Revolution in court

    This year, in December, it will be 30 years since the anti-communist Revolution which started in the western city of Timisoara, extended to Bucharest and then to the whole of Romania. More than 1,000 people were killed and some 3,000 were wounded in the fighting at that time, Romania thus becoming the only East European country where the regime was toppled through violence and where the communist leaders Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu were executed.



    One of the then slogans “Who shot at us on 16th to -22nd?” became the question obsessively asked during the 30 years since the fall of communism. Better late than never! — many exclaimed after the general prosecutor of Romania, Augustin Lazar, had announced that the indictment in the 1989 Revolution file had been submitted to court, after years of investigations.



    Augustin Lazar: “In time, cultural personalities, politicians, investigators, historians have put forth various theories, explanations and estimates about the December 1989 events. Today, jurists are putting an end to this challenge, presenting the judicial truth as a component of a very complex investigation which started out from the idea that the responsibility for the victims of the December 1989 revolution is not an institutional one, but a direct, individual responsibility.”



    Investigations have shown that against the background of a generalized psychosis related to terrorism, soldiers started shooting chaotically and contradictory military orders were given resulting in casualties, injuries, unlawful deprivation of freedom and psychological traumas. Moreover, conditions were created for the conviction and execution of the Ceausescu presidential couple through a mock trial.



    Last but not least, the former president Ion Iliescu and the former deputy prime minister, Gelu Voican Voiculescu have been charged in the file for crimes against humanity. They allegedly launched diversions and disinformation in order to take over power.



    The completion of the Revolution file and its submission to court have sparked off various reactions from politicians in Bucharest. On the one hand, president Klaus Iohannis and the opposition National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union party have hailed the announcement made by the prosecutor general Augustin Lazar, considering it an extremely important step towards establishing the truth.



    On the other hand, the ruling Social-Democratic Party believes that the truth should have been uncovered long ago, and that the file could have been forwarded to court one month later, after the European Parliament elections. The same Social Democrats are outraged that the Revolution file was forwarded to court by Augustin Lazar, who has been subject to serious accusations following recent media disclosures. In the 1980s, when he was a member of the commission for the release of detainees within the Penitentiary in the central town of Aiud, one of the toughest of the repressive communist regime, Augustin Lazar allegedly refused the release on parole of some anticommunist dissidents.

  • December 23, 2018 UPDATE

    December 23, 2018 UPDATE

    Tsunami – A tsunami killegd at least 222 people and injured hundreds on the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra following an underwater landslide believed to have been caused by the erupting Anak Krakatau volcano, Reuters quoted officials as saying on Sunday. Hundreds of homes and other buildings were “heavily damaged” when the tsunami struck, almost without warning, along the rim of the Sunda Strait late on Saturday, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the disaster mitigation agency, said. Thousands of residents were forced to evacuate to higher ground. Coastal residents reported not seeing or feeling any warning signs on Saturday night, such as receding water or an earthquake, before waves of 2-3 meters (6-10 feet) washed ashore, according to media.




    Paris – French President Emmanuel Macron called for “order” on Sunday after a sixth weekend of “yellow vest” anti-government protests marked by dwindling participation and a violent attack on police in Paris. Speaking during a visit to the central African state of Chad where he was visiting French troops serving in a counter-terrorism force Macron said: “There must be order now, calm and harmony. Our country needs it.” Prime Minister Edouard Philippe denounced the “incredible violence towards the police”. A man died in southern France, bringing the protests overall death toll to 10. The yellow vest protests began in mid-November against fuel tax increases, for higher wages, lower taxes, better pensions and easier university entry requirements. On Friday evening, the French Senate approved the measures which should come into force early next year.




    1989 Revolution – Events commemorating the heroes of the December 1989 anti-communist Revolution continued in Romania. In the capital, commemoration events started at the monument in the Revolution Square and continued at the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation, the Romanian Television and the Telephone Palace. The participants included revolutionaries, relatives of those who died, people who were in the army in 1989 and were called to defend the public institutions from what officials back then termed as terrorists. All orthodox churches in the country and abroad held a commemoration mass to honour the heroes who sacrificed themselves in December 1989. More than 1000 people died and some 3,400 were wounded in the shootings in Romania, the only country in the Eastern Bloc where the regime was toppled violently and the communist rulers were executed.




    Eurobarometer – 52% of the Romanians have a positive image about the EU, as compared to 43% which is the European average. According to a Eurobarometer survey, the number of Romanians who have a positive image about the EU is on the rise and above the European average. Half of the Romanians trust the EU and belive that their voice counts in the EU, 56% of the Romanians have a positive view of the situation of the European economy, and 48% of Romanians are optimistic about the labour market situation. The survey also shows that most Europeans believe, for the first time, that their voice matters in the EU. Moreover, 20 years since the introduction of the single currency, support for the economic and monetary union and the Euro remains at a record high, with three quarters of the respondents in the Eurozone in favour of the single currency. On the other hand, immigration remains the main concern at EU level. It is mentioned twice more often than terrorism.




    Ice hotel — The only ice hotel in Romania was opened on Sunday at Balea Lac in the Southern Carpathians. The official inauguration of the entire compound, to also include an ice church and several igloos will take place next February. The ice hotel, built entirely of ice blocks, is located at an altitude of 2034 meters. This year, the theme that has inspired the hotel’s decoration is Frozen Love, promoting love and passion for nature, fresh air and trekking in the winter season. A perfume inspired from this theme will also be launched. Bookings for tourists who want to experiment sleeping at minus 2 degrees Celsius were made months in advance, especially by Britons. The Ice Hotel has been built every year, starting 2005.




    Security – During the holiday season, more than 8,500 policemen will ensure security all over Romania. Given the big number of Romanians aboard who come to spend their winter holidays at home and the number of Romanians who go outside the country borders at this time of the year, the Romanian Border Police has reminded that there is an application that those interested can use to see how traffic is at border checkpoints. The number of trains to and from the big Romanian cities and the mountain resorts has also been supplemented.




    Employment — In Romania, the National Employment Agency (ANOFM) plans to integrate over 110 thousand unemployed people on the labour market, under a project co-financed by the European Social Fund, though the Human Capital Operational Programme 2014-2020. The budget allocated for this purpose exceeds 265 million euros, of which around 226 millions are non-repayable funds. The project will be implemented with the support of local employment agencies.


    (Translated by Elena Enache)


  • December 23, 2018

    December 23, 2018

    1989 Revolution – Events commemorating the heroes of the December 1989 anti-communist Revolution continue. On Saturday, in Bucharest and other cities across Romania several thousand people took part in a march in memory of the Revolution’s heroes, and against the current government. In the capital, commemoration events started at the monument in the Revolution Square and continued at the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation, the Romanian Television and the Telephone Palace. The participants included revolutionaries, relatives of those who died, people who were in the army in 1989 and were called to defend the public institutions from what officials back then termed as terrorists. All orthodox churches in the country and abroad held a commemoration mass to honour the heroes who sacrificed themselves in December 1989. More than 1000 people died and some 3,400 were wounded in the shootings in Romania, the only country in the Eastern Bloc where the regime was toppled violently and the communist rulers were executed.




    Paris – About 2,000 people demonstrated in Paris on Saturday. Some 142 people have been arrested, including a protest leader, police sources say. A man died in southern France, bringing the protests overall death toll to 10. There were other small-scale protests in the rest of the country, with hundreds of yellow vests briefly blocking trucks near the French-Spanish border before being dispersed by police. The “gilets jaunes” (yellow vest) protesters – named after the high-visibility jackets French motorists must carry in their cars – began in mid-November against fuel tax increases, for higher wages, lower taxes, better pensions and easier university entry requirements. On Friday evening, the French Senate approved the measures which should come into force early next year.




    Eurobarometer – 52% of the Romanians have a positive image about the EU, as compared to 43% which is the European average. According to a Eurobarometer survey, the number of Romanians who have a positive image about the EU is on the rise and above the European average. Half of the Romanians trust the EU and belive that their voice counts in the EU, 56% of the Romanians have a positive view of the situation of the European economy, and 48% of Romanians are optimistic about the labour market situation. The survey also shows that most Europeans believe, for the first time, that their voice matters in the EU. Moreover, 20 years since the introduction of the single currency, support for the economic and monetary union and the Euro remains at a record high, with three quarters of the respondents in the Eurozone in favour of the single currency. On the other hand, immigration remains the main concern at EU level. It is mentioned twice more often than terrorism.




    Ice hotel — The only ice hotel in Romania is being opened today at Balea Lac in the Southern Carpathians. The official inauguration of the entire compound, to also include an ice church and several igloos will take place next February. The ice hotel, built entirely of ice blocks, is located at an altitude of 2034 meters. This year, the theme that has inspired the hotel’s decoration is Frozen Love, promoting love and passion for nature, fresh air and trekking in the winter season. A perfume inspired from this theme will also be launched. Bookings for tourists who want to experiment sleeping at minus 2 degrees Celsius were made months in advance, especially by Britons. The Ice Hotel has been built every year, starting 2005.




    Security – During the holiday season, more than 85 hundred policemen will ensure security all over Romania. Given the big number of Romanians aboard who come to spend their winter holidays at home and the number of Romanians who go outside the country borders at this time of the year, the Romanian Border Police has reminded that there is an application that those interested can use to see how traffic is at border checkpoints. The number of trains to and from the big Romanian cities and the mountain resorts has also been supplemented.




    Employment — In Romania, the National Employment Agency (ANOFM) plans to integrate over 110 thousand unemployed people on the labour market, under a project co-financed by the European Social Fund, though the Human Capital Operational Programme 2014-2020. The budget allocated for this purpose exceeds 265 million euros, of which around 226 millions are non-repayable funds. The project will be implemented with the support of local employment agencies.


    (Translated by Elena Enache)

  • May 22, 2018 UPDATE

    May 22, 2018 UPDATE

    EU FUNDS – Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, on Tuesday urged the Government to show more concern about absorbing European funds. He said that of the 31 billion Euros that can be attracted by Romania, our country hasn’t even used 5 billion, and this money should be used for development. Romania cannot afford the luxury of giving up the EU projects, the European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu, has also warned. In Bacau, eastern Romania, in a dialogue with citizens on the future of Europe and of the cohesion policy, Cretu also said she expected several major projects from Romania to the European Commission. Corina Cretu recalled that only four major projects have been submitted by Romania, since she became EU Commissioner. On Monday, the European official, alongside PM Viorica Dăncilă, held talks with the mayors of county capitals on urban investments with European funds. The Commissioner has again called on the Romanian authorities to make sustained efforts, to reduce the risk of loosing European money. She also referred to the need to simplify procedures and step up the process of assessing the projects.



    JUSTICE LAWS– The law on the status of judges and prosecutors was adopted on Tuesday by the Romanian Senate, which is the decision-making body in this case. Thus, the document, which now redefines “judicial error is now submitted to President Klaus Iohannis for promulgation. We recall that early this month, Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis decided to send the justice laws back to the Constitutional Court, after they had been adopted by Parliament – the status of judges and prosecutors, judicial organisation and the Higher Council of Magistracy. The president has also notified the Venice Commission.



    REVOLUTION TRIAL – Romanias former leftist president Ion Iliescu was heard at the Prosecutor Generals Office, in the case concerning the 1989 anti-communist revolution, in which he is accused of crimes against humanity. Last month the head of state Klaus Iohannis approved the prosecutors request to prosecute Iliescu, the ex-PM Petre Roman and the former deputy PM Gelu Voican Voiculescu. They allegedly plotted a military diversion designed to give them legitimacy as the new leaders after the communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu fled the capital city. The diversion resulted in 1,166 deaths, of which more than 800 after Ceausescu was ousted, as well as in losses, damages and injuries.



    PENSION FUNDS – In a televised statement on Tuesday, President Klaus Iohannis asked the Government to clarify its plans with respect to the privately-managed pension funds known as the “Pension Pillar II. The head of state voiced concerns regarding the situation and said people might begin to question the governments capacity to design and manage the pension system. PM Viorica Dăncilă promised that Pillar II will not be dismantled, but did not rule out possible changes in the laws regulating its operation. Dancila explained there was a draft in this respect put together by the National Strategy and Prognosis Commission but not approved by the Government, and that an analysis will be made on the topic.



    AmCham – Romania had a fairly high investment rate compared to other EU member states in 2001-2016, but the effects of these investments were late in appearing, Anda Todor, head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Romania said in a press conference. In turn, AmCham treasurer Ciprian Lăduncă said Romania should have a national investment plan, a long-term business plan approved by all stakeholders in the Romanian society. Another very important measure for the Romanian economy is to encourage long-term saving, whether through life insurance, private pensions or investment funds, Ciprian Lăduncă added.

    JUDICIARY – The High Court of
    Cassation and Justice in Bucharest on Tuesday acquitted Calin
    Popescu-Tariceanu, the Senate Speaker and president of the Alliance for
    Liberals and Democrats, in the ruling coalition in Romania, in a lawsuit in
    which he was charged with perjury and encouraging an offender. The court also
    decided to change the accusation from perjury and encouraging an offender
    into perjury. The ruling is not final. In the last hearing of the case, the
    National Anti-Corruption Directorate had requested a 3-year prison sentence for
    the Liberal Democrat leader. According to prosecutors, during investigations
    into the unlawful return of landed estates near Bucharest, Tăriceanu gave
    untrue statements while under oath.



    EU TRADE – The trade ministers of EU member countries have authorised the European Commission to initiate negotiations on free trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand. The announcement was made at a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council for trade, held in Brussels. Romania is represented by line minister Ştefan Radu Oprea.(Translated by D. Vijeu and AM Popescu)

  • December 23, 2016 UPDATE

    December 23, 2016 UPDATE

    THE 1990 MINERS RAIDS FILE – Several former Romanian dignitaries, among whom the former president Ion Iliescu, the former prime minister Petre Roman and the former head of the Romanian Intelligence Service, Virgil Magureanu, on Friday were accused of crimes against humanity in the file “The Miners Raids of June 13-15, 1990. According to the prosecutors, the accused masterminded, organised and coordinated a generalised and systematic attack on those protesting in downtown Bucharest against the leftist Power, which ruled the country after the fall of the communist dictatorship in December 1989, as well as on the population of the capital city. The prosecutors claim that participating in the attack were forces of the Interior Ministry, the Defence Ministry and the Romanian Intelligence Service, adding to over ten thousand miners and workers coming to Bucharest from several regions of the country. Against the backdrop of violent incidents, that the Army had already stifled, the then president, Ion Iliescu, mentioned an attempted coup by the far right and called on the population to defend the democratic institutions. The Jiu Valley miners raids on Bucharest, where they stormed the University, the headquarters of the opposition parties and the offices of several independent newspapers, left four people dead and 1,200 injured. In 2014, the European Court of Human Rights issued a ruling imposing on Romania to continue investigations in the Miners Raids of June 1990 file.



    POSTPONED DESIGNATION OF PM – Romanias President Klaus Iohannis has postponed until after Christmas the designation of a new Prime Minister. He made the announcement after consultations held on Wednesday and Thursday with representatives of the political parties that made it to Parliament following December 11th legislative elections. The coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats has proposed for the office of prime minister the Social Democrat Sevil Shhaideh, a former Development Minister and the proposal of the Peoples Movement Party was Eugen Tomac. The National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union have announced that will stay in the opposition and will not support a government formed around the Social Democratic Party. The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania has signed a parliamentary collaboration agreement with the majority coalition.



    RADIO AND TV LICENCE FEE– Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, has called on Parliament to reassess the law on the elimination of several taxes and of the radio and TV licence fee, because, although the law has been declared constitutional, its reassessment is necessary given the impact on the Romanian citizens. According to a communiqué issued by the Presidential Administration, the reduction of taxes should be accompanied by the improvement of administrative procedures and budgetary discipline. As regards the television and radio public media services, the president says the problems these institutions have been facing are old and systemic, and they are mainly generated by the legislative framework which regulates their functioning. According to the Romanian president, the debate on the elimination of the two licence fees and covering from the budget the functioning costs of the two radio and television public media services cant be limited to a simple question, namely whether or not it is necessary to collect a fee to support these institutions. The elimination of the radio and TV licence fee has been harshly criticised by Romanian and international media organisations which say the measure will affect the editorial autonomy of the two public media services.



    COMMEMORATION – A mass commemorating the martyr heroes of the 1989 anti-Communist revolution in Romania was held on Friday morning at Otopeni Airport near Bucharest. 27 years ago, 40 of the 82 soldiers sent to enhance security at Otopeni airport died, killed by the airport local security, who thought they were terrorists. 8 civilian airport employees, who were on their way to work by bus were also killed in the accidental shooting. The anti-Communist revolt started 27 years ago in Timisoara, western Romania, to then quickly spread all across the country. Over December 23-25, dictators Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu were caught, tried and executed. More than 1,000 people died in the revolution, and some 3,400 were wounded. Romania was the only country in the Eastern Bloc where the regime was changed violently and its communist leaders were executed.



    ALL POINTS BULLETIN – In Romania, the former Social– Democrat MP Sebastian Ghita, prosecuted for corruption and subject to legal restrictions pending trial, has disappeared and is now wanted by authorities. The Interior Minister Dragos Tudorache has called on the head of the police to carry out an internal investigation into the circumstances under which Ghita disappeared. The former MP, a close collaborator of the former Prime Minister Victor Ponta, is banned from leaving the country and must present himself to the police once a week. He is being prosecuted, among other things, for bribe-giving, influence peddling, money laundering and blackmail.



    SWEARING IN CEREMONY – The President -Elect of the Republic of Moldova, the pro-Russian Socialist Igor Dodon, officially started his term in office on Friday, in a solemn Parliament session. Dodon announced that his first visit abroad will be to Moscow, where he will try to resume the strategic partnership with the Russian Federation. Domestically, Igor Dodon will oppose the pro-Europe government in Chisinau and will try to dissolve Parliament in order to force early parliamentary elections. During his election campaign, Dodon said that his first decree would annul a law endorsed by parliament, under which the loan granted to the banking system in 2014 as a result of a 1 billion dollars embezzlement was turned into state debt. His announced priorities include banning the organisations that plead for the unification of the Republic of Moldova with Romania.



    SAFETY AND SECURITY MEASURES – The Romanian Interior Ministry has announced that some 22,000 police, fire fighters and gendarmes will be mobilised every day across Romania during the Christmas holidays. Also, the border police will operate at full capacity in order to reduce the waiting time for those who travel across the border. In Romanias mountain resorts, some 200 gendarmes will join the existing squads in order to be able to rapidly intervene should the tourists need it, the Interior Ministry has also stated.



    BERLIN ATTACK – The suspected perpetrator of the Berlin attack, the 24 year old Tunisian Anis Amri, was shot dead on Thursday to Friday night by the Milan police, the Italian Interior Ministry has announced. An international warrant had been issued for his arrest. He was fatally shot after firing at police who had stopped his car for a routine identity check. The Tunisian had connections with members of the Islamic State terrorist organisation, which claimed the attack in Berlin. We recall that the perpetrator drove a truck into a packed Christmas market in Berlin, Germany, on Monday, killing 12 people and injuring 48. In another move, on Thursday night, German police officers arrested two men suspected of having planned an attack on a shopping centre in Oberhausen, in the west, one of the largest shopping areas in Germany.



    HIJACKING – A Libyan plane with 118 people on board, on a domestic flight, landed in Malta, after having been hijacked. At the end of hours of negotiations with the Libyan authorities, the two hijackers released the passengers, the crew-members and turned themselves in. According to international news agencies, they are allegedly loyalists to former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.(Translated by M.Ignatescu and Diana Vijeu)

  • December 21, 2016

    December 21, 2016

    PM NOMINATION — The Social Democrat Sevil Shhaideh, a former minister of Regional Development and Public Administration is the Social Democrats’ proposal for prime minister. The leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Liviu Dragnea, has made the announcement after consultations with President Klaus Iohannis. Dragnea has pointed out that, for the time being, he couldn’t be a PM himself, because of a suspended prison sentence that he deemed “unfair” and of a law which he saw as “unconstitutional”. President Iohannis had made it clear ever since the election campaign that he was not going to appoint a PM that had problems with the law. Dragnea has received a 2-year suspended prison sentence for electoral fraud at the 2012 referendum for the impeachment of the then president, Traian Basescu. At the same time, a law from 2001 prevents politicians with a criminal record from taking over the PM seat. The representatives of the Social Democrats and of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) went together to the consultations with President Iohannis. The two parties signed a governing protocol and together they hold 54% of the mandates. Consultations end on Thursday, when President Iohannis will announce the new Prime Minister.




    ROMANIAN REVOLUTION — In Romania, the commemoration of the heroes killed in the December 1989 Revolution continues. December 21st marked the end of Ceausescu’s dictatorship, when the protests in Timisoara spread to Bucharest and many other cities. Ceausescu convened a big gathering in the capital Bucharest, in trying to win people’s support, but what he got was huge protests against the regime. At the dictator’s order, the army, the police and the Securitate started firing at protesters, killing 50 people and injuring several hundreads. Military and religious ceremonies are held today in Bucharest, to honour their memory.




    EXPLOSION — An explosion that took place in a popular fireworks market near Mexico City left at least 31 people dead, with another 100 being injured or reported missing. In 2005, a fire engulfed the same market, touching off a chain of explosions that levelled hundreds of stalls just ahead of Mexicos Independence Day. Many people in Mexico traditionally celebrate holidays by setting off noisy firecrackers.




    MIGRANTS — The border police in Timisoara, in western Romania, has captured five Iraqi citizens who wanted to cross the Serbian-Romanian border illegally, on foot. The Iraqis, who had no ID papers, said they were planning to get to Western Europe. The Romanian border police have captured numerous illegal migrants lately, who attempted to cross its southern and eastern borders.




    BERLIN ATTACK — The German Police is further looking for the perpetrator of the horrible attack on Monday in a Christmas market in Berlin that killed 12 people and injured almost 50. The Pakistani suspect detained on the same night has been released, for lack of evidence. ISIS has claimed the attack. This is the third such attack claimed by ISIS in the past few months. In November, an ISIS sympathiser ran his truck into a group of people at the University of Ohio, the US, injuring 11 people while in July a terrorist killed 86 people with a truck in the French city of Nice.




    PARLIAMENT — Romania’s Chamber of Deputies and Senate are today convening in separate meetings to validate the new parliament members. Also today, they will be sworn in and will choose the leadership of the two chambers. The first meeting of the new Parliament after the December 11 elections was held on Tuesday.


    (Translated by Elena Enache)

  • The Romanian Revolution and the Revival of Democracy

    The Romanian Revolution and the Revival of Democracy

    Around the mid-19th century, the word revolution started to refer mainly to an overthrow of old ideas and practices, a renewal of society overall. Politics underwent a sea change, both in terms of political ideas, and in terms of promoting change, as often as possible. Revolution was believed to be the engine of history, with Marxism being the ideology that had the biggest influence on the way revolution was seen. Marxism said that class struggle was what moved humanity forward. Revolution is seen by it to be a process of insurrection, by which capitalism had to be removed and destroyed, as well as a continuous process, after the proletariat had grabbed power and transformed society.



    After Marxism grabbed power in Russia in 1917 in the form of Leninism, and then took over with Soviet occupation of Central and Eastern Europe, the revolution was supposed to continue until it prevailed all over the world. However, the soviet regime and the concept of revolution as social upheaval failed in its project of becoming the superior form of human life. Communism meant repressing some of the most elementary human rights, and brought with it widespread impoverishment. Historians and political scientists saw the 1989 revolutions in Central Europe, which came as a natural effect of the dramatic drop in living standards, as a return to democracy. The revolutions in 1989 are no longer seen as founding events for social upheaval, but for building democracy. In 1989, the understanding of the word revolution went back to the original meaning, that of revolving back to a starting point, a significance given to it by the Glorious Revolution in England in 1688. The 1989 revolutions are glorious revolutions because they put an end to tyranny and returned dignity to political man.



    Every year in December, Romanians commemorate the fall of communism and a return to normalcy. Paid in death and injury, the return to democracy became the most important of political values, the more important as time tends to take the edge off it. The first stirrings of anti-communism occurred in Timisoara on 16 December 1989, continuing in Bucharest on December 21 and 22, culminating with the fall of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.



    Political scientist Ioan Stanomir believes that the date of 22 December 1989 has all the features of a founding moment, or, in this case, as he puts it, a re-founding moment: “22 December indisputably represents the final point of the communist period. We should emphasize this aspect, because some of the politicians on the rise after December 1989 tried to minimize the anti-communist and democratic dimension of popular protests that led to the fall of the Ceausescu regime. I insist on this aspect. It was not just about removing a dictator who dishonored this country, but also about affirming values which, though not very clearly defined, were subsumed to a wish to eliminate the communist regime with its cortege of material privations and dramatic restriction of freedoms.”



    However, ridding people of the inheritance and reflexes of communism proved to be a lengthy process, which few back then understood properly, as being a painful effort to separate public good from public evil, to have a perspective on the past and another on the future.



    Here is Ioan Stanomir again: “22 December is similar to Janus, an event with two faces. On the one hand, it is the process of celebrating freedom; on the other it is the moment when the drama of the terrorists begins. Were it not for the terrorists and the deaths that occurred in conditions very hard to clarify to this day, 22 December would most likely have had a different future. Let us not forget that there is a cemetery of the Heroes of the Revolution, and that the people buried there are there mostly as a result of the action of the mysterious terrorists after 22 December 1989.”



    Romanian democracy was revitalized and the pluralism of opinions was a sign of societal recovery. Historical parties that had been banned by the communist regime were being recreated, people were free to come up with ideas and act accordingly. Their voices started to be heard and the politicians’ behavior was adjusting to the electorate’s demands.



    Ioan Stanomir: “December 22, 1989 was indeed a moment of fraternity and fraternization followed quite quickly by a lack of unity among the political class. Romanian citizens were divided, and what triggered this division was the National Salvation Front (FSN) and Ion Iliescu, that also confiscated the moment of December 22 to the benefit of a party-state. This was the beginning of the end for this dream, for this illusion of fraternization. December 22nd was followed by January 1990, with the protests of the democratic parties who were violently repressed, then by February 1990, March 1990 and the incidents in Targu Mures, the University Square and finally the miners’ riot in June 1990.”



    The Romanian Revolution of 1989, Europe’s most violent return to democracy, was paid with the lives of 12 hundred people. The passing of time makes people get used to certain living standards and freedom is now seen as an essential right. Nevertheless, history reminds people the fact that things have not always been like that, and the year 1989 is the most recent such example.


  • 18 November, 2016

    18 November, 2016

    Award. Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis
    will today receive the Martin Buber Award in The Netherlands presented by the
    Euriade Foundation, a Dutch non-governmental organisation promoting youth
    education in the spirit of European values. The award is granted each year to a
    personality who, through his or her public and private actions, has contributed
    to the development of harmonious communities based on humanist values through
    authentic dialogue, openness, responsibility and respect for one’s peers.
    Before the award ceremony in Kerkrade, president Iohannis will meet over 1,000
    young people from different countries taking part in the International Festival
    of Dialogue under way in the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion, on the border between
    Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands. The award has been granted every year since
    2002. Queen Silvia of Sweden, Mikhail Gorbachev, Garry Karsparov and Helmut
    Schmidt are some of the recipients of the Martin Buber Award.




    Investigations. The former Romanian state secretary Adrian
    Sanda and five other persons have been taken into temporary custody for 29 days
    as part of an inquiry into the case of fake certificates for revolutionaries
    with a decisive role in the victory of the anti-communist revolution of
    December 1989. The suspects are accused of abuse of office with aggravating consequences
    and peddling in influence. Prosecutors say the latter accepted bribes in
    exchange for using their influence to grant these certificates, which secure
    their holders a monthly allowance of around 450 euros and other benefits.
    According to the Prosecutor’s Office, many of the 3,500 revolutionaries
    enjoying this status do not meet the legal requirements. 1,100 people were
    killed and more than 3,000 wounded in the anti-communist revolution of December
    1989 in Romania according to an official report.




    Car
    insurance.     Premiums for the mandatory car insurance have been capped for the
    next 6 months starting today. The reduction is considerable in the case of
    trucks and heavy-duty vehicles, as well as for motorists who have not caused
    any accidents in recent years. The premiums and their ceilings have been
    established by the Financial Supervisory Authority following consultations with
    carriers associations and insurance companies. The measure comes after road
    carriers took to the streets to protest against the exaggerated insurance
    premiums, which have even gone up several times in recent years. The National
    Union of Insurance and Reinsurance Societies in Romania has complained about
    the capping of mandatory car insurance premiums to the European Commission saying
    it violates the principle of the free market. The European Commission has
    accepted the complaint and the government has 10 weeks to respond.




    Barack Obama tour.
    Today in Berlin, US president Barack Obama and German chancellor Angela Merkel
    meet French president Francois Hollande and the prime ministers of the UK,
    Spain and Italy, Theresa May, Mariano Rajoy and Matteo Renzi, respectively.
    Yesterday, Obama and Merkel had talks about EU-US trade agreements and about
    Russia. The two leaders agreed to maintain sanctions on Russia and expressed
    hope that talks on the transatlantic trade agreement would resume. Germany is
    the second country after Greece to receive the visit of US president Barack
    Obama as part of his last European tour as president amid fears that his
    successor, the right-wing populist Donald Trump, may pose a threat to
    democracy. After Germany, Obama travels to Peru to attend the Asia-Pacific
    Economic Cooperation Summit. President elect Donald Trump will take office on
    the 20th of January.




    Book fair. The Gaudeamus International Book Fair
    organised by Radio Romania and under way in Bucharest features book launches,
    cultural events, debates, recitals, workshops and meetings with authors. The
    list of books being launched today at the fair include the volume The Colour of
    Paradise by the contemporary Chinese poet Jidi Majia and the book The Wedding
    by the Romanian writer and journalist of Polish descent Gabriel Klimowicz.
    Radio Romania’s stand today has a programme dedicated to children. The fair,
    which comes to an end on Sunday, brings together hundreds are publishers and
    more than 850 different events. This year’s guest of honour is China. Gaudeamus
    is organised by Radio Romania, the only public radio station in the world to
    initiate and develop a programme of such magnitude to support print culture.





  • Criminal prosecution to expand in the ‘Revolution Case’

    Criminal prosecution to expand in the ‘Revolution Case’

    Almost 27 years
    after the fall of the Ceausescu regime, army prosecutors have expanded in
    rem the criminal proceedings in the so-called Revolution case to
    investigate crimes against humanity committed after the 22nd of
    December 1989. The armed incidents that took place around this date in many
    places indicate that there may have been a pre-established plan to put the new
    leaders in power and legitimise them, reads the communiqué of the Prosecutor’s
    Office presented by prosecutor Marian Lazar.


    Marian Lazar: It transpires from documents that are part of the case that, in order to hold on
    to power, through their actions and measures, the new political and military
    leadership instated after the 22nd of December 1989 caused the
    death, gunshot injury, physical and psychological damage and unlawful
    deprivation of freedom of a large number of persons, actions that fall into the
    scope of crimes against humanity.

    The
    actions in question point to the existence of a plan aiming to create a state
    of confusion among the armed forces through a division of the leadership of the
    defence ministry and the issuing of false orders, reports and information,
    causing people to take to the streets and arming the population to create the
    impression of a civil war between armed units of the defence ministry, and thus
    enable the new leaders to take over power and acquire legitimacy. To carry out
    the plan, the Romanian Television was used to broadcast alarmist and sometimes
    false reports, telephone lines were cut and former army staff loyal to the new
    political and military leadership were put in charge of the law and order
    ministries in order to generate a psychological and media war that resulted in
    many victims, the communiqué of the Prosecutor’s Office also reads.

    According
    to a document from the Military Prosecutor’s Office with the High Court of
    Cassation and Justice, more than 1,200 people were killed in the events of
    December 1989, of whom 800 died after 22nd of December, when the
    regime collapsed. More than 5,000 people were wounded and several thousand
    unlawfully deprived of freedom and subjected to bad treatment. The reopening of
    the Revolution case, which earned Romania a series of convictions at the
    European Court of Human Rights, comes a few months after interim prosecutor
    general Bogdan Licu called for the reopening of the inquiries. According to Licu,
    the ruling to close the case in October 2015 was ungrounded and illegal, and
    the legal classification of the deeds was wrong.

  • December 18, 2015

    December 18, 2015

    The anti-missile shield in Deveselu is a confirmation of the extraordinary relationship that the US and Romania share, the US ambassador to Bucharest, Hans Klemm, said on Friday, when the elements of the American missile defence system installed at the military base in Deveselu, in southern Romania, became operational. The facility in Deveselu, which includes a sophisticated radar system, ballistic missile interceptors and state-of-the-art communication equipment, will be a major module of a larger NATO security project. To mark the occasion, the Romanian Foreign Ministry held a special ceremony. Hans Klemm underlined the defensive character of the project and the fact that it was exclusively directed against threats coming from outside Europe. In his turn, Romanian Defense Minister Mihnea Motoc said this is the most important Romanian-American project.



    In Timisoara the events marking 26 years since the first anti-communist protests that started in this western Romanian city continue. Wreaths will be laid the Metropolitan Cathedral in the city, on whose steps tens of protesters were shot dead on December 18, 1989. Triggered by the opposition of the Timisoara locals to the authorities abuse, the Revolution soon extended to other Romanian cities. Over 1 thousand people died and around 3,400 were injured between December 16 and 25. Romania was the only communist country where the dictatorial regime was overthrown in a violent manner and its leader executed.



    Representatives of the big powers gathered in New York on Friday to seek backing from the United Nations for a plan to bring about a negotiated end to Syria’s brutal civil war. US Secretary of State John Kerry has recently got Moscows support for this plan. Nevertheless, the US and Russia continue to have divergent opinions as regards the fate of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. While Washington believes the Syrian leader must step down, President Vladimir Putin says he will never agree to the head of a country to be imposed from the outside. American leaders have already voiced concern at the Russian bombings against moderate rebels and not against Islamic State militants.



    The European leaders, who got together in Brussels, are today discussing anti- terrorism measures and also economic, monetary and energy union. On Thursday, the first day of the meeting, EU leaders decided to tighten security at Schengen borders and address deficiencies in managing the wave of migrants. The proposal supported by Germany and France for creating an EU border and coast guard empowered to overrule national governments when the EUs external frontiers are deemed to be inadequately secured has been postponed by 6 months, as in many parts of the EU is viewed as an assault on the sovereignty of nation states. No conclusion was reached on Britains proposal to renegotiate its EU membership status either, and further talks will be held at the summit in February. PM Dacian Ciolos represents Romania at the summit in Brussels. He will today meet with Frans Timmermans, the European Commissions First Vice President.



    The Romanian national womens handball team will today be playing against Norway in the semi-finals of the World Championship in Denmark. In the quarterfinals the Romanians beat the host country after having previously won against Brazil. In the other semi-final the Netherlands will be up against Poland. Romania is the only team that has participated in all World Championship editions as of 1957 and has won 1 gold medal in 1962 and 2 silver in 1973 and 2005 respectively. Russia, Germany and Norway are the teams with most gold medals in world championships so far.


    (Translated by Elena Enache)