Radio România Internațional

Tag: miners

  • May 20, 2024 UPDATE

    May 20, 2024 UPDATE

     

    VISIT The Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, pays an official visit to Turkey, Romania’s most important trade partner outside the European Union, on Tuesday. The visit takes place at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The agenda includes a joint meeting of the governments of the two countries. The parties aim for bilateral trade to exceed 15 billion dollars. A joint declaration will also be signed, concerning the establishment of a Romania-Turkey high-level strategic cooperation council, the equivalent of joint government meetings. The council will be coordinated by the prime minister of Romania and the president of Turkey, and will act as a catalyst to strengthen cooperation in strategic areas. The two countries are also set to establish a bilateral dialogue mechanism between the two foreign ministries. A number of cooperation agreements will be signed on the same occasion, in sectors such as social security, SMEs, tourism, diplomatic missions and town planning.

     

    MONITORING Starting October 1, the Romanian Ministry of the Interior will expand, on a national level, a project on the electronic monitoring of restraining orders against aggressors. The system is currently applied in the capital city Bucharest and in several other counties, and covers only domestic violence cases for which a restraining order has been issued. In another move, an international meeting is taking place in Bucharest, which focuses on domestic violence. Official data show that in Romania, in the first 3 months of this year, around 3,000 provisional protection orders were issued, almost half of which were upheld in court. In the same period, the police intervened in almost 30,000 cases of domestic violence. The number of domestic violence offences has increased, compared to the first 3 months of last year.

     

    MINERS’ RIOTS The former leader of the Valea Jiului coal miners, Miron Cozma, was heard at the General Prosecutor’s Office on Monday, in the case concerning the June 1990 miners’ riots. A number of Romanian officials, including the ex-president Ion Iliescu, the then-PM Petre Roman, deputy PM Gelu Voican Voiculescu and the former chief of the Romanian Intelligence Service Virgil Măgureanu are charged with crimes against humanity in this case. Military prosecutors say that on June 11 and 12, 1990, the authorities initiated a violent crackdown on the protesters in Bucharest’s University Square, who were peacefully expressing their opposition to the government at the time. Over 10,000 coal miners were brought to Bucharest to restore order. Four people were shot dead, nearly 1,400 were wounded and some 1,250 others were detained.

     

    SHIP The sinking of a ship sailing under the Tanzanian flag in the Black Sea off the Romanian coast this weekend occurred following a collision with another vessel, flying the Comoros flag, the Romanian authorities announced on Monday. After the collision, the second vessel participated in rescue operations, and subsequently left for the Bulgarian port of Varna. Romanian prosecutors ordered a criminal investigation into suspected offences including the destruction or damaging of a sea vessel and leaving the scene of an accident. The sunken ship had a crew of 11 people, 8 of whom were rescued. The other 3 are still missing.

     

    IRAN Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has declared five days of national mourning after president Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash, and appointed the vice-president Mohammed Mokhber as interim president, the official Iranian news agency IRNA reports. When a president dies in office, the Constitution of the Islamic Republic requires the senior vice-president to serve as interim president for a period of 50 days, with the approval of the supreme leader, who has the final say in all matters of state in Iran. The announcement of the president’s death opens a period of political uncertainty in Iran, a major player in the Middle East, a region rocked by the war in Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas, press agencies note. Ebrahim Raisi had been the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran for almost three years. A hard-line cleric, he was elected in June 2021 in the first round of a vote marked by record-high absenteeism in the presidential elections and the absence of strong competitors. (AMP)

  • February 21, 2021

    February 21, 2021

    VACCINE Another 2,419 Covid-19 infections have been reported
    in Romania on Sunday after 16,645 tests have been carried out, which brings the
    infection rate to 14.5%, the Strategic Communication Group has announced. 52
    have died from Covid-related issues in the past 24 hours bringing the death
    toll to 19,800. On the other hand, Romania’s immunization campaign is in full
    swing and according to the National Committee for Vaccination Coordination, the
    total number of doses administered, since its beginning in late December has
    exceeded 1.3 million with eight hundred thousand people immunized. Most of the
    vaccines used in this campaign have been developed mainly by Pfizer and
    Moderna. The vaccine produced by AstraZeneca
    started being used in Romania this week. Over 777 thousand people have been
    infected by the novel Coronavirus in Romania since the outbreak and 90% of them
    have been cured.








    BUDGET Romania’s Liberal Prime Minister Florin Citu has voiced hope that
    Parliament will be adopting the country’s yearly budget as soon as possible. He
    reiterated that the possible amendments the MPs are going to table must not
    exceed the proposed deficit and they must be accompanied by funding resources.
    The government in Bucharest on Friday adopted the state budget and that of
    social securities for this year as well as the fiscal-budgetary strategy for
    the period 2021-2023. The budget has been designed for a deficit of 7.16% of
    the GDP. The annual inflation rate must be kept at 2.4% and the average monthly
    pay around 680 Euros. In another development, the country’s Higher Defence
    Council, CSAT has endorsed the budgets for the institutions involved in
    national security and defence.








    SUPPORT Romania provides support to the
    Slovakian authorities in their efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. A team
    of five physicians and nine nurses is ready to be deployed and help the medical
    authorities in Bratislava. According to a government communiqué, the team is
    accompanied by two representatives of the General Inspectorate of Emergency
    Situations. The 21-day mission is ready to begin and the team is waiting for
    the green light from the Health Ministry in Slovakia. The operation has been
    funded by the European Commission through its ESI programme aimed at providing
    emergency assistance on the EU territory.








    PROTESTS Roughly 100 miners from the
    Lupeni Mine in southern Romania are continuing their protests against the
    authorities’ failure to pay them in due time. The protesters have received food
    and water from their families and Red Cross volunteers. Their colleagues in
    other mining centers have showed support for the protest in Lupeni, which
    stopped the functioning of a power plant in the region leaving around 5
    thousand apartments without heat and prompted schools in the region to limit
    themselves to online courses. Representatives of the Romanian students staged
    protests in Bucharest on Saturday against the cancellation of travel subsidies
    for students. According to them, the government’s austerity measures are
    dealing a heavy blow to the most vulnerable categories and that the government
    is sacrificing the students’ mobility for political games.






    (bill)



  • 13 June, 2020

    13 June, 2020

    State of alert. The state of alert declared by the Romanian authorities
    on 15th May comes to an end on Monday, but the government says it
    plans to extend it, with a decision in this respect to be taken at the next
    government meeting. Prime minister Ludovic Orban has reiterated that this is
    not a political move, but founded on expert opinion, given the high risk of a
    second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. The extension to the state of alert
    must be approved by Parliament, but the opposition say they are no longer going
    to vote in favour. According to the interim president of the Social Democratic
    Party Marcel Ciolacu, there should be an intermediate stage instead lasting no
    more than 15 days. Official figures show that 275 new infections were reported
    in Romania over the last 24 hours, with 171 people still in intensive care. 1,394
    of the around 21,700 people who contracted the virus have died. Among the
    Romanian communities abroad, some 3,400 people had the virus and 114 have died.




    Coronavirus
    world.     Around the globe, coronavirus cases pass 7.6 million and the death toll
    reaches 425,000. The US is the hardest hit, with over 2 million infections,
    followed by Brazil with 800,000. In Europe, the number of
    new cases is decreasing. Some European countries are further easing
    restrictions beginning on Monday. Germany says it will eliminate border checks
    with its neighbours, and France may also open its borders, with president
    Macron expected to make an announcement to this effect. Italy opened its
    borders on 3rd June. Spain has postponed opening borders until 3rd
    July. Greece is preparing to receive
    foreign tourists beginning on Monday for the first time since the lockdown was
    introduced in March.




    Economy. The National Bank of Romania has warned that the Romanian
    economy may shrink significantly in the second quarter of the year owing to the
    shutdown of many economic sectors and lower domestic and external consumption
    as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Many Romanian businesses and even
    entire sectors had to interrupt their activity overnight, with transport,
    tourism, the hospitality industry, recreational activities, industry and trade
    being the hardest hit. Economic demand grew considerably in the first quarter
    of the year but the labour market saw a sudden drop in March, its effects being
    somewhat alleviated by the government’s furlough scheme, says a National Bank report.
    The number of budgeted employment contracts has increased, however, recently,
    and the trend may continue as the furlough scheme comes to an end. According to
    the National Bank, the annual inflation rate will stay at over 3% this year,
    even after a clear drop in the second quarter.






    Miner riots. Prime minister Ludovic Orban on Saturday called on
    magistrates to shed light into and find out the truth about the miners’ raids
    of 13th to 15th June 1990, a case which is yet to be
    solved. The prime minister said in a statement that the then communist regime
    led by Ion Iliescu, who had just won the presidential elections, first resorted
    to the security forces and then to miners to trample the dignity of young
    people, intellectuals, people with strong anti-communist convictions. The
    miners’ raids of 13th to 15th June put an end to a massive
    protest against the leftist government that had come to power after the fall of
    the communist dictatorship in December 1989. Violent clashes took place on 13th
    June between security forces and protesters. A group of miners from Jiu Valley,
    in the centre-west, arrived in Bucharest on the following day, using force
    against protesters and passers-by and causing damage to the headquarters of
    historical parties and faculties and other buildings. Six people were killed at
    the time, almost 1,000 injured and several hundred detained illegally. Some of
    the people who were in office at the time, such as president Ion Iliescu, prime
    minister Petre Roman and deputy prime minister Gelu Voican Voiculescu and the
    then director of the Romanian Intelligence Service Virgil Magureanu are accused
    of crimes against humanity as part a court case into the riots. In May last year, the High Court of Cassation and Justice returned the
    case to the Prosecutor’s Office to redo the investigation, having ruled that
    the case put together by the military prosecutors was nonlegal. In 2014, the
    European Court of Human Rights ruled that Romania must continue investigations
    into the miners’ raids of 1990. (CM)

  • November 13, 2019 UPDATE

    November 13, 2019 UPDATE

    COMMISSIONER The Liberal MEP Adina Vălean, Romania’s pick for the position of EU transport commissioner, will be interviewed on Thursday by the European Parliament’s specialist committees alongside the French and Hungarian nominees. On Tuesday, she was given the green light by the Committee on Legal Affairs, which looked at possible conflicts of interest. Also on Tuesday, Vălean was heard by the joint European affairs committees of the Romanian Parliament, whose opinion is advisory. When the formal hearings are over, the president elect of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will present the full commission and its programme to the European Parliament on the 27th of November. Adina Vălean has said that if she becomes EU commissioner, she will support the continuation of the European Interconnection Mechanism, under which 1.24 billion euros worth of investment reached Romania for transport infrastructure and 500 million euros more for energy. The mechanism aims to connect the transport, energy and telecommunications infrastructures in the European Union.




    GOVERNMENT The new Liberal government Wednesday passed an emergency order to provide social protection for the miners about to lose their jobs in the Jiu Valley, in the centre-west. The order comes in response to the demands of the employees of the coal mines in Paroşeni and Uricani, who recently barricaded themselves underground for 11 days. An estimated 360 people are to be laid off this year, with another 700 due to lose their jobs by 2024. Also on Wednesday, the Government passed an emergency order on the status of British citizens in Romania in the event of a no-deal Brexit. According to the Prime Ministers chief of staff Ionel Danca, this order is necessary and requested by the British side, and is aimed at ensuring mutual terms for the status of the Romanian citizens living in Britain post-Brexit. In late October, the ambassadors of the 27 EU member states agreed to extend the Brexit deadline to January 31.




    FINANCE In the first 9 months of the year, the current account on the balance of payments saw a deficit of over 8.1 billion euros, as against 6.8 billion in the corresponding period of last year, the National Bank of Romania announced. Foreign direct investments in Romania totaled over 4.2 billion euros in the first 3 quarters, which is approx. 280 million euro less than in the first 9 months of 2018. The central bank also announced that the total foreign debt rose by nearly 8.4 billion euros in the first 9 months, exceeding 108 billion euros.




    MOLDOVA Igor Dodon, the pro-Russian president of the Republic of Moldova, Wednesday nominated the presidential adviser Ion Chicu as prime minister. The decision comes after the Socialist MPs agreed to the presidents proposal to form a government of technocrats, and after the negotiations with the pro-European bloc ACUM failed. Dodon invited parliamentary parties to talks on Wednesday on a new majority, following the dismissal of Maia Sandu’s pro-European cabinet through a no-confidence vote on Tuesday. The parties have three months to form a new government and avoid early elections. Sandu accused her former Socialist partners, de facto led by Dodon, of bringing down the government because they are afraid of the law. Romania and the European Union have warned the Republic of Moldova that their support, including of a financial nature, is conditional on the continuation of reforms and respect for the rule of law and for democratic standards.




    NAVY The King Ferdinand frigate is taking part in an international anti-submarine warfare exercise organised by the Turkish Navy in the Mediterranean Sea and which is under way until the 20th of November, the Navy Chief of Staff has announced. The Romanian crew will be carrying out specific training activities in Turkey’s territorial waters and neighbouring international waters alongside colleagues from Bulgaria, Canada, Greece, Jordan, Italy, Mexico, Pakistan, Spain, the United States and Turkey.




    TENNIS The Romanian-Dutch pair Horia Tecău and Jean-Julien Rojer Wednesday defeated the world no. 1 and Wimbledon and US Open winners Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Colombia in the ATP Finals in London. This is the first victory for the pair in this years edition of the ATP Finals. In the first match of Group Max Mirnyi on Monday, Tecău and Rojer lost to the Roland Garros champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies in 3 sets. The Romanian-Dutch pair won the ATP Finals in 2015 and also qualified for this tournament in 2014 and 2017. This year, they won the titles in Madrid and Basel.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu, Cristina Mateescu)

  • 13 November 2019

    13 November 2019

    Miners. The government is considering an emergency order to provide
    social protection for the miners about to lose their jobs in the Jiu Valley, in
    the centre-west. The order in question is to be issued today and comes in
    response of the demands of the employees of the coal mines in Paroşeni and
    Uricani who recently barricaded themselves underground for 11 days. The draft
    order provides for an additional monthly income for miners as a social
    protection measure, noting that laying people off without ensuring temporary
    financial support, especially as many of them are sole earners would deepen
    poverty at local level and prevent the creation of new jobs at local level in
    the medium and long run. An estimated 360 people are to be laid off this year,
    with another 700 due to lose their jobs by 2024.




    Commissioner. The
    Liberal MEP Adina Vălean, Romania’s pick for the
    position of EU transport commissioner, will be interviewed on Thursday by the
    European Parliament’s specialist committees alongside the French and Hungarian
    nominees. On Tuesday, she was given the green light by the Committee on Legal
    Affairs, which looked at possible conflict of interest. Also on Tuesday, Vălean
    was heard by the joint European affairs committees of the Romanian Parliament,
    whose opinion is advisory. When the formal hearings are over, the president
    elect of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will present the full
    commission and its programme to the European Parliament on the 27th
    of November. Adina Vălean has said that if she
    becomes EU commissioner, she will support the continuation of the European
    Interconnection Mechanism, under which 1.24 billion euros worth of investment
    reached Romania for transport infrastructure and 500 million euros more for
    energy. The mechanism aims to connect the transport, energy and
    telecommunications infrastructures in the European Union.




    Moldova. Igor Dodon, the pro-Russian
    president of the Republic of Moldova, an ex-Soviet state with a majority
    Romanian-speaking population, is today having talks with parliamentary parties
    to form a new majority, following the dismissal of Maia Sandu’s pro-European
    cabinet through a no-confidence vote on Tuesday. The parties have three months
    to form a new government and avoid early elections. Sandu accused her former
    Socialist partners de facto led by Dodon of bringing down the government because
    they are afraid of the law. Romania and the European Union have warned the
    Republic of Moldova that their support, including of a financial nature, is
    conditional on the continuation of reforms and respect for the rule of law and
    for democratic standards.






    Navy. The King Ferdinand frigate is taking part in an international
    anti-submarine warfare exercise organised by the Turkish Navy in the
    Mediterranean Sea and which is under way until the 20th of November,
    the Navy Chief of Staff has announced. The Romanian crew will be carrying out
    specific training activities in Turkey’s territorial waters and neighbouring
    international waters alongside colleagues from Bulgaria, Canada, Greece,
    Jordan, Italy, Mexico, Pakistan, Spain, the United States and Turkey.




    Football. The Romanian women’s football side were defeated on Tuesday 6-nil away
    by Switzerland in their final match this year, as part of their qualifying run
    for Euro 2021. In October, Romania lost their first match to Belgium nil-1 and
    last Friday defeated Lithuania 3-nil. Romania have 3 points in three matches
    played and are in third place. In men’s football, Romania’s under-21 side are
    playing at home against Finland in the Euro 2021 qualifying matches. Denmark are in
    the first position in Group 8 with 9 points, followed by Finland with 7 points
    and Romania with 6. Romania’s senior team are facing Sweden at home on Friday,
    as part of the Euro 2020 qualifiers. Group F is dominated by Spain with 20
    points, who have already secured their qualification, followed by Sweden with
    15 points and Romania with 14. To qualify, Romania need to defeat Sweden and
    draw against Spain away. The two best-placed sides in each group will qualify.
    The drawing of lots for Euro 2020 will take place in Bucharest on the 30th
    of November. The Romanian capital will also host four European Championship
    matches, three group matches and a quarterfinal.




    Tennis. The Romanian-Dutch pair Horia
    Tecău and Jean-Julien Rojer are today facing the world no. 1 and Wimbledon and
    US Open winners Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Colombia in the ATP Finals
    in London. In the first match of Group Max Mirnyi on Monday, Tecău and Rojer lost to the Roland
    Garros champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies in three sets. The
    Romanian-Dutch pair won the ATP Finals in 2015 and also qualified for this
    tournament in 2014 and 2017. This year, they won the titles in Madrid and
    Basel.



  • 7 November, 2019

    7 November, 2019

    Economy. The growth rate of
    the Romanian economy will see a slight rise this year to reach 4.1% of the GDP,
    before slowing down to 3.6% in 2020 and 3.3% in 2021, according to the European
    Commission’s autumn forecast. Private consumption is expected to decrease but
    will nevertheless remain the main growth engine for the forecast period as
    disposable incomes continue to be supported by an expansionist fiscal policy
    and solid salary growth, the Commission’s report also says. Also, the
    Commission expects inflationist pressure in Romania to drop from 4.1% in 2018
    to 3.9% in 2019 and to return to the figure targeted by the National Bank of
    Romania, namely 2.5 plus/minus 1%, in 2020. The European Commission warns that
    the budget deficit will rise to 3.6% this year following significant pay rises
    in the public sector. The deficit level is expected to rise significantly in
    the following two years to 4.4% and 6.1% of the GDP following the pensions
    rises adopted in the summer of 2019, the European Commission has also emphasised.




    Government. Romania’s new prime
    minister, the Liberal Ludovic Orban, is today attending the handover of the
    ministries of health, education and research, public works, development and
    administration, the environment and forests, labour and culture. The new health
    minister Victor Costache has today warned that this field lacks the needed
    funds to end the year. He says a priority of his term is the organisation of
    the medical residency examination on the 8th of December, as agreed
    with the representatives of students. The minister of education Monica Anisie
    says she wants transparency in the decision-making process and measures to
    benefit young people. The new minister for public works, development and
    administration Ion Stefan says his number one priority is developing the gas supply
    network in Romania.




    Elections. From midday on Friday, local
    time, until Sunday evening, Romanian citizens living abroad have three days to
    cast their ballots and elect a president for the next five years. It’s for the
    first time that elections are taking place over a 3-day period in the Romanian
    diaspora, both in the first and the second round. The first round is taking
    place this week and the second between the 22nd and the 24th
    of November. The Romanians living abroad who have registered online can also
    vote by mail. The president of the Permanent Electoral Authority said recently
    that this year’s presidential elections in Romania are the most expensive so
    far. The total amount allocated is around 150 million euros, of which 50
    million is spent on the voting process abroad. To avoid long queues like in the
    past, 835 polling stations were created, twice as many as in the previous
    elections. In Romania, voters can cast their votes only on Sunday, on the 10th
    of November, and on the 24th for the second round. 14 candidates are
    in the race for the highest office, both from parliamentary and
    non-parliamentary parties and independents.




    Protest. 100 miners from the mines in Paroşeni and
    Uricani, in the centre-west, continue their protest, demanding a monthly
    supplementary income for two years for the people laid off when the mines close
    and for this period to be added up to their pension. Protesters say they will
    stay underground, where they have barricaded themselves since the beginning of
    last week until an emergency order is passed to guarantee protections for those
    who are laid off. A draft order document was discussed yesterday by the new
    government. Trade unions say this is the longest protest by Romanian miners in
    the last 15 years. The process to close and clean up the two mines began in
    2017. Also, tens of miners from the Ocna Dej salt mine in the north-west have
    barricaded themselves underground to protest against the fact that they have
    not received their holiday vouchers. For this reason, the salt production was
    suspended for a week at several salt mines in Romania.




    Table tennis. European
    champions Romania have reached the quarterfinals of the Women’s Table Tennis World
    Cup under way in Tokyo after defeating Vanuatu
    3-nil in Group C. Romania, who lost 1-3 to Taiwan on Wednesday, have finished
    second in their group with 3 points, after Taiwan with 4 points, and ahead of Vanuatu
    with 2 points. On Friday, in the quarterfinals, Romania will be facing Japan,
    who won a group that also included the United States and Austria. In the other
    quarterfinal matches, China face the US, Hong Kong face Taiwan and South Korea take
    on Ukraine. In September, Romania won the gold medal at the European table
    tennis championship in Nantes, in France, after defeating Portugal in the
    final.




    Football. The
    Romanian football champions CFR Cluj are facing the French side Rennes at home
    in a Group E match as part of the Europa League. In the first leg, Cluj won in
    Rennes 1-nil. In their first two group matches, CFR defeated Lazio Rome 2-1 at
    home and lost nil-2 to Celtic Glasgow away. The Scottish side are in the lead
    with 7 points, followed by CFR with 6 points, Lazio with 3 points and Rennes
    with 1 point.

  • 3 November 2019, UPDATE

    3 November 2019, UPDATE

    Parliament vote. On Monday, the Romanian Parliament
    will hold a vote on the Liberal government proposed by the prime minister
    designate Ludovic Orban. 233 yes votes are needed for the new government to
    take office. To secure this outcome, Orban has concluded political agreements
    and deals with the Save Romania Union, the Democratic Union of Ethnic
    Hungarians in Romania, the People’s Movement Party, the Alliance of Liberals
    and Democrats and the group of ethnic minorities. The Social Democratic Party
    and the Pro Romania party both said their members would be absent from the
    vote. Orban’s cabinet would replace Viorica Dancila’s Social Democratic
    government which was brought down following a no-confidence vote. Ludovic Orban
    has proposed a government with fewer ministries whose priorities include
    picking Romania’s candidate for the position of EU commissioner, the final
    budget adjustment this year and the budget for next year.




    Protest. Miners from two mines in the Jiu Valley, in the
    centre-west, have entered their 7th day of protests, while others,
    who have barricaded themselves underground, say they will not give in unless
    their demands are met. The miners, who are about to lose their jobs at the
    beginning of next year when the mine closes, want the same type of social
    protection as the miners laid off so far. They demand the passing of an
    emergency order by the government to guarantee a monthly income for the next two
    years and other rights. Their representatives will have talks on Monday with
    the outgoing prime minister Viorica Dancila and the incumbent energy ministrer in an attempt to find a solution. The process to close the two mines began at
    the end of 2017.

    Tourism. More than 10 million people were registered in tourist facilities in Romania in the first nine months of the year, according to the latest figures published by the National Institute for Statistics. This points to a 4.4% increase compared with the same period last year. 80% of the number of tourists were Romanians. With regard to foreign tourists, most of them came from Germany, Israel, Italy, the US, Hungary, France and Britain. The places attracting the largest number of tourists were Bucharest, the Black Sea port of Constanta, Brasov (in the centre), Cluj (in the north-west), Mures (in the centre) and Prahova (in the south).




    Exercise. The Romanian navy’s King
    Ferdinand frigate, backed by a Puma Naval helicopter and with a special operations
    naval forces unit on board, is taking part in the Sea Guardian NATO exercise
    under way in the Mediterranean Sea. The Romanian vessel is carrying out
    missions aimed at deterring illegal activities on the NATO and EU southern
    flank coordinated by the NATO Allied Maritime Command. It will stop in the
    Haifa port in Israel and in Limassol, in Cyprus, for recovery and naval
    diplomacy, visits and talks with local civilian and military officials. The
    vessel’s first stopover was the Aksaz port in southern Turkey before joining
    the frigate Navarinon from Greece and the frigate Verni
    from Bulgaria.




    Fair. The 24th
    edition of the Indagra international fair came to an end on Sunday in Bucharest.
    This is the biggest fair for products and equipment related to agriculture,
    wine-making and animal breeding in Romania. This year, it has brought together
    550 exhibitors from 25 countries. Conference and seminars were held during the
    fair on topics such as the innovation-based development of agriculture in
    Romania, promoting Romanian products on the domestic and international market
    and the access of Romanian producers to European funds. Food and wine tasting
    events were also held.




    Fencing.
    The Romanian fencer Ana-Maria Popescu, an Olympic medalist with her team in
    Rio, on Sunday won the Women’s Epee World Cup hosted by the Estonian capital
    Tallinn. She defeated Russia’s Violetta Kolobova in the final, 15:13. In her
    way to the final, Popescu defeated Estonia’s
    Katrina Lehis in the first round, followed by Courtney Hurley of the
    US in the next round, Sera Song of South Korea in the last 16, Nicol Foietta of
    Italy in the quarterfinals and Yiwen Sun of China in the semifinals. Two
    Chinese fencers finished second and third, Yiwen Sun and Mingye Zhu. In the
    team event, Romania ranked 11th.




    Tennis. The Australian tennis
    player Ashleigh Barty, world no. 1, on Sunday won the WTA Finals in Shenzhen,
    China. She defeated the trophy holder, world no. 8 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine
    in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. Before this match, Barty had lost all her five
    previous matches against Svitolina. This is her third trophy this year after
    Miami and Roland Garros, which takes her to a total of six titles in
    professional tennis. Thanks to her results at the WTA Finals, she is sure to
    remain world no. at the end of the year. Romania’s Simona Halep, who is world
    no. 5, failed to reach the semifinals in Shenzen as she lost to the Czech
    player Karolina Pliskova, world no. 2, in three sets, 6-0, 2-6, 6-4.



  • The miners’ raids of 13-15 June 1990 – again in the spotlight

    The miners’ raids of 13-15 June 1990 – again in the spotlight

    Almost three decades have passed,
    but Romania is still to shed light on the darkest episode of its post-communist
    history. Last month, the interim prosecutor general Bogdan Licu appealed a
    Supreme Court ruling to send back to the prosecutor’s office the file of the
    so-called miners’ raids of June 1990. Earlier, the High Court of Cassation and
    Justice had decided to return the case for a reassessment of the indictment,
    which it deemed non-legal.




    Two years ago, military prosecutors
    finalised investigations in the miners’ raids and indicted 14 persons,
    including some high-profile names, such as Romania’s former president Ion
    Iliescu, the prime minister at the time, Petre Roman, his deputy, Gelu
    Voican-Voiculescu, and the then director of the Romanian Intelligence Service,
    Virgil Magureanu. They were charged with masterminding and directly
    coordinating the attack against the protesters in the University Square, in the
    centre of Bucharest, who were peacefully expressing their political opinions,
    which were at odds with those of the majority in power at that time.




    On 20th of May 1990, five
    months after the fall of Nicolae Ceausescu’s communist dictatorship, his former
    minister from the 1970s, Ion Iliescu, now seen as the leader of the anti-communist
    revolution, won the country’s first free
    elections with some 85% of the votes. His party, a heterogeneous combination of
    real revolutionaries and second-rate communists, had also won two thirds of the
    seats in Parliament. Faced with the harsh verdict of the election results, the
    protesters, including many students, who had occupied the University Square
    since April, declaring it an area free of neo-communism, had begun to leave.
    Of the tens of thousands of exuberant and peaceful protesters, only several
    dozens people on hunger strike had now remained in the square. The police began
    to evacuate them on the evening of 13th of June using
    disproportionate force, an image reminiscent of the reprisals during the
    revolution.




    It’s still not clear today if the
    people who reacted by engaging in street fights with the police and occupying
    the headquarters of the interior ministry and the public television station
    really did have a connection with the people who had protested earlier in the Square.
    Iliescu and his people described them as legionnaires, a term referring to
    the Romanian far right in the inter-war years, and, although the army had
    restored order, called on the population to rescue the democracy under
    threat. The miners from the Jiu Valley, in the centre, responded to the call.
    They controlled the capital for only two days, the 14th and the 15th
    of June, taking the place of any legal authority. Enough time though to leave
    behind 1,300 people wounded, more than 1,000 abusive arrests and at least 6
    people dead. A vandalised university and ransacked headquarters of the
    opposition parties and independent newspapers complete the picture of the
    invasion.




    Five years ago, the European Court
    of Human Rights ruled that Romania was to continue investigations into the
    case, while the former prosecutor general Laura Codruta Kovesi admitted that
    the inquiry into the miners’ riot was one of the biggest dissatisfactions in
    the entire history of the public ministry.

  • June 13, 2019 UPDATE

    June 13, 2019 UPDATE

    AGREEMENT A National Political Agreement aimed at consolidating Romanias European path was signed in a public ceremony in Bucharest on Thursday. In his address on this occasion, president Klaus Iohannis once again criticised the Social Democratic Party, which, he said, harmed Romania a lot. It is because of the Social Democrats that Romania has been unable to develop more, Iohannis said, and emphasised that the Constitution and related legislation must be amended. Attending the ceremony were the leaders of the National Liberal Party, Save Romania Union, ProRomania and Peoples Movement Party, all of them in opposition. The Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, in power, as well as the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, were not on the list of signatories. The Agreement was proposed by Klaus Iohannis to all the parliamentary parties that took part last week in consultations on means to implement the outcome of the May 26th justice referendum. At that time the head of state explained that the agreement is designed to help introduce legislation prohibiting amnesty and pardon for corruption offences and prohibiting the passing of emergency government orders in the field of the judiciary.



    CONGRESS The Social Democratic Party, in power in Romania, will elect its new leaders in a special congress on June 29th, with the partys presidential candidate to be chosen in another congress. These are the main decisions made by the Social Democrats Executive Committee on Thursday. On June 29th the Social Democrats are to elect their president, executive president and secretary general. Following a change in the party rules, the president will be elected by delegates appointed by local branches, rather than by all party members as it happened so far. PM Viorica Dancila, who is currently the interim president, has already announced her candidacy.



    COMMEMORATION Romania commemorated on Thursday 29 years since the June 1990 miners raids that ended a large-scale protest against the leftist party that took over power after the fall of the communist dictatorship in December 1989. On June 13, 1990, clashes broke out between the protesters in University Square in Bucharest and the police. The next day, coal miners from the Jiu Valley in western Romania arrived in Bucharest and raided opposition party offices, the University and other buildings, attacking protesters and other civilians. Six people died, nearly 1,000 were wounded and several hundred others arrested illegally. A criminal case in which the then president Ion Iliescu, ex-PM Petre Roman, former Deputy PM Gelu Voican Voiculescu and former intelligence chief Virgil Măgureanu are accused of crimes against humanity, is yet to reach the actual trial stage. In 2014, the European Court for Human Rights issued a decision forcing Romania to carry on investigations in this case.



    UK Boris Johnson, who promised to complete Brexit on October 31st, is in the lead in the Tory leadership race, after getting 114 out of 313 votes on Thursday. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt came second with 43 votes, followed by Environment Secretary Michael Gove with 37 and Home Secretary Sajid Javid with 23. Ten candidates were enrolled in the race to replace Theresa May, who stepped down as Prime Minister on June 7. The second round of voting is scheduled on June 17th.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • The miners’ riot case, back to the Prosecutor’s Office

    The miners’ riot case, back to the Prosecutor’s Office

    Overshadowed by the EU summit in Sibiu
    and the campaign for the European elections on the 26th of May, the
    latest developments in the area of the judiciary are no less spectacular. On
    Wednesday, the interim prosecutor general Bogdan Licu appealed a Supreme Court
    ruling to send back to the Prosecutor’s Office the case of the so-called
    miners’ riot of June 1990. Earlier, a preliminary chamber judge from the High
    Court of Cassation and Justice has decided to return the case, deeming the
    evidence presented as invalid.




    Military prosecutors completed
    investigations into the miners’ riot two years ago. They indicted 14 persons,
    including some high-profile figures such as the former president Ion Iliescu,
    the prime minister at the time Petre Roman, his deputy Gelu Voican Voiculescu
    and the then director of the Romanian Intelligence Service Virgil Magureanu. They
    are accused of masterminding and directly coordinating the assault against the
    protesters in the University Square, in the centre of Bucharest, who were
    peacefully expressing their political views, views that contradicted those of
    the majority in power at the time.




    On the 20th of May 1990,
    less than five months after the fall of Nicolae Ceausescu’s communist
    dictatorship, Ion Iliescu, Ceasescu’s former minister from the 1970s and now
    seen as one of the leaders of the revolution, won the country’s first free
    presidential elections with 85% of the vote. His party, a heterogeneous mix of
    genuine revolutionaries and second-rate communists, also won two thirds of
    seats in Parliament.




    The University Square, which had
    been occupied as early as April by students and proclaimed a neo-communism
    free area, had begun to empty, as the protesters were coming to terms with the
    severe verdict of the elections. The place once full of tens of thousands of exuberant
    and non-violent people was now only home to several dozen people on hunger
    strike. On the evening of the 13th of June, the police started to
    evacuate them from the square using disproportionate force, which was
    reminiscent of the repression during the revolution.




    It’s still not clear today if the
    people who reacted the next day by engaging in street clashes with the police
    and occupying the headquarters of the interior ministry and the public
    television station had anything to do with the people who had protested in the
    square. Iliescu and his people described them as legionnaires, a term
    referring to the Romanian far right during the inter-war years, and, although
    the army had already restored order, they called on the population to rescue
    the democracy in danger. The miners from the Jiu Valley, in the centre,
    responded to the call. They controlled the capital for only two days, the 14th
    and the 15th of June, taking the place of any legal authority.
    Enough time though to leave behind 1,300 people wounded, more than 1,000
    abusive arrests and at least 6 people dead. A vandalised university and
    ransacked headquarters of the opposition parties and independent newspapers
    complete the picture of the invasion.




    Five years ago, the European Court
    of Human Rights ruled that Romania was to continue investigations into the
    case, while the former prosecutor general Laura Codruta Kovesi admitted that
    the inquiry into the miners’ riot was one of the biggest dissatisfactions in
    the entire history of the public ministry.

  • Disruptions on the Romanian energy market

    Disruptions on the Romanian energy market

    With the first snow falling as early as November and hit by lower temperatures than in previous winters, Romania has suffered from a different kind of cold shiver this month when the miners from the Oltenia Energy Complex in the Jiu coal mining area went on strike. The miners were on strike for almost a week, unhappy with their low salaries. A group of the Rovinari thermal power plant was closed down following the diminution of the coal reserves before the local Gorj county court ruled that the strike was illegal and had to stop.



    The management of the company say the losses amounted to some 3.2 million euros a day. Overall, the national energy system produced less than was needed for consumption so Romania continued to import energy. After negotiations with the energy minister Anton Anton, the leaders of the striking miners obtained salary rises and holiday vouchers for all employees. The minister also promised that he would try to eliminate the 2% turnover tax for coal-based energy producing companies. The tense situation in the Jiu Valley was also discussed in the government’s Thursday meeting.



    The presentation of the coal stocks compared with last year, a detailed analysis of the miners’ incomes and working conditions and concrete solutions to modernise the Oltenia Energy Complex were some of the measures taken by prime minister Viorica Dancila.



    Moreover, the government’s control body will again be conducting checks at the site. Two similar checks done last year resulted in the involvement of the criminal investigation bodies. The prime minister also called on the institutions in the field of national security to investigate the speculations circulating on the energy market following the situation at Oltenia.



    Viorica Dancila: “The situation at the Oltenia Energy Complex was brought to our attention yesterday, with unacceptable and suspicious delay. This morning we requested information from all national security bodies about this extremely serious situation and the verification of the information circulating in the public space about purchases of energy from other countries at very high prices, so that we should know clearly if there is any connection between this deadlock and some people’s wish to make speculations at the expense of the Romanian people.”



    The price of electricity on the stock market has fluctuated dramatically in recent days, skyrocketing during the strike to reach one of the highest levels in Europe and dropping by 26% when the strike ended. The prime minister has promised to take the necessary decisions as soon as she receives all the data, so that the security and functioning of the national energy system should not be affected. (Translated by Bogdan Matei)

  • January 16, 2019

    January 16, 2019

    BREXIT Britains government must clarify its position after Parliament voted down the Brexit agreement, the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis said in Bucharest today. In his opinion, this decision is regrettable. He added however not that all the procedures which may lead to the approval of the deal have been used, and that the Romanians living in the UK need not worry because European leaders are prepared for other options as well. The agreement approved by the 27 member states will not be renegotiated, the head of the Romanian state added.




    VOTE A no-confidence vote against the government is scheduled today in Britains Parliament, which yesterday rejected by a large majority the Brexit agreement with the EU. According to Radio Romanias correspondent, there are slim chances for Theresa Mays Cabinet to be dismissed, given that Northern Irelands representatives in Parliament seem to continue to support the Government. Also, although over 100 Tories voted against the deal, it is unlikely that they will do the same against their own government. The rejection of the Brexit deal is the harshest defeat for a British cabinet in modern times, and questions Britains withdrawal from the European Union, less than 3 months before it is scheduled to take effect. Analysts predict a severe crisis in the UK. Several scenarios have been discussed, including early elections and the holding of a second referendum.




    SCHENGEN The Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Meleşcanu said on Tuesday in Strasbourg that there is no reason to deny Romanias Schengen accession, and voiced hopes that a solution will be reached during the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU. He promised that the Romanian presidency will allow for “very open discussions with the countries opposing Romanias entry, and will invite those countries to present the reasons why they are against Romanias inclusion in the visa-free area. “We hope to be as convincing as possible and to reach a solution, Teodor Melescanu added.




    STRIKE The Romanian PM Viorica Dăncilă has talks today with the Energy and Economy ministers, Anton Anton and Niculae Badalau, respectively, and with officials from energy companies, concerning the state of the national energy system in the context of the miners strike at the Oltenia Energy Corporation. Also today, a new round of negotiations is scheduled at the Governments headquarters, in search of a solution to the strike. Previously, the mixed negotiation commission approved, apart from holiday vouchers, a further 150 euro gross monthly pay raise for workers andnearly 80 euros for section chiefs, as of May 1. The coal workers demand a 45% pay raise, holiday vouchers and better working conditions. Thermal power plants, working at full capacity these days, only have coal supplies for another 4-5 days left.




    FLU Nine people have died of the flu in Romania so far. According to the authorities, the 9th victim is a 40-year old man who had previous medical conditions and had not been vaccinated. The man tested positive for the AH1 flu virus. Because of the large number of viral respiratory infections, visitor access has been restricted in many hospitals in the country. Nearly 53,000 respiratory infections and over 100 flu cases have been confirmed since the first week of the year.




    TENNIS The Romanian player Irina Begu (70 WTA) has been defeated today by the Czech Petra Kvitova (6 WTA), 1-6, 3-6, in the second round of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. The other Romanians still in the race are world no 1 Simona Halep and Marius Copil. Also today, in the womens doubles, the Romanians Irina Maria Bara and Monica Niculescu qualified into the second round, after beating the Spaniards Lara Arruabarrena / Arantxa Parra Santonja, 6-1, 6-1. In the next stage they are facing the winners of the match pitting Lucie Hradecka (Czech Republic) / Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) against Mona Barthel (Germany) / Sofia Kenin (USA). Other Romanians play in the doubles: Irina Begu and Mihaela Buzărnescu, Sorana Cîrstea playing together with Latvias Jelena Ostapenko and Raluca Olaru with Galina Voskoboeva (Kazakhstan).



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • February 20, 2018

    February 20, 2018

    VISIT – The PM of Romania, Viorica Dăncilă, is on her first official visit to Brussels in this capacity. The Romanian official will have meetings with the president of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker, with the head of the European Council, Donald Tusk, the president of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani and with the European Commissioner for regional policy, Corina Creţu. Strengthening the relations between Bucharest and Brussels is essential, PM Dăncilă says, both in the context of Romania taking over the presidency of the EU Council in 2019, and for Romanias involvement in the most important projects on the European agenda. She also pleads for active involvement in talks regarding the economic future of the Union.




    DEFENCE – The Romanian Defence Minister, Mihai Fifor, says the state will get involved in extending the military base in Mihail Kogălniceanu, in the south-east of the country, and announced talks in this respect had already been held with the American partners. He added he would like a permanent American presence in that unit. Over the past few years, thousands of Romanian and American troops have taken part in joint military exercises in Mihail Kogălniceanu, some of them also attended by troops from other NATO countries. The same base hosted last year air policing missions, with British, Canadian and Romanian aircraft taking part. Meanwhile, the Senate Monday endorsed a bill on the procurement of HIMARS multiple rocket launchers for the Romanian Army. Under the document, the Romanian Government is awarding to the US Government contracts for the procurement of 3 systems of 18 launchers each, amounting to a total 1.5 billion euro. The bill is to be forwarded to the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body in this respect.




    TRIAL – The High Court of Cassation and Justice in Bucharest has today started trying the case concerning the June 1990 miners riots, in which the ex-president Ion Iliescu and former PM Petre Roman are charged with crimes against humanity. Prosecutors argue that the authorities have planned the violent attacks against peaceful protesters gathered at the University Square in Bucharest in June 1990. Governmental agencies were illegally involved in the crackdown, prosecutors claim, alongside coal miners and other workers from various parts of the country. Four people died and nearly 1,400 were wounded.




    FLU – Another 2 people died from the flu in Romania, with the death toll reaching 39, and more than 500 cases this season, reported the authorities have announced. Most of the flu patients are in Bucharest, and in the counties of Constanta (south-east), Olt (south), Braşov (centre) and Iaşi (north-east). The authorities recommend vaccination, and the Healthcare Ministry announced that around 80,000 shots were still available. So far over 920,000 people have received flu vaccines. The Healthcare Minister, Sorina Pintea, says Romania is not facing a flu epidemic at present.




    DIPLOMACY – The Romanian minister delegate for European affairs, Victor Negrescu, had a meeting in Bucharest on Monday with the Republic of Moldovas deputy PM in charge of European integration, Iurie Leancă. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the two officials reviewed the key elements of Moldovas European agenda, particularly in terms of implementing the Association Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the EU. Victor Negrescu emphasised that the strategic objective of the Bucharest-Chisinau relations is the EU accession of Moldova. He also stressed the importance of stepping up the reform and modernisation process, to the benefit of all Moldovan citizens.




    HANDBALL – AHC Potaissa from Turda, north-western Romania will take on the Norwegians Fyllingen Bergen in the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup, according to Tuesdays draw in Vienna. The Romanians will play the first leg on home ground, on March 24 or 25, and the second leg in Norway a week later. If they move on to the semi-finals, Potaissa will have to face the winner of the matches pitting SKIF Krasnodar (Russia) against IBV Vestmannaeyjar (Iceland). Last season Potaissa lost the Challenge Cup to the Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • The Week in Review, June 12-18

    The Week in Review, June 12-18

    Political crisis in Romania


    The Romanian political scene is facing these days a crisis of unprecedented magnitude in nearly three decades of post-communist democracy. Here is how the recent events have unfolded: both members of the ruling coalition, the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania (ALDE), decided on Wednesday to withdraw their political support for Prime Minister Sorin Grindeau, a decision followed by the resignation of all Cabinet members. The Social Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea voiced dissatisfaction with the performance of some of the Cabinet members, saying that 60% of the objectives included in the governing programme had not been fulfilled.


    Liviu Dragnea: “The Social Democratic Party, together with our colleagues in ALDE, is prepared to form a new Cabinet, which will have a much better structured roadmap, including measures to make up for the delays so far. If we carry on like this, with or without Sorin Grindeanu as a Prime Minister, in 3 months time we risk seeing the governing programme a document almost impossible to implement.


    The Prime Ministers reaction, however, came as a surprise:


    Sorin Grindeanu: “I will not resign! And I can tell you exactly why! I have a responsibility towards Romania and the party I am a member of. I believe we should all feel responsible for this, and I most certainly do!


    Sorin Grindeanu has also stated that he will resign only if Liviu Dragnea resigns too, blaming the latter for the current political crisis, and only after the president of the country, Klaus Iohannis, appoints a new Social Democrat Prime Minister. Therefore, the Social Democratic Party has announced that Sorin Grindeanu will be excluded from the party and that, together with ALDE, will introduce a motion of non-confidence in its own Cabinet, the only way to force the Prime Minister to leave, given the latters refusal to resign.


    In the meantime, Romanias President Klaus Iohannis has called on the two coalition parties to find a solution to the internal crisis that led to withdrawing support for the Grindeanu Government. Here is the presidency spokesperson Madalina Dobrovolschi:


    Madalina Dobrovolschi: “The president calls for an urgent settling of the crisis that occurred inside the ruling coalition, in order to avoid political instability. Resolving this internal crisis is strictly the responsibility of the parties that make up the coalition.


    In response to the current situation, the Liberals, in opposition, have stated that they will decide what stand to take after a constitutional solution is found to the crisis. The Save Romania Union has called for early elections, and the Peoples Movement Party has stated that the Social Democrats should take responsibility for the failure of their governing agenda.



    Miners raids of June 1990


    Partly shadowed by the current political crisis in Romania, the case of the so called “miners raids of June 1990 came back to public attention exactly on June 13th, when Romania commemorated 27 years since the stifling of a large-scale rally against the left-wing power installed after the fall of the communist regime in December 1989. On Tuesday, 14 people, including Romanias first post-communist president Ion Iliescu and prime minister Petre Roman and the former head of the Romanian Intelligence Service Virgil Magureanu were charged with crimes against humanity. On June 13-15, 1990, against the background of some extremely violent clashes in Bucharest, which the army had already managed to stifle, president Ion Iliescu blamed the right-wing of attempting a coup and called on civilians to defend the democratic institutions of the state. In response to the call, miners from Jiu Valley came to Bucharest and stormed the University building and the headquarters of the opposition parties and of independent newspapers. The toll of the violent clashes of June 13-15 was four officially recorded deaths, hundreds of wounded and more than one thousand people arrested abusively. Romanias image abroad was severely damaged, too. The military prosecutors indictment reads that illegally involved in this attack were forces of the Interior Ministry and the Defense Ministry, Intelligence Service units as well as over 10,000 miners and other workers. Among other things, Ion Iliescu is accused of having ordered the army to use war armament and ammunition against civilians.



    New salary raises


    Now that the new salary law for public sector employees is about to be promulgated, several categories of public personnel that have not benefited from pay rises for a long time, will get more money too. On Tuesday, the Romanian Chamber of Deputies endorsed a bill under which the employees of public libraries, of the Agriculture and Culture Ministries, part of the public healthcare personnel, active military and civilian personnel with the Defence Ministry will benefit from increased salaries. Statistics show that Romanian employees salaries have increased by 13.4% on average in the past year, reaching the equivalent of some 520 Euro in April.



    The International Theatre Festival in Sibiu


    Sunday is the last day of the International Theatre Festival hosted by the city of Sibiu, in central Romania. For ten days, thousands of spectators have had the opportunity to watch some 500 performances and cultural events included in the festivals agenda. The entire city, but also other places across the county of Sibiu were turned into theatre venues, hosting some 3,000 artists. One of the special guests to this years edition was the famous Russian-born ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, who said he was very much impressed with the festival.


    (translated by: Mihaela Ignatescu)

  • 14 prosecuted over June 1990 miners’ raids

    14 prosecuted over June 1990 miners’ raids

    After 27 years of accusations, controversies, and speculations, Romanias first post-communist president Ion Iliescu and prime minister Petre Roman, the former head of the Romanian Intelligence Service Virgil Magureanu, the former leader of the Jiu Valley coal workers and 10 other individuals have been charged with crimes against humanity over their involvement in the miners raids of June 13-15, 1990.



    The raids ended a large-scale protest against the leftist power installed after the fall of the communist dictatorship in December 1989. The initial court case took nearly 20 years to complete, without any indictments whatsoever. Investigations were resumed in 2015, after the European Court of Human Rights forced the Romanian authorities to identify the culprits for the death of 4 people, physical and emotional harm inflicted on nearly 1,400 others and the illegal arrest and detention of over 1,000, during violent clashes that severely affected Romanias foreign image.



    During those tense days, the then president Ion Iliescu spoke about an attempted coup and called on civilians to protect the countrys democratic institutions. According to prosecutors, this led to a violent attack against the people who were peacefully protesting in Bucharests University Square. Military prosecutors say that illegally involved in this attack were forces of the Interior Ministry and the Defence Ministry, Intelligence Service units as well as over 10,000 coal miners and workers from several parts of the country. The thousands of miners who raided the capital city in June 1990 stormed the University building, the offices of opposition parties and the headquarters of independent publications.



    According to the indictment, ex-president Ion Iliescu is accused of having ordered the forcible evacuation of the protesters in University Square. The intervention of security forces in the morning of June 13 was not aimed to disperse the protesters, but rather to capture them, reads the indictment. According to the document, those who entered the headquarters of the Romanian Intelligence Service during those events were familiar with the plans of the building, which proves that they were not protesters, as the authorities claimed at that time.



    Prosecutors also say that 2 of the people who died during the clashes had been shot in the back of their heads, but the perpetrators could not be identified. Also, the protesters who were illegally arrested and incarcerated were detained in conditions comparable to those in which WW2 prisoners were kept.


    The 14 individuals indicted in this case will be tried by the High Court of Cassation and Justice.


    (translated by: Ana Maria Popescu)