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Tag: Doina Cornea

Doina Cornea – the death of a symbol

The teacher, writer, translator and anti-communist dissident Doina Cornea has passed away at almost 89 years of age, after a terrible illness. She was born on 30th May, 1929 in Brasov, in the centre, into a Greek-Catholic family. She was raised in the spirit of the moral and religious values of resistance, both against the Hungarian rule over part of Transylvania during WWII, and the communist regime brought to power after the war by the occupying Soviet troops. As a French teacher at the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj Napoca, in the west, she became famous for her public criticism of Nicolae Ceausescu’s regime.

Her public letters, which criticised the absurdity and horrors of dictatorship and which began to be aired in 1982 by western radio stations, gave Romanians some hope but were naturally met with fury by the communist authorities. In 1987, together with her son Leontin Iuhas, Doina Cornea distributed letters of solidarity with the workers who were going on strike in Brasov, and both were arrested as a result. Doina Cornea was fired from her university job, submitted to brutal investigations, placed on home arrest and beaten up by the agents of the communist political police, the Securitate. During the anti-communist revolution of 1989, demonstrators in Cluj also voiced their solidarity with Doina Cornea, chanting her name and chasing away the Securitate agents who were watching her home. Here’s Doina Cornea in a Radio Romania archive recording:

“I don’t know if December 21st is about me. It’s more about a state of mind that existed across the country. I simply fell into line, I did what everybody else did. First my son went out into the street, where they were shooting at people and someone got hit right next to him. He came home and could only say: ‘Slaughter, slaughter!’ That’s all he could say, he was petrified. I was afraid, too, when I went out into the street. Honestly, I was.”

Co-opted into the new power structure, the National Salvation Front, a rather toxic mixture of authentic revolutionaries and second-tier communists, Doina Cornea quickly separated herself from the way in which they were running the country and became an equally biting critic of the new left-wing president, the former Ceausescu-era minister Ion Iliescu. She was one of the founders of the Anti-totalitarian Democratic Forum in Romania, the Group for Social Dialogue, the Civic Alliance and the Memoria Cultural Foundation, all of which promoted the democratic process in Romania and the country’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

She was close to the Christian-Democrat leader Corneliu Coposu, himself an unparalleled symbol of anti-communist resistance who survived 17 years as a political prisoner without abandoning his cause. Doina Cornea was awarded the Order of St. Gregory the Great by Pope John Paul II and the Royal Decoration of the Cross of the Romanian Royal House of Romania by King Michael I, as well as the Order of the Star of Romania and the French National Order of the Legion of Honour.

(Translated by C. Mateescu)

4 May 2018
May 4, 2018

DOINA CORNEA – One of the symbols of the fight against communism, professor Doina Cornea, who was beaten and arrested for daring to criticise the destruction of Romanian villages and churches during the regime of Nicolae Ceausescu, died on Thursday night aged 88. Cornea, a French professor at Cluj’s Babes Bolyai University, sent her first letter protesting the communist regime to Radio Free Europe in 1982, which was followed by dozens of similar letters. She was fired from the University in 1983, after her daughter smuggled an open letter to France in which she was critical of Ceausescu, and was severely beaten by the Securitate, the political police. She was arrested in 1987 after releasing manifestos in support of a workers’ uprising in the city of Brasov. Later she was put under house arrest. She was one of the leading figures of the 1989 Revolution and one of the few personalities to protest against the abuse of the newly installed leftist power. Doina Cornea enjoyed the appreciation of Pope Paul II and of Romania’s last sovereign, King Michael I. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has said that Doina Cornea was a symbol of courage and Romanian resistance during communism and has conveyed a message of condolence to her family.

JUSTICE LAWS — Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has notified the Constitutional Court in regard to the law on judicial organisation, which is included in the package of justice laws that the head of state plans to send back to Court to be re-examined. The other two laws that are part of this recently adopted package are the law on the status of magistrates and the law on the functioning of the Higher Council of Magistracy, respectively.

NOBEL – The Swedish Academy has announced it will postpone this years Nobel Literature Prize for the first time in almost 70 years, against the background of turmoil over links to a man accused of sexual assault. “The Swedish Academy intends to decide on and announce the Nobel Prize in Literature for 2018 in parallel with the naming of the 2019 laureate,” the Academy said. The Swedish Academy has been plunged in crisis since November 2017, when a Swedish newspaper of reference published the testimonies of 18 women claiming to have been raped, sexually assaulted or harassed by Jean-Claude Arnault, an influential figure on the Swedish culture scene. Arnault, the husband of Academy member and poet Katarina Frostenson, has denied the allegations. Katarina Frostenson has resigned because of the scandal just as several other Academy members.

DIPLOMACY — Paying a two-day official visit to Morocco, at the invitation of his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita, Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Meleşcanu had high-level meetings with PM Saadeddine El-Othmani, the Speaker of the House of Councilors (the upper house of Parliament) Hakim Benchamach and with the Education Minister Saaid Amzazi. Minister Melescanu emphasised the importance that Romania pays to the reconsolidation and diversification of its cooperation with the African countries, in particular with the traditional partners in the Magreb region. Melescanu highlighted Romania’s excellent bilateral ties with Morocco, based on its traditional friendship of more than half a century, and also the Romanian side’s wish to boost the bilateral political dialogue at all levels.

MEETING – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis is today attending an informal meeting of the heads of state of Bulgaria, Austria and Romania, hosted by Ruse, Bulgaria. The format of the meeting reflects the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union this year and in the first semester of next year. The talks will focus on the current European agenda, with the aim of facilitating a good cooperation and coordination during the three presidencies. Klaus Iohannis will stress Romanias interest in a good cooperation with Bulgaria and Austria, in order to fulfill the common goal of moving forward the European agenda for the citizens benefit. Also, president Iohannis will participate, alongside his Bulgarian and Austrian counterparts Rumen Radev and Alexander Van der Bellen respectively, in the conference titled: “The sustainable development of the Danube Region and the interconnection between regions.”

VISIT– A delegation led by the Minister for Romanians Abroad Natalia-Elena Intotero is currently on a three-day visit to Italy. According to a communiqué issued by the line ministry, Natalia Intotero is today attending the opening of the first info-chiosc in the region of Puglia. The visit will come to a close in Rome, in the Lazio region. The agenda of the visit includes talks with representatives of the local authorities, of the associative environment, trade unions and members of the Orthodox religious denomination. Data released by the Italian National Statistics Institute show that the Romanian community in Italy exceeds 1,100,000 people of a total of 5 million foreign citizens who are legally residing in Italy, being the largest foreign community in that country.

VOLLEYBALL – Bucharest is for the first time hosting the Final Four tournament of the Champions League in women’s volleyball. CSM Volei Alba Blaj has this year made it to the semi-finals, the first Romanian team to reach this phase of the competition since Champions League got its new format. On Saturday, VakiBank Istanbul of Turkey, the defending champions will face Imoco Volley Conegliano of Italy. In the second semi-final, Alba Blaj will take on Galatasaray of Istanbul. The final and the bronze final matches will be played on Sunday. (Translated by Elena Enache)

4 May 2018
04.05.2018

Partenariat – Lors d’une entrevue aujourd’hui, avec le PDG de la Radiodiffusion roumaine, M. Georgica Severin, l’ambassadrice de la France en Roumanie, Son Excellence, Mme Michèle Ramis s’est montrée intéressée par une collaboration renforcée avec la chaîne publique de radio à travers la mise en place d’un nouvel accord entre Radio Roumanie et Radio France. L’occasion pour M. Severin de confirmer son soutien aux projets francophones, notamment grâces aux chaînes de radio RRI et Radio Roumanie Culture. Déroulée au siège de l’Ambassade de France en Roumanie et en présence du directeur de l’Institut français de Bucarest, Christophe Gigaudaut, l’entrevue a porté également sur la Saison France- Roumanie 2019, un programme comportant plus de 300 activités artistiques, culturelles, scientifiques et éducationnelles organisées par des institutions partenaires des deux pays. L’occasion pour Mme l’ambassadrice Michèle Ramis de faire part de sa disponibilité de participer à des émissions radiophoniques sur Radio Roumanie.

Décès – Figure emblématique de la lutte anti-communiste de Roumanie, Madame le professeur, Doina Cornea, est morte jeudi soir, à 89 ans. Connue pour avoir critiqué en 1982 le régime communiste de Nicolae Ceausescu sur les ondes de Radio Free Europe, licenciée par la suite de l’université de Cluj, battue par les agents de la police politique et assignée à domicile, Doina Cornea a été l’une des figures centrales de la révolution de 1989, figurant parmi les premières personnalités à protester contre les abus du premier parti post communiste de gauche. Ses mérites lui ont valu la reconnaissance du pape Jean Paul II et de l’ancien souverain de Roumanie, Michel I.

Justice – Le chef de l’Etat roumain a saisi la Cour Constitutionnelle au sujet de loi relative à l’organisation judiciaire du paquet législatif pour la justice que M. Klaus Iohannis a annoncé renvoyer à la Cour pour un réexamen. Les deux autres lois du même paquet récemment adopté portent sur le statut des magistrats et sur le fonctionnement du Conseil supérieur de la Magistrature. Le chef de l’Etat roumain
Réunion – Une réunion informelle tripartite des chefs d’Etat bulgare, autrichien et roumain se déroule ce vendredi, à Ruse, en Bulgarie voisine, l’occasion de réunir autour de la même table les présidents des trois pays qui se succèdent à la tête de l’UE dans le courant de cette année et pendant le premier semestre de l’année prochaine. Les pourparlers porteront sur l’agenda européen afin de faciliter la coopération durant les trois mandats successifs. L’occasion pour le chef de l’Etat roumain, Klaus Iohannis, de déclarer qu’une fois à la tête de l’UE, la Roumanie se proposera des objectifs pragmatiques et réalistes afin d’offrir aux citoyens européens des résultats concrets. Aux côtés de ses homologues bulgar, Rumen Radev et autrichien, Alexander Van der Bellen, Klaus Iohannis participera aussi à une conférence sur « le Développement durable dans la région du Danube et l’interconnexion interrégionale ».

Diplomatie – En visite officielle de deux jours au Maroc, le chef de la diplomatie roumaine, Teodor Melescanu, a eu des réunions au sommet lors desquelles il a mis en évidence l’importance que la Roumanie prête à la diversification de ses rapports avec le continent africain, notamment avec le Maghreb sur les plans économique, politique et sectoriel. L’occasion pour Teodor Melescanu de souligner les excellents rapports roumano- marocains fondés sur une amitié de plus d’un demi siècle. Le chef de la diplomatie roumaine a remarqué aussi l’évolution ascendante des échanges commerciaux bilatéraux ces dernières années, le Maroc étant le premier partenaire commercial de la Roumanie en Afrique et au Moyen Orient.

Diaspora – En visite dans le sud de l’Italie, la ministre chargée de la Relation avec les Roumains de la diaspora, Natalia Intotero, participe ce vendredi, à Bari, à l’inauguration par le Consulat général de la Roumanie sur place, en collaboration avec un syndicat italien, du premier kiosque de presse de la région italienne de Puglia à destination des ressortissants roumains. Ceux-ci se verront faciliter l’accès aux informations consulaires et à la législation dans le domaine de la main d’œuvre en Italie. Jeudi soir, Mme Natalia Intotero a eu des entrevues avec des représentants des autorités locales, du milieu associatif et des organisations syndicales, mais aussi avec des membres des cultes orthodoxes. Notons que, selon l’Institut National de la Statistique, la communauté roumaine d’Italie est forte de 1 million 100 mille membres. Sur les 5 millions de ressortissants étranger résidant légalement en Italie, les Roumains comptent pour 23% du total, formant la communauté étrangère la plus large.

Volley – Bucarest accueille en première ce weekend Final Four, le stade culminant de la Ligue des champions de volley- ball féminin. Samedi, l’équipe organisatrice Volei Alba Blaj s’apprête à rencontrer les Turques de Galatasaray d’Istanbul, tandis que les détentrices du trophée, les Turques de VakifBank joueront contre les Italiennes d’Imoco Volley Conegliano. Dimanche, on assistera aussi bien à la finale qu’au match pour la troisième position au sein du classement.

Météo – En Roumanie, le temps est au beau fixe, avec un ciel plutôt nuageux et des possibles orages dans l’ouest et le nord du pays. Le vent soufflera plutôt fort sur les montagnes et le sud-ouest. Les maxima iront de 22 à 32 degrés. 25 degrés à midi, dans la capitale.

4 May 2018
A la Une de la presse roumanie 04.05.2018

Le décès d’une fameuse dissidente
communiste, la Roumanie d’aujourd’hui en chiffres, la fin des sacs en
plastique, la vérité sur les super discounts du Vendredi Noir et un échange
plutôt dur de répliques entre une europarlementaire roumaine et le président
français – autant de sujets intéressants à retrouver dans la presse roumaine d’aujourd’hui.

4 May 2018
Doina Cornea – dispariţia unui simbol

S-a stins din viaţă, la aproape 89 de ani, învinsă de o boală teribilă, profesoara, scriitoarea, traducătoarea, militanta pentru democraţie Doina Cornea, una dintre cele mai preţuite personalităţi civice care s-au opus dictaturii comuniste. Doinea Cornea s-a născut pe 30 mai 1929, la Braşov (centru), într-o familie de confesiune greco-catolică. A fost educată în spiritul valorilor morale şi religioase şi al rezistenţei, deopotrivă, faţă de stăpânirea ungurească asupra unei părţi din Transilvania, în timpul celui de-al doilea război mondial, şi faţă de comunismul postbelic, instalat de trupele sovietice de ocupaţie. Profesoară la catedra de limbă franceză a Universităţii Babeş-Bolyai din Cluj (nord-vest), Doina Cornea a devenit celebră pentru criticile sale publice împotriva regimului condus de Nicolae Ceauşescu. Scrisorile sale deschise, care vestejeau absurdul şi ororile dictaturii, au fost difuzate, din 1982, de posturile occidentale de radio, au alimentat speranţele românilor şi au stârnit furia oficialilor comunişti.

Împreună cu fiul ei, Leontin Iuhas, a răspândit, în 1987, manifeste de solidaritate cu muncitorii revoltaţi de la Braşov, ambii fiind, atunci, reţinuţi. Doina Cornea a fost concediată de la universitate, anchetată brutal, plasată în arest la domiciliu şi bătută de agenţii poliţiei politice comuniste, Securitatea. La revoluţia din decembrie 1989, clujenii ieşiţi în stradă şi-au exprimat gratitudinea faţă de ea scandându-i numele şi punându-i pe fugă pe securiştii care-i supravegheau non-stop locuinţa.

Doina Cornea, într-o înregistrare din fonoteca Radio România: “Nu ştiu dacă este legat de mine 21 decembrie. Legat de mine poate este o stare de spirit în ţară. M-am încadrat, am făcut şi eu ce au făcut ceilalţi. Întâi a ieşit fiul meu acolo, unde s-a tras şi lângă el a căzut unul şi a venit acasă şi mi-a spus: măcel, măcel! Două cuvinte, era aşa, deformat, şi mie mi-a fost frică, când am ieşit. Eu spun sincer.”

Cooptată în structurile noii puteri, Frontul Salvării Naţionale, un amestec mai degrabă toxic de revoluţionari autentici şi comunişti de mâna a doua, Doina Cornea s-a delimitat foarte rapid de maniera în care aceştia administrau ţara şi a devenit un critic la fel de tăios al noului preşedinte de stânga, fostul ministru ceauşist Ion Iliescu. A fost printre fondatorii Forumului Democrat Antitotalitar din România, Grupului pentru Dialog Social, Alianţei Civice şi Fundaţiei Culturale Memoria – toate promotoare, în anii 90, ale democratizării României şi integrării sale europene şi euroatlantice.

A fost foarte apropiată de liderul creştin-democrat Corneliu Coposu, el însuşi un simbol fără egal al rezistenţei anticomuniste, după ce a supravieţuit, fără să abdice de la crezul său, unei detenţii politice de 17 ani. Papa Ioan Paul al II-lea a decorat-o cu Ordinul “Sfântul Grigore cel Mare”, iar de la Regele Mihai I a primit Crucea Casei Regale a României. A mai fost decorată cu Ordinul “Steaua României” şi a primit Legiunea de Onoare din partea Franţei.

4 May 2018