Radio România Internațional

Tag: August 23

  • August 23, 2020

    August 23, 2020

    August 23 — August 23 celebrated during Communism by huge military parades has become for many years now the European Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Stalinism and Nazism known as Black Ribbon Day in some countries. Firmly condemning fascism and communism is not a formality but a necessary gesture, says the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in a message conveyed on the occasion on Sunday. President Iohannis recalled that August 23 used to celebrate the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact and now this day is an opportunity for younger generations to get to know the horrors, mass repression and suffering caused by the totalitarian regimes. According to the Romanian President real democracy can be consolidated in a society that knows and assumes its history. President Iohannis also recalls and pays homage to the courage of King Mihai I and the heroism of the Romanian army that, on August 23, 1944, managed to render the Romanian nation its dignity and put Romania on a track that led it to the victory of the Allies 76 years ago. The Romanian PM Ludovic Orban says that the testimonies about those sorrowful times are a real plea for condemning totalitarian and authoritarian regimes. The Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact signed on August 23, 1939 meant the division of Europe into two spheres of influences: Nazi and Stalinist and the start of WWII.



    Covid-19 Ro — In Romania, the number of COVID-19 patients on Sunday went up 78,505 after 961 new cases have been reported, shows the Strategic Communication Group. Over the past 24 hours 39 people have died, taking the total death toll to 3,272. The number of patients in intensive care units in Romania on Saturday was 480. More than 35,300 patients have recovered. Most cases have been reported in Bucharest, Mures and Sibiu counties. As to the Romanian citizens abroad, 5,920 have been confirmed with the new coronavirus mostly in Germany, Italy and Spain and 124 have died. Over 30 employees from India working on a building site in Bucharest have been infected with SARS-CoV2. They have been isolated alongside the other 200 employees working on the same building site. The health minister Nelu Tataru said that despite the stabilizing trend of the Covid-19 pandemic evolution, health protection rules still need to be observed. He also added that if the number of new cases dropped from one day to the next for a period of 2 weeks, restaurants might be re-opened.



    Covid-19 world — The new coronavirus pandemic seems to recrudesce in more and more countries which have lately reported higher numbers of contaminations since the spring wave of the pandemic or even the coronavirus outbreak. Over 23.1 million cases of coronavirus infection have been confirmed around the world, according to worldometers.info, with almost 800 thousand deaths reported. A quarter of the total number of cases, that is more than 5.6 million, has been reported in the US where the death toll reached almost 175,000. The hardest hit country in Latin America is Brazil which reported on Sunday 50 thousand new cases and almost 900 deaths over the last 24 hours. The worst situation in Asia is reported in India with almost 2.9 million cases of contamination and 55 thousand deaths while in Africa, South Africa has gone beyond the threshold of 600 thousand infections. In Europe, there are fears of a second wave of the pandemic. In Spain, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy and the Czech Republic the infection rate has grown significantly. Croatia announced the re-introduction, as of August 24, of several restrictions aimed at containing the spread of the pandemic.



    Tennis — The pair made up of the Romanian Horia Tecau and the Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer have qualified to the eighth finals of the doubles competition of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati which offers total prizes worth more than 4.2 million dollars. The tournament is hosted this year by Flushing Meadows Corona-Park in New York. Tecau and Rojer defeated the French pair Jeremy Chardy/Fabrice Martin 3-6, 6-3, 10-8. In the eighth finals the Romanian-Dutch pair will face the pair Raven Klaasen (South Africa)/Oliver Marach (Austria), 7th seeded. Tecau and Rojer won a final in Cincinnati in 2016 when they defeated the pair Ivan Dodig (Croatia)/Marcelo Melo (Brazil). Tecau got a title in Cincinnati in 2012 alongside the Swedish player Robert Lindstedt. (tr. L. Simion)

  • 75 years since the events of August 23, 1944

    75 years since the events of August 23, 1944

    August 23, 1944 was a day that
    marked the historic destiny of Romania between 1945 and 1989. On the afternoon
    that day, King Mihai I overthrew and arrested Marshal Ion Antonescu, the head
    of the Government, and his acolytes and brought Romania out of the Alliance
    with Germany. His actions shortened the war by approximately six months, some
    military experts believe. The change brought great joy to the population, who
    thought that day would open up a period of peace and economic prosperity, as
    well as a restoration of the democratic political system destroyed by Fascism
    all over Europe. Unfortunately, people couldn’t foresee the advent of the
    bloodiest political regime in the history of Romania – communism.


    The Center for Oral History of the
    Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation stores a 1984 interview Mircea Ionnitiu
    gave to Radio Free Europe. Ionnitiu went to school with Mihai I and advised the
    monarch throughout his hardest times. Ionnitiu recalled hostilities erupted
    between Romania and Germany in the wake of Antonescu’s arrest.


    On the morning of August 24 hostilities broke out with
    Germany. For 24 hours, the capital city was subjected to terror raids, a series
    of civilian buildings were damaged or razed to the ground and civilians got
    gunned down on Victory Road. The Government declared war to Germany following
    these hostile actions, and ordered the army to fight off the raids and drive
    the enemy out of the country. The last pockets of German resistance are
    cleansed from the capital city and the last German troops stationed in the
    Baneasa-Otopeni region are repelled.


    During the communist regime,
    official propaganda talked of the Soviet contribution to the events of August
    23, 1944 and the liberation of Romania. Under the Ceausescu regime, the focus
    was laid on the contribution of the communist party to the change that occurred
    on August 23 and to the liberation of Romania. Yet a major contribution was
    left out of history books all those years, namely the assistance of the US Air
    Force in liquidating the German resistance in the days that followed the change
    of power on August 23, 1944. Mircea Ionnitiu:


    What was surprising was the attack of the US Air Force on
    German installations north of Bucharest, as per the instructions communicated
    on August 21. US heavy bombers attacked on August 26 at 1 AM. Their actions
    helped the Romanian military eradicate the presence of German soldiers around
    the capital city. Following this action the Romanian army captured some 700
    prisoners, although it sustained some 1,400 casualties. Until August 30 the
    rest of the country was liberated of all German resistance pockets, a total of
    56,000 prisoners of war being captured, at a cost of 8,500 dead or gravely wounded.
    Fierce battles unfolded in Ploiesti, which held the largest concentration of
    German military. Worth noting is the country was liberated exclusively by the
    Romanian army.


    Mircea Ionnitiu also spoke about
    the Soviet contribution to fighting off German resistance.

    The only operation that
    involved the participation of Soviet troops was the cleansing of Ploiesti,
    where Soviet troops entered the battle on August 29. Over 265 thousand Romanian
    soldiers helped win back northern Transylvania from Hungarian occupation, and
    some 8,500 were killed or wounded in this operation. Soviet troops helped carry
    out military operations in Transylvania. The campaign ended on October 25,
    1944, when Satu Mare and Carei in the north were liberated, the very day King
    Mihai turned 23.


    Today, we look back on Romania
    breaking its alliance with Germany as a clever maneuver by means of which the
    king and his entourage did everything in their power to ensure Romania gets off
    easily from a very unpleasant situation. Mircea Ionnitiu believes however that
    August 23 was not a day to celebrate.


    August 23 is not a celebration. It’s a day we need to
    remember with utmost respect for those who gave their lives on the fields of
    Bessarabia, in the steppes of Ukraine, on the shores of the Don and Volga
    rivers, in the valleys of the Caucasus and Crimea, but also those who fell
    defending Bucharest and sacrificed their lives liberating Cluj. It’s a mourning
    day, when we, the survivors, need to reflect on the moral value of the useless
    sacrifice made for the state and for the moral and spiritual reintegration of
    the nation. To conclude, I recall the words of King Mihai in the proclamation
    of August 23, 1944: ‘Our people knows how to master its own fate! Whoever
    opposes our decision, which stems from our free will and does not bear down on
    anyone’s liberties, will be an enemy of our people. The new Government means
    the start of a new era, where the rights and liberties of all the citizens are
    safeguarded and will be observed’. This is an excerpt from the King’s
    proclamation, and 40 years on we must continue to fight to attain these goals.


    75 years since the events of August
    23, 1944, we can argue Romanians have understood what the context back then was
    like, and why people felt the need to do their duty to the country.


    (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • Radio Romania 90

    Radio Romania 90

    Initiated by amateurs and supported by the state, Romanian radiophony was in perfect tune with the times, being a witness of the countrys major historical moments in the inter-war period and trying to respond to its listeners exigencies.



    The first director of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation between 1935 and 1944 was Vasile Ionescu. He witnessed one of the most important political moments in Romanias history, to which the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation had a direct contribution, the act of August 23, 1944 which changed Romanias foreign policy orientation. Romania relinquished the alliance with the Axis led by Germany and joined the United Nations coalition.



    Here is an excerpt from the transcript of an interview with Vasile Ionescu from the archive of the Oral History Centre of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation, recorded back in 1974: “The Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation which has permanently served the country, since the very beginning, both in times of political and social peace and in times of turmoil for the nation, it has played a decisive role in keeping the public opinion informed, both in Romania and abroad. The Radio was close to the Romanians when His Majesty King Michael, supported by the real representatives of the national will, the generals commanding the big units and the patriots gathered around him in the Palace on Victory Road, led the coup of August 23, 1944. The Radio Broadcasting Corporation contributed to preparing and achieving that historical act.



    On June 6, 1944, Vasile Ionescu was called to Pelisor Castle in Sinaia, to have an audience with King Mihai I. There, he was asked about the coverage area of the national radio stations transmitters and was kindly asked that the broadcast transmitted by Bucharest be received in Cairo, where secret negotiations were carried out to take Romania out of the alliance with Germany. The Antonescu government was negotiating with the Soviets, whereas the Democratic opposition was negotiating with the English and the Americans and therefore the delegates needed information from Romania. Transceivers were installed to secure a line of communication.



    Vasile Ionescu: “We decided to set up a transmitter-reception station in Bucharest, at the Royal Palace on Victory Road, which we called ‘Carpati (‘Carpathians in Romanian) and another one in Sinaia, in the villa belonging to army general Gheorghe Racoviceanu, the kings godfather, and that station was called ‘Bucegi. A third one, called ‘Piatra (‘Stone in Romanian) was to be installed in Predeal, behind Marshall Antonescus villa. We chose that locations believing they were the only places that the Germans didnt dare raid or search, although the short-waves could not be detected by a goniometer due to their special propagation way. In a time frame of only 3 days, these shortwave-transceivers were installed and made available to the users. The ‘Carpaţi station in the Royal Palace in Bucharest was operated by probationary engineer C. Bonifaciu, the ‘Bucegistation based in Sinaia by engineer Gheorghiu Vladimir, and the Piatra station in Predeal, by technician Niculae Davidescu.



    Vasile Ionescus life was intense soon after August 23, 1944, when Romania shifted sides and joined the Allies: “On Wednesday, August 23, 1944, at 17.00 hours I received a phone call from the Military Command of the Capital City, and I received the order to wear a military uniform. I reached the office of the capitals commanding general around 17.30 and very much to my surprise I met there the army corps general Iosif Teodorescu and his chief of staff, adjutant colonel Demeter Dămăceanu wearing civil clothes, although they were professional military. The army corps general Iosif Teodorescu spoke to me and said ‘Director general, from now on, you will only take orders from His Majesty King Mihai and adjutant general Constantin Sănătescu, the prime minister. And you will go to the Palace following the shortest route. Soon afterwards, adjutant colonel Demeter Dămăceanu phoned the Royal Palace on Victory Road and talked to divisional general Aurel Aldea, the then interior minister of the government led by adjutant general Constantin Sănătescu and told him about my coming there.



    Attending the council convened by the sovereign in the evening of August 23, 1944 was also Vasile Ionescu, the director of the Radio Broadcasting station. The invitation extended to him actually shows that Radio was of strategic importance in the structure of the Romanian state.



    Vasile Ionescu: In the sovereigns office, as from 18:00 hours, on August 23, 1944, for four hours, until 22:05, I witnessed all preparations and formalities consolidating the coup detat given by that time, starting with the arrest of Marshall Antonescu and of his most prominent collaborators, namely professor Mihai Antonescu, Vice-President of the Council of Ministers, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Propaganda; the army corps general Piki Vasiliu, state secretary with the Interior Ministry and general inspector of the gendarmerie; professor George Leseanu, former governor of Transdniester. Radu Lecca, former commissioner of the government with the Central Jewish Office had already been arrested between 15:30-16:00 hours, until the signing of the decree on amnesty, pardoning and dismantling concentration camps, documents presented by Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu.



    Radio Romania has always responded when it was called upon to serve its duty. 90 years on, the public radio service boasts a rich history, which is still in the making.

  • Radio Romania 90

    Radio Romania 90

    Initiated by amateurs and supported by the state, Romanian radiophony was in perfect tune with the times, being a witness of the countrys major historical moments in the inter-war period and trying to respond to its listeners exigencies.



    The first director of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation between 1935 and 1944 was Vasile Ionescu. He witnessed one of the most important political moments in Romanias history, to which the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation had a direct contribution, the act of August 23, 1944 which changed Romanias foreign policy orientation. Romania relinquished the alliance with the Axis led by Germany and joined the United Nations coalition.



    Here is an excerpt from the transcript of an interview with Vasile Ionescu from the archive of the Oral History Centre of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation, recorded back in 1974: “The Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation which has permanently served the country, since the very beginning, both in times of political and social peace and in times of turmoil for the nation, it has played a decisive role in keeping the public opinion informed, both in Romania and abroad. The Radio was close to the Romanians when His Majesty King Michael, supported by the real representatives of the national will, the generals commanding the big units and the patriots gathered around him in the Palace on Victory Road, led the coup of August 23, 1944. The Radio Broadcasting Corporation contributed to preparing and achieving that historical act.



    On June 6, 1944, Vasile Ionescu was called to Pelisor Castle in Sinaia, to have an audience with King Mihai I. There, he was asked about the coverage area of the national radio stations transmitters and was kindly asked that the broadcast transmitted by Bucharest be received in Cairo, where secret negotiations were carried out to take Romania out of the alliance with Germany. The Antonescu government was negotiating with the Soviets, whereas the Democratic opposition was negotiating with the English and the Americans and therefore the delegates needed information from Romania. Transceivers were installed to secure a line of communication.



    Vasile Ionescu: “We decided to set up a transmitter-reception station in Bucharest, at the Royal Palace on Victory Road, which we called ‘Carpati (‘Carpathians in Romanian) and another one in Sinaia, in the villa belonging to army general Gheorghe Racoviceanu, the kings godfather, and that station was called ‘Bucegi. A third one, called ‘Piatra (‘Stone in Romanian) was to be installed in Predeal, behind Marshall Antonescus villa. We chose that locations believing they were the only places that the Germans didnt dare raid or search, although the short-waves could not be detected by a goniometer due to their special propagation way. In a time frame of only 3 days, these shortwave-transceivers were installed and made available to the users. The ‘Carpaţi station in the Royal Palace in Bucharest was operated by probationary engineer C. Bonifaciu, the ‘Bucegistation based in Sinaia by engineer Gheorghiu Vladimir, and the Piatra station in Predeal, by technician Niculae Davidescu.



    Vasile Ionescus life was intense soon after August 23, 1944, when Romania shifted sides and joined the Allies: “On Wednesday, August 23, 1944, at 17.00 hours I received a phone call from the Military Command of the Capital City, and I received the order to wear a military uniform. I reached the office of the capitals commanding general around 17.30 and very much to my surprise I met there the army corps general Iosif Teodorescu and his chief of staff, adjutant colonel Demeter Dămăceanu wearing civil clothes, although they were professional military. The army corps general Iosif Teodorescu spoke to me and said ‘Director general, from now on, you will only take orders from His Majesty King Mihai and adjutant general Constantin Sănătescu, the prime minister. And you will go to the Palace following the shortest route. Soon afterwards, adjutant colonel Demeter Dămăceanu phoned the Royal Palace on Victory Road and talked to divisional general Aurel Aldea, the then interior minister of the government led by adjutant general Constantin Sănătescu and told him about my coming there.



    Attending the council convened by the sovereign in the evening of August 23, 1944 was also Vasile Ionescu, the director of the Radio Broadcasting station. The invitation extended to him actually shows that Radio was of strategic importance in the structure of the Romanian state.



    Vasile Ionescu: In the sovereigns office, as from 18:00 hours, on August 23, 1944, for four hours, until 22:05, I witnessed all preparations and formalities consolidating the coup detat given by that time, starting with the arrest of Marshall Antonescu and of his most prominent collaborators, namely professor Mihai Antonescu, Vice-President of the Council of Ministers, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Propaganda; the army corps general Piki Vasiliu, state secretary with the Interior Ministry and general inspector of the gendarmerie; professor George Leseanu, former governor of Transdniester. Radu Lecca, former commissioner of the government with the Central Jewish Office had already been arrested between 15:30-16:00 hours, until the signing of the decree on amnesty, pardoning and dismantling concentration camps, documents presented by Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu.



    Radio Romania has always responded when it was called upon to serve its duty. 90 years on, the public radio service boasts a rich history, which is still in the making.

  • August 23, 2017

    August 23, 2017

    VISIT – French President Emmanuel Macron will pay an official visit to Romania tomorrow. The French leader will have talks with President Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Mihai Tudose. The two presidents will give a joint press conference at the end of the bilateral talks and afterwards they will visit the National Village Museum. The two heads of state are likely to have an open dialogue on boosting trade exchanges, as well as on cooperation during the 2018-2019 Romania-France Cultural Season, an important bilateral cultural project. Another focal point on the agenda of talks is Romanias Schengen accession, in the context in which the two presidents agreed, in June, to boost dialogue so that a favourable decision on Romanias joining the free movement area be made as soon as possible.



    AFGHANISTAN – Romania hails the announcement made by the U.S. President, Donald Trump, on supplementing US troops in Afghanistan by 4,000 military, the Romanian defence minister Adrian Ţuţuianu has said. Ţuţuianu has added that Romania, too, might increase the number of troops it contributes to the “Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan. At present, some 626 Romanian military are deployed in that Central-Asian state, Bucharest being the alliances fourth largest contributor of troops.



    REMEMBRANCE DAY – The signing on August 23, 1939 of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact is a confirmation of the fact that Fascism, Nazism and Communism are nothing else but forms of manifestation of the same antidemocratic expressions of hatred and intolerance, says Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, in the message he sent today on the Remembrance Day for Victims of Fascism and Communism. The president added that the pact concluded by the Nazi and Soviet foreign ministers, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Veaceslav Molotov, respectively, was an odious act in history including against the Greater Union and the Romanians desideratum of peace and freedom. For its firm and unequivocal condemnation, the Romanian Centennial must find us consistent in the struggle to defend democracy, the rule of law and individual liberties. Let us not forget that more than half of the one hundred years since the achievement of the national ideal we lived under dictatorships, and many of the personalities who contributed to the Greater Union were persecuted by totalitarian regimes. Therefore, our efforts must now be directed towards the condemnation of all actions that could affect the democratic path that Romania embarked on, in December 1989, and consolidated by its NATO and EU membership. In the current European and global context, marked by many challenges and uncertainties, the defence and consolidation of the rule of law, democracy and freedom against any enemies hostile to open societies is a priority of the present, the president also said. We recall that, in the wake of the Soviet-Nazi agreement, following an ultimatum given in the summer of 1940, Moscow annexed Romanias eastern territories of Bessarabia, northern Bukovina and Hertza. Hundreds of thousands of ethnic Romanians left their homes in the way of the occupiers, and other tens of thousands were arrested, executed or deported to Siberia and Kazakhstan.



    JUSTICE – Romanian justice minister, Tudorel Toader, has today made public a draft designed to amend the justice laws. He said the draft does not include provisions related to pardoning, amnesty, and abuse of office or negligence in employment. The draft is amending and completing the law on the statute of judges and prosecutors, the law on judicial organisation and the law on the Higher Council of Magistracy, the minister has also said. The aforementioned laws are 13 years old and should be adjusted to EU norms, Tudorel Toader has explained. Some of the changes include, among others, increasing the number of years necessary to be promoted to the status of prosecutors and judges and those related to the law on extended confiscation of wealth in corruption cases. Furthermore, management positions will have a four-year mandate, instead of a 3-year tenure, as is the case at present. The draft will be submitted to the government and then forwarded to Parliament.



    FOOTBALL– Romanias football vice-champion, FCSB, formerly known as Steaua Bucharest, is this evening meeting on home turf Portugals Sporting Lisbon, in a Champions League play-off decisive match. The first match played by the two teams in Lisbon ended in a nil-draw. If it fails to qualify for the Champions League group stage, FCSB is automatically qualified for the Europa League. On Thursday, Romanias champion, Viitorul Constanta, in the south-east, is playing a tie match, away from home, to qualify for the Europe League group stage with the Austrian team Red Bull Salzburg. In the first round, Viitorul lost 1-3, on home turf.