Radio România Internațional

Tag: 9/11

  • The world after 9/11/2001

    The world after 9/11/2001

    16 years on, America and the international community continue to mourn the dead of September 11 2001, the darkest day in the history of terrorist attacks against civilization. 3,000 people were killed at the time by Al Qaidas kamikaze commandos, who hijacked four planes and crashed them into emblematic buildings for the United States economic and military power, the World Trade Center twin towers and the Pentagon. One of the planes, which is believed to have targeted the White House itself, crashed in a forest after the passengers preferred to die fighting the suicidal terrorists. The number of victims has continued to rise in the following years, and a new monument was built this year in their memory.



    According to Radio Romanias correspondent in the United States, a Long Island beach where people gathered on September 11 2001 to watch in horror how the twin towers collapsed, is the venue chosen for a steel tower measuring over 9 metres in height and with granite plaques on which the names of the dead are engraved. The names of the 582 police forces, fire fighters, constructors and volunteers who spent days and even months among the ruins of the World Trade Centre and who later died because of the toxic ashes and smoke they inhaled were engraved on a separate plaque. In a symbolic detail, the plaque contains some free space for the names of those who may still be killed in the same way. Around 75,000 people still suffer from mental and physical disorders caused by the trauma 16 years ago.



    The overwhelming majority of those killed were civilians from 90 different countries, including 5 of Romanian origin: Eugen Gabriel Lazar, Corina and Alexandru Liviu Stan, Joshua Poptean and Ana Fosteris, as well as the famous architect Arkady Zaltsman from the majority Romanian speaking Republic of Moldova, whose designs were used in the building of the Parliament Palace in Chisinau. Like the entire civilised world, Bucharest also categorically condemned the attacks and joined the anti-terrorist coalition from day one.



    Already connected to America by a strategic partnership but still in the NATO antechamber, Romania did not hesitate to send its military to Afghanistan, where the Al Qaida network was enjoying the protection of the Taliban. According to the data published by the Romanian Defence Ministry, 25 Romanian military have been killed in combat and patrol missions and 100 have been wounded in the Afghan theatre of operations. 16 years on, the Romanian military are still there alongside their American colleagues. Deployed in the south, near Kandahar, they provide counselling to the Afghan armed and security forces and humanitarian assistance to the Afghan civilian population, carrying out daily reconnaissance missions, which often result in the capture of Taliban insurgents. (Translated by C. Mateescu, edited by D. Vijeu)

  • Nachrichten 11.09.2016

    Nachrichten 11.09.2016

    Rumäniens Außenminister Lazăr Comănescu hat anlässlich des 15. Jahrestags der Anschläge vom 11. September eine Gedenkmitteilung an seinen amerikanischen Kollegen John Kerry geschickt. Darin zeigte sich der rumänische Chefdiplomat solidarisch mit den Opfern der Anschläge, ihren Hinterbliebenen und allen die unter den tragischen Ereignissen 2001 zu leiden hatten.“ Mit Feierstunden, Kranzniederlegungen, Schweigeminuten und Glockengeläut gedenken die Vereinigten Staaten der Opfer der Anschläge vom 11. September 2001. Fast 3000 Menschen waren getötet worden, als vor 15 Jahren zwei Flugzeuge ins New Yorker World Trade Center und das Pentagon in Washington gesteuert wurden, und eine weitere entführte Maschine von Passagieren in Pennsylvania gezielt zum Absturz gebracht worden war. US-Präsident Barack Obama betonte die Entschlossenheit der USA den Kampf gegen den Terrorismus fortzusetzen. Am Ground Zero war wie alljährlich seit 2011 eine Gedenkfeier mit der Verlesung der Namen der Opfer geplant. In der Nacht zum Montag sollen zwei blaue Lichtstrahlen an den Stellen, wo einst die Zwillingstürme des World Trade Center standen, an die Anschläge erinnern, berichtete Euronews.



    Frankreichs Präsident François Hollande wird am Montag zu einem zweitägigen Besuch in Rumänien erwartet. Der Staatschef wird eine Delegation von Ministern, Unternehmern und Parlamentsabgeordneten leiten. Auf dem Programm steht allen voran eine Unterredung mit dem rumänischen Kollegen, Klaus Iohannis. Dabei soll es unter anderem um die Zukunft der EU gehen, ein vorbereitendes Gespräch vor dem informellen EU-Gipfel in Bratislava kommenden Freitag. Anschließend soll Hollande gemeinsam mit dem rumänischen Ministerpräsidenten Dacian Cioloş die Hubschrauber-Fabrik von Airbus in Ghimbav bei Kronstadt einweihen. Die Gesamtinvestition in den Standort beläuft sich auf etwa 40 Millionen Euro, das erste zivile Hubschraubermodell soll 2017 geliefert werden. Im Jahr 2018 sollen auch die ersten Militärhubschrauber gefertigt werden. Rumäniens Präsident Iohannis hatte nach dem Gewinn der Wahlen 2014 seinen ersten Auslandsbesuch im Februar 2015 in Frankreich absolviert.

  • September 11, 2015

    September 11, 2015

    MIGRANT CRISIS — The Vishegrad Group foreign ministers- of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia-are today meeting in Prague with their counterparts from Germany and Luxembourg, for talks on the migrant crisis, which is deepening by the day. The Vishegrad Group member states voiced dissatisfaction with the quota regime set by the EU. In turn, Romania has expressed reticence with the so-called mandatory quotas of immigrants, that the EU member states will give shelter to. In another move, Hungary has today announced it supplemented by 3,800 the number of military deployed on the border with Serbia, to cope with the growing flow of immigrants, which last night registered a record high of 3,600 people. Austria has today announced it closed the Nickelsdorf checkpoint, on the border with Hungary, because of the high number of immigrants, some 8,000, who crossed the border within 24 hours. According to an official with the UN High Commissioner’s Office for Refugees, over 7,600 other refugees, entered Macedonia, coming from Greece, over the last 24 hours.



    COMMEMORATION — Romania is further firmly committed to the international effort to fight terrorism and extremism, Romanian deputy prime minister and interior minister Gabriel Oprea said today, in a message delivered in commemoration of 14 years since the 9/11 terror attacks in the US. According to Oprea, the terror attacks in the US as well as in other European countries have shown that terrorism can hit anywhere and anytime and that no country is fully defended against this scourge. The relationship between Romania and US gained a new significance in the wake of the tragedy that struck on September 11, Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu said. In a message to US Secretary of State, John Kerry, marking 14 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which claimed the lives of 3,000 US citizens, including members of the Romanian-US community, Aurescu reiterated Romania’s determination to carry on, alongside the US and its international partners, the efforts meant to prevent and fight this threat, irrespective of its forms of manifestation. He evoked the significant role of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the US in boosting bilateral relations and ensuring common security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic region.



    MOLDOVA — The prime minister of the Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet state with a predominantly Romanian speaking population, Valeriu Streletz, has said the country’s existence is in jeopardy. Against the backdrop of prolonged, one week long antigovernment protests in downtown Chishinau, the prime minister said the problems that prompted people to take to the street, such as corruption, poverty and the lack of confidence in the political class, are the outcomes of accumulated process which unfolded over many years. Strelets has added that his cabinet, which took office in late July, will resign only after a vote of confidence in Parliament. On Sunday, tens of thousands of people protested near the government building, demanding the resignation of the cabinet and of president Nicolae Timofti and calling for early elections. Hundreds of them decided to stage protests around the clock, placing tents in front of the government building. Declaring itself of pro-Western orientation, the three-party ruling coalition dramatically lost credibility in Moldova, after one million US dollars from the country’s banking system, the equivalent of 15% of Moldova’s GDP, vanished into thin air, in unclear, mysterious circumstances.



    FESTIVAL — The “George Enescu” International Festival continues in Bucharest. Performing on the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum today will be Konzerthausorchester Berlin, conducted by Horia Andreescu. Another highlight of the day is the concert given by the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, as part of the “Great Orchestras of the World” series. The 13th day of the festival ends with a concert given by the Chamber Orchestra of Paris. Over 3,000 Romanian and foreign artists in the world musical elite will be performing on the stage of the festival, one of the largest events of its kind in Europe, which runs through September 20. Tens of indoor concerts and outdoor events are being held throughout the festival.



    TENNIS — Second seeded Romanian tennis player, Simona Halep, who has qualified for the first time to the semi-finals of the US Open in New York, is today facing Italian Flavia Pennetta (WTA rank: 26). Playing the other semi-finals will be first seeded American player Serena Williams and Italian Roberta Vinci. The games, initially scheduled for Thursday, have been postponed for today by the organisers of the last Grand Slam tournament of the year, because of rain.

  • Lumea după 11 septembrie

    Lumea după 11 septembrie

    Ziua de 11 septembrie a căpătat un aspect de cod numeric, 9/11, şi a ajuns să desemneze o tragedie de dimensiuni apocaliptice. Aceasta se referă, desigur, la ziua de 11 septembrie a anului 2001, undeva la începutul Mileniului, când celebrele Turnuri Gemene din New York s-au prăbuşit, lovite de avioane deturnate. În aceeaşi zi, un alt avion de pasageri a fost condus de terorişti în zidurile Pentagonului, inima militară a Americii. Un al patrulea, deturnat şi el, s-a prăbuşit în câmp când pasagerii s-au revoltat împotriva teroriştilor care preluaseră controlul şi vroiau să îl arunce împotriva unui alt obiectiv strategic.



    Au trecut 13 ani din acele clipe care au şocat omenirea. În atenţia publică a apărut imaginea unei organizaţii transnaţionale malefice, reţeaua Al Qaida, formată din extremişti islamişti porniţi la luptă împotriva Occidentului. Deşi se poate crede că atunci au început problemele în lumea islamică, de fapt momentul 11 septembrie 2001 reprezintă o manifestare explozivă a acestei tendinţe extremiste care a dominat relaţiile internaţionale din ultimele două decenii, cam de după războiul rece.



    Prima reacţie a Statelor Unite, după identificarea autorului atacurilor din septembrie 2001, a fost alungarea teroriştilor Al Qaida din adăpostul lor afgan.



    Şi în prezent, Afganistanul este o problemă extrem de complicată, cu multe regiuni ieşite de sub controlul autorităţilor centrale. Mai e şi Irakul, la rândul său o ecuaţie de securitate aproape imposibilă. Siria s-a alăturat, dur şi sângeros, acestor ţări nesigure şi imprevizibile, unde se evoluează extrem de greu pe calea unei normalizări a situaţiei. Mai mult, recent a apărut intempestiv în ecuaţia militar-strategică a regiunii o structură foarte bine organizată, foarte puternică şi de o incredibilă violenţă. În scurt timp, această organizaţie care duce extremismul dincolo de suportabil a ieşit în evidenţă în peisajul grupurilor care se confruntă în Siria.



    Mai mult, această organizaţie vine cu o planuri transfrontaliere şi propune un califat concret, ca stat levantin în Irak şi Siria. Ofensiva spre Irak a acestei grupări militar-religioase părea de nestăvilit, îndreptându-se spre un Bagdad ce părea că o va aştepta, pe fondul unei cu o ciudate crize politice. Şirul succeselor incredibile şi rapide a fost stopat cu concursul aviaţiei americane, ceea ce readuce în discuţie participarea Washingtonului şi a partenerilor săi europeni la ecuaţia strategică şi de securitate din Orientul Mijlociu.



    Pe fondul dominării clare a dezbaterii internaţionale de problema extremismului islamic, au apărut brusc în atenţie situaţia din Ucraina şi noile ambiţii ale Rusiei. De câţiva ani, nu mulţi, NATO şi puterile occidentale sunt reconfigurate, în Rusia, ca principal inamic. Astfel, opţiunea pro-occidentală a Ucrainei din 2013 a fost sancţionată de Rusia cu o duritate extremă şi de o manieră incredibilă, greu de anticipat şi de acceptat. Rusia a anexat pur şi simplu o regiune a statului ucrainean şi sprijină o rebeliune de mari dimensiuni în estul aceleiaşi ţări.



    În scurt timp, zona rusofonă de la graniţa Ucrainei cu Rusia a devenit scena unui război în toată regula. Rusia, cel mai întins stat din lume, s-a confruntat constat cu problema extremismului islamic izvorât din zona Caucazului, dar de această dată se află în conflict cu o ţară la fel de ortodoxă ca şi ea.



    Se vorbeşte de mult timp de ponderea fenomenului religios în detonarea unor conflicte sângeroase. În situaţia din estul Ucrainei, chiar dacă nu se poate spune că ar avea vreo implicare apartenenţa religioasă, exista măcar posibilitatea ca filonul credinţei să oprească războiul celor de aceeaşi religie. Nu ştim dacă acest mileniu va fi religios sau nu, dar cu siguranţă credinţa va juca un rol evident.