Radio România Internațional

Tag: terrorism

December 31, 2016 UPDATE

GOVERNMENT – The new Government led by Prime Minister designate Sorin Grindeanu might be sworn in on January 4, Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea has announced, adding that representatives of the Social-Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, currently holding the majority in Parliament, will meet on Tuesday to vote the list of Ministers and the governing program. In turn, the co-leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, Calin Popescu-Tariceanu said the first task of the new Government is adopting the state budget for 2017, to be debated in Parliament in late January. The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians said it will vote in favour of the Government. The National Liberal Party in opposition expressed hope the list of nominations would include professionals with a clean slate. The Save Romania Union, also in opposition, will vote against the Grindeanu Cabinet, arguing that the Government will be de facto led by Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea. The Peoples Movement Party has not yet announced how it would vote.

TERRORISM – German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the most difficult challenge Germany must yet face is dealing with Islamic terrorism. In her traditional New Years address, Merkel promised she would do everything in her power to enhance security following the bloody attack in Berlin on December 19, when a Tunisian asylum-seeker ploughed into a crowd at a Christmas market. The German official said she would not compromise on democratic values.

MIGRANTS – 48 Iraqi nationals, of whom 17 children, were caught by the Romanian border police on the Bulgarian border in Giurgiu, southern Romania. The people were hiding in a loading compartment of a lorry delivering chocolate. The driver was a Bulgarian national. The migrants said they wanted to get to Hungary, and the driver said he didnt know about the people he was carrying. The Romanian police have handed the driver over to the Bulgarian authorities, as well as the Iraqi citizens with a view to launching an investigation.

INVESTIGATION –The High Court of Cassation and Justice in Bucharest will debate a request to place former deputy Sebastian Ghita in arrest in absentia, filed by anti-corruption prosecutors. Ghita is being investigated for bribe-giving, influence peddling, money laundering and blackmail. Ghita is missing for several days, failed to report at the National Anticorruption Directorate headquarters and a BOLO has been issued in his name at border crossing checkpoints. Ghita was won an MP seat in 2012 for the Social Democrats. This year he ran for the United Romania Party, but the party did not meet the minimum threshold to enter Parliament.

SYRIA – Over 50,000 people were killed in 2016 in the conflict in Syria, the Syrian Observer for Human Rights announced on Saturday. Of these, over 13,500 are civilians, 3,000 of which children. Some 3,000 members of the Islamic State terrorist organizations were also killed. Over 300,000 people have lost their lives since the beginning of the conflict in 2011.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Ana Bogdan (130 WTA) on Saturday defeated Quanhui Tang of China (972 WTA) in the preliminary round of the Shenzhen tournament in China, totaling over 600,000 dollars in prize money. Also today, Patricia Tig (108 WTA) was knocked out by Nina Jovanovic of Serbia (140 WTA). Romania has another three tennis players already qualified to the main draw: Simona Halep, WTA no. 4, who is also the competitions second seed, Monica Niculescu (38 WTA) and Sorana Carstea (79 WTA). On Sunday, Niculescu will play Kai-Lin Zhang of China (134 WTA) while Carstea will go up against Kristina Kucova of Slovakia (81 WTA). Halep will play in the opening round against Jelena Jankovic (54 WTA). We recall that Simona Halep won the Shenzhen tournament in 2015. (Translated by V. Palcu)

31 December 2016
December 31, 2016

GOVERNMENT – The new Government led by Prime Minister designate Sorin Grindeanu might be sworn in on January 4, Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea has announced, adding that representatives of the Social-Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, currently holding the majority in Parliament, will meet on Tuesday to vote the list of Ministers and the governing program. In turn, the co-leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, Calin Popescu-Tariceanu said the first task of the new Government is adopting the state budget for 2017, to be debated in Parliament in late January. The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians said it will vote in favour of the Government. The National Liberal Party in opposition expressed hope the list of nominations would include professionals with a clean slate. The Save Romania Union, also in opposition, will vote against the Grindeanu Cabinet, arguing that the Government will be de facto led by Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea. The Peoples Movement Party has not yet announced how it would vote.

NEW YEARS EVE PARTY – An additional 12,000 law-enforcement officers will be deployed on Saturday night to oversee public events devoted to the New Years Eve across Romania. According to a Romanian Police release, some 147 large-scale public events are held, including concerts and winter customs shows, to be attended by some 300,000 people. In Bucharest, the City Hall is organizing an open-air party. Historical buildings downtown will be lit up, while a fireworks show will be held at midnight. The New Years Eve party in Bucharest also has a name – Bucharest Selfie. All pictures sent in by Bucharesters will be screened in the George Enescu square.

2017 – The first to welcome the New Year were the inhabitants of Christmas Island and Samoa, two islands in the Pacific, as well as the Chatham Islands in New Zealand. European countries are getting ready to celebrate the New Year against the backdrop of increased security measures, in the wake of the Berlin attack two weeks ago, which killed 12 people. Thousands of additional police officers will be deployed to cope with potential terrorist threats in London, Berlin, Brussels or Sydney. In an attempt to prevent lorry attacks, authorities in Paris, Madrid and New York will use concrete bollards to block traffic from crowds celebrating New Years Eve.

TERRORISM – German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the most difficult challenge Germany must yet face is dealing with Islamic terrorism. In her traditional New Years address, Merkel promised she would do everything in her power to enhance security following the bloody attack in Berlin on December 19, when a Tunisian asylum-seeker ploughed into a crowd at a Christmas market. The German official said she would not compromise on democratic values.

MIGRANTS – 48 Iraqi nationals, of whom 17 children, were caught by the Romanian border police on the Bulgarian border in Giurgiu, southern Romania. The people were hiding in a loading compartment of a lorry delivering chocolate. The driver was a Bulgarian national. The migrants said they wanted to get to Hungary, and the driver said he didnt know about the people he was carrying. The Romanian police have handed the driver over to the Bulgarian authorities, as well as the Iraqi citizens with a view to launching an investigation.

SYRIA – The UN Security Council is today meeting to discuss a Russian resolution for supporting the ceasefire in Syria, which came into force on Friday. The document provides for quick access of humanitarian aid missions to this country, supporting a political process for putting an end to the conflict and launching negotiations between the Government in Damascus and the opposition. Chaired by Russia and Turkey, the talks might be scheduled to take place next month in Kazakhstan.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis players Ana Bogdan and Patricia Tig are today starting the new tennis season. The two are playing in the preliminaries of the Shenzhen tournament in China, totaling over 600,000 dollars in prize money. In the first round, Ana Bogdan, 130 WTA, will take on Quanhui Tang, 972 WTA, while Patricia Tig, 108 WTA will go up against Nina Jovanovic, 140 WTA. Romania has another three tennis players already qualified to the main draw: Simona Halep, WTA no. 4, who is also the competitions second seed, Monica Niculescu, 38 WTA and Sorana Carstea, 79 WTA. We recall that Simona Halep won the Shenzhen tournament in 2015. (Translated by V. Palcu)

31 December 2016
Solidarity in Response to Terrorism

Shortly after the Russian Ambassador to Ankara, Andrei Karlov, was murdered while giving a speech at an exhibition opening, Russias President Vladimir Putin defined the act as “a provocation designed to sabotage the rapprochement between Russia and Turkey and the peace process in Syria, which is actively promoted by Russia, Turkey, Iran and other countries interested in resolving the inter-Syrian conflict. There can be only one answer: stepping up the fight against terrorism, Putin went on to say. The attacker was an off-duty Turkish police officer who had carefully plotted the act.

In Bucharest, the geopolitical strategy expert Alexandru Grumaz reached a first conclusion: Turkey seems unable to ensure the protection of the diplomatic corps in the current hostile security environment:

Alexandru Grumaz: “The death of the Russian Ambassador is not only the death of an official who was supposed to be protected by Turkeys security forces, but it is also a problem for Ankara. Turkey already has a number of problems, both with the USA as regards the US allies fighting against the Bashar al-Assad regime, and with Russia. And I would like to remind you of the incident a year ago, when Turkey shot down a Russian aircraft in Syria. Turkey currently wages three wars in Syria, which makes it almost impossible for it to secure its own interests in that region.

Unlike a year ago, when the incident mentioned by Alexandru Grumaz took place, the assassination of Karlov encouraged the dialogue between Ankara and Moscow, and the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia appreciated the prompt response of the Turkish authorities. “Our relationship with Russia is very important for us and crucial for this region. So I tell all those who plan to weaken this relationship: your expectations will not come true. We have proven that we respect our commitment and will continue to do so with the same determination, the President of Turkey, Recep Erdogan said in his turn.

Turkey has been targeted by several terror attacks in recent months. The one in Ankara, however, is the first one against a foreign diplomat. This dramatic incident once again highlighted the need to find a solution to the situation in Syria. Shortly after the incident, Russia, Turkey and Iran, all of which support parties in the Syrian conflict, voiced their willingness to broker an agreement between Damascus and the opposition. Here is the Radio Romania correspondent in Russia, Alexandr Beleavschi:

Alexandr Beleavschi: “For the first time, the foreign ministers signed a joint declaration, indicating the intention of the three countries to take the political initiative in settling the Syrian crisis, which, as the declaration emphasizes, cannot have a military solution. It is also for the first time that Russia, Turkey and Iran voiced their willingness to broker and guarantee a deal between Damascus and the opposition, an intention which is mentioned in the joint declaration, which stipulates that this agreement may become the basis for a political process to settle the Syrian crisis. The declaration supports the decisions of the UN Security Council concerning Syria, and another first is that it only takes note of the decisions of the international Syria support group, which was unable to implement its decisions, as Sergey Lavrov said.

On the same day that the Russian Ambassador was shot, another attack killed and wounded people, this time around in Berlin, where a truck rammed into the crowd taking part in a Christmas street fair. The attack came as a shock in a city with a longstanding Muslim community and not hit by the terrorist threat until then, the Romanian ambassador to Berlin, Emil Hurezeanu told Radio Romania:

Emil Hurezeanu: “Germany does not have a high-level terrorist alert. Although several sporadic, isolated attacks took place in the south of Germany last summer, the atmosphere in Berlin in this respect is completely different from what happens in Paris or Brussels, as regards terror attacks. Berlin is not a city hit by terrorism, filled with police forces and so on. It is a city that has resolved its multicultural problems, to be euphemistic. There is an established Islamic community here, there are large Turkish neighbourhoods, with people who have been living here for decades. Over the past year and a half a lot of refugees from the Middle East have been sent here as well, but this attack has come as a huge surprise, as a shock.

Speaking after the attack that left Germany in mourning, Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose open policy on migration is blamed for the death of innocent citizens, admitted that the attack had deeply affected her. Even her allies and supporters now call for a change in Germanys security and immigration policy. The Christian Social Union in Bavaria, an ally of the Christian Democratic Union headed by Angela Merkel, said the country owed it to the victims, to their families and to all its citizens to rethink and change the immigration and security policy.

23 December 2016
Prepaid phone cards in the terrorism equation

With more and more unknown elements, the terrorism equation is becoming a hard nut to crack despite sustained efforts made to fight this scourge. Terrorism will not subside in spite of the 15-year long continuous, coordinated struggle against it. On the contrary, the response of terrorists may be said to build up in parallel with the radicalization of the war against extremists. DAESH, the self-styled Islamic State, has developed into a stronger organisation, is consolidating its position and continues to recruit supporters and organise attacks in the heart of Europe.

In turn, Europe channels big amounts of money into the anti-terror effort and, at the same time, is forced to sometimes restrict certain rights and freedoms through the measures it takes to defend itself. Hence the difference of opinions. On the one hand, there are those who claim that the objective of protecting the citizens against unpredictable aggressors who operate according to rules that are hard for Europeans to understand justify certain monitoring measures. On the other hand, there are those who claim that any action against ones private life is unacceptable.

The issue of prepaid phone cards sold in Romania has generated similar differences of opinion, Romania being one of the few European countries where such cards can be purchased without the registration of the buyers identification data. The issue came to public attention after PM Dacian Ciolos told a TV show that in preparing some of the attacks, the terrorists used prepaid phone cards purchased in Romania. Flavius Dumbrava, an intelligence analyst, discussed in a Radio Romania show the importance of knowing the identity of buyers:

Flavius Dumbrava: “This is not about terrorism alone. People tend to over-simplify these things. The issue is more complex, as prepaid phone cards can be used in many other cases such as drug trafficking, human trafficking and corruption. There are many cases when frustrated parents dont know what to do more, others in which drug dealers are impossible to identify. Prepaid phone cards should not become a weapon. Electronic communications in general should not become a weapon, either for terrorism, or for corruption or human trafficking.

The lack of regulations in the field enables terrorist organisations to buy phone cards anonymously, say those who believe that IDs are necessary when purchasing such cards. Passed by the Romanian Parliament in 2014, a law that required the identification of buyers when purchasing prepay cards was declared unconstitutional three months later, as judges ruled that the law was nothing but an addition to the Big Brother law, which stipulated that personal data can be stored for 6 months and which was also scrapped as unconstitutional. Georgiana Iorgulescu, the Director of the Legal Resources Centre, claims that debates on anti-terror legislation lack transparency, and public consultations are needed in this matter:

Georgiana Iorgulescu: “It doesnt mean that, if terrorist attacks occur, our rights may be suspended. Under the threat of terror, be it big or small for Romania, we enter this grey area where citizens right to private life and correspondence is threatened as well, without any explanations.

Georgian Pop, the head of Parliaments Committee that oversees the activity of the Romanian Intelligence Service, says the Romanian legislation must be put in line with the anti-terrorist measures enforced at EU level.

Georgian Pop: “We must support all the institutions in charge with prevention to work at the highest level, because the main goal is not to catch a terrorist after theyve committed the attack and bring them to justice. The goal is for such attacks to never occur and to make sure innocent people are not killed and wounded. Terrorism-related activities must include – and there must be a common European line of thinking in this matter – crimes such as the training or recruiting for training in a terrorist camp. Moreover, trade control must be tightened, just like the control of trafficking, because illegal armament, explosive devices or materials used for hand-made bombs are being trafficked quite heavily these days.

As Georgian Pop went on to say, “Its quite a paradox that a forest ranger in Romania has the right to request a poachers IDs and check their rucksacks, but an anti-terror officer with the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Foreign Intelligence Service or the Romanian Army, is not allowed to ask for the IDs of a terrorism suspect near an airport in Romania, on whom there is intelligence saying that that they might carry a bomb in their rucksack.

12 August 2016
11 August, 2016

FUNERAL – Queen Anne, consort to the last Romanian sovereign, Michael I, is laid in state in the Throne Room of the Royal Palace in Bucharest. On Wednesday, at the former summer residence of Romanian royalty, Peles Castle, in Sinaia, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti, and Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos were among the many officials paying their respects. The funeral is scheduled for Saturday in Curtea de Arges, where the first king of Romania, Charles I, is buried. King Michael will be unable to attend the funeral due to ill health. The queen died on August 1st aged 92 in Switzerland, after a battle with cancer.

REPORT – British TV channel Sky News stands by its report on alleged weapon smuggling in Romania. A spokesperson for the channel said that the journalist who investigated the story was one of the most experienced investigative TV reporters. He said that the material was not staged. The British broadcasting oversight authority has been notified several times with regard to the report. British journalists claim that they were pointed to an isolated area of Romania after two months of negotiations, where they met weapon smugglers, who allegedly brought in weapons from Ukraine, to be sold in western Europe and the Middle East. As a result, the Romanian organized crime main unit started an investigation. The head of the unit, Daniel Horodniceanu, said that so far the report appears to have been staged. The go-between who introduced the reporters to the alleged weapon smugglers is a Romanian national who has been living in Britain for seven years. He told investigators that the TV channel paid people to act in the documentary, and that he was told the documentary would specify that it was a work of fiction. The Romanian embassy in London emphasized that the report was not accurate, and was prone to portray Romania in a negative light in Britain.

OLYMPICS – Romanian athletes will compete in fencing, tennis, rowing and swimming in the 31st edition of the Summer Olympic Games in Rio. Romanian fencers stand a chance of winning the first medal for the country. Romania’s team is considered the favorite for the silver. An eagerly expected game is the tennis match between the Romanian pair Horia Tecau- Florin Mergea and US pair Jack Sock/ Steve Johnson. The Romanians are considered favorites for winning. Following are the mixed doubles games played by the Romanian pair Florin Mergea/Monica Niculescu and David Ferrer/Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain, and Romanians Horia Tecău/Irina Begu – Lukasz Kubot/Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland. In rowing, the womens coxed eight team competes in the second qualifying rounds, while the womens double sculls and the light paired oars boats fight for a medal as well. In swimming, Romania has one representative in the 50m event, In handball, having lost the two fixtures against Angola and Brazil, Romanias womens national handball teams this past Wednesday outperformed Montenegro, 25-21. If they want to make headway into the semifinals, the Romanians are in dire need of a win against Spain and at least a draw against Norway in the final round.

ANKARA – At least eight people were killed and dozens wounded in two bombings by the PKK in Turkey. The attacks targeted police cars in south eastern Turkey, the majority Kurdish area of the country. Clashes resumed last year between Turkish security forces and the PKK, after a cease fire. The worst violence in the last 20 years ensued, resulting in hundreds of casualties among security forces.

ISIS – Between 2002 and 2015, terror groups such as ISIS and al-Qaeda perpetrated over 4,900 attacks worldwide, leaving over 33,000 dead, according to a study run by the University of Maryland in the US. 80% of the attacks were committed using explosives, and only 16% using firearms. The most devastating attack, according to the study, occurred in June 2014 in Iraq, when 1,600 Iraqi army recruits were abducted in Tikrit to later be killed.

11 August 2016
Security and Terrorism

Romania does not need to raise its security alert level, in spite of the growing frequency of terror attacks in Europe, President Klaus Iohannis said after Tuesdays meeting of the Higher Defence Council. According to the Romanian Intelligence Service, the blue alert level in force in Romania at present means that judging by the information available and the recent developments, the risks of a terrorist attack in the country are low.

Klaus Iohannis: “An assessment report has been presented, of the security situation in Romania in terms of terrorist risks and threats. All the public institutions having responsibilities in this field have assured me that for the time being there are no reasons to raise the terror alert level above its current level, which is ‘guarded.

Klaus Iohannis also announced that a task force has become operational in Bucharest, which will be in charge with the preparations for the establishment of the NATO multi-national brigade under Romanian command. The decision to set up the brigade was taken at the NATO Summit recently held in Warsaw. The unit will be operational as of next spring, and will be made up of troops from 6 Allied countries. According to the Romanian official, the decisions made in Poland must be implemented fully, efficiently and quickly, and all the relevant Romanian institutions have been informed of their responsibilities.

The President also announced that Romania is waiting for the suggestions of the NATO planning structures with respect to the Black Sea region. As Klaus Iohannis put it, “we stay in touch with all the Allies involved, in view of the implementation of what we may call the historic decisions made in Warsaw. All these measures and Romanias efforts also contribute to the implementation of the National Defence Strategy and the consolidation of our countrys position.

As regards Turkey, Iohannis said that the Higher Defence Council assessed the situation in that country further to the attempted coup and added that Turkey would remain a strategic partner of Romania, a crucial ally for NATO and a key partner of the European Union. As a NATO member state, Romania has an interest in ensuring the security and stability of the region, as well as the respect for the principles of democracy and the rule of law. Romania has clearly expressed its position with respect to the attempted coup, and firmly condemned all actions coming against constitutional order and jeopardising the democratic institutions of Turkey. The Romanian President also voiced his confidence that authorities in Ankara are aware of the importance of respecting democratic institutions and values and the fundamental human rights and freedoms.

27 July 2016
Romania and the Recent International Crises

France and Turkey have lately faced horrific days of terror that
have left behind many victims. On Thursday evening, when France was celebrating
Bastille Day, a Franco-Tunisian man rammed his lorry through the crowds
gathered on the waterfront, killing more than 80 people and wounding hundreds,
including children. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State Jihadist group.
Romanian citizens are reported among the victims. The Romanian Foreign Ministry
has announced that the representatives of the Romanian diplomatic mission in
France are in permanent contact with the medical staff and are monitoring the
evolution of the health condition of the Romanians who were injured. The
Romanian PM Dacian Cioloş has talked on the phone with his French
counterpart Manuel Valls about the Romanian citizens who were in Nice when the
attack occurred.

France declared three days of national mourning and observed a
moment of silence in memory of the people killed in the attack. Over 500 people
have so far asked for psychological counseling at the support centers set up in
Nice for the witnesses of the attack who were traumatized by what they saw. The
French authorities have arrested several people suspected of involvement in the
attack.

In another development, around 300 soldiers and civilians have been
killed and 1,400 wounded in Turkey, in a failed coup d’etat attempt. Part of
the Turkish army tried, on July 15, to remove the Turkish President Recep Tayyp
Erdogan from power. The army said their move was meant to preserve secularism
and freedoms as well as to reinstate constitutional order in Turkey. Later,
President Erdogan announced the attempted coup d’etat had failed and called on
the people to take to the streets. The failed coup was followed by thousands of
arrests and dismissals.

Although Recep Tayyp Erdogan was elected
democratically, he is accused by some of trying to impose Islamic values in his
country. Despite his popularity, over the past years President Erdogan has been
criticized for preventing access to a free press, for silencing his critics,
including journalists, for promoting Islam in the secular environments and for
extending his presidential prerogatives. In the aftermath of the coup, air
traffic was disrupted in Ankara and Istanbul. Many Romanian citizens have been
affected, as their flights to and from Turkey were cancelled or postponed. The
Romanian Foreign Ministry has made available a hot line for the Romanian
citizens affected by the events in Turkey, and over 2 thousand calls have
already been reported. Hundreds of Romanian citizens have been sent back home
at the expense of the Romanian Foreign Ministry with the help of the crisis
cell set up in Bucharest.

Two mobile consular teams within the Romanian Embassy in Sofia
(Bulgaria) have facilitated the transit of scores of vehicles transporting
Romanian citizens through two crossing points on the border with Turkey. The
Romanian Foreign Ministry has recommended Romanian citizens to avoid traveling to
Turkey, unless strictly necessary.

18 July 2016
Europe in the Face of Terrorism

“We will not give in and we will keep thriving as a democratic country, with a strong economy” said in Bucharest the Turkish ambassador Osman Koray Ertas. According to him, the radical movement behind the terrorist attack on the Ataturk airport in Istanbul aims at destroying the modern values that the country shares with its European partners. He has recalled that Turkey has been the target of several terrorist groups along the years: “last year, the ambassador said, was a difficult one for our nation, because we were a target for many terrorist groups, which acted driven by different goals. That includes the acts of terrorism perpetrated by the PKK, which our nation has been fighting against for decades, and, more recently, the Daesh terrorism.”

The attack showed, in fact, that terrorism has no religion, the Turkish official also said, recalling that most of the 40 people who died in the attack were Muslim. That is why it is wrong to associate terrorism with a religion, and the use of phrases like “Islamic terrorism” or “radical Islamic terrorism” only helps the propaganda of such radical groups. What happened in Istanbul is a landmark in the fight against terrorism, said in Ankara Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Just like after every attack, security has been enhanced and analysts say that the most important thing, which could really change developments in the fight against terror, would be to find political solutions for the conflict areas, Syria and Iraq in particular. In an interview on Radio Romania, the former Defense Minister Ioan Mircea Pascu explained why Turkey is exposed to such attacks.

Ioan Mircea Pascu: “Turkey is much closer to what’s happening in Syria and much closer to, let’s say, the local stakes. From this point of view, Turkey is inevitably a target, not to mention the fact that those who come from the area find it easier to take action, more easily than if they had to cross an entire continent. Let’s not forget that this is not the first attack, there have been others before, and they have been claimed not so much by the Kurds, but by Daesh extremists.”

In Western Europe the terrorist threat has become a constant presence too, and EURO 2016 has been more reason for concern, especially with regard to France’s ability to ensure the safety of the 10 million tourists attending the games. France has been on a state of maximum alert for over a year now, and it has now resorted to several solutions in order to make sure the football championship is running without any tragic events occurring either on stadiums or in the streets. Some 100,000 police, soldiers and private security agents have been mobilized, and security forces have been granted enhanced powers al throughout the duration of EURO 2016. Also, authorities have declared zero tolerance to any suspicious person or gesture, body check-ups are conducted on a regular basis and flights have been banned above the 10 stadiums where EURO 2016 matches are being played, and which are monitored by means of anti-drone technology.

All these are natural effects of the terror instated by the attacks in Paris last year. The parliamentary commission that has investigated the attacks for more than 6 months has come to the conclusion that France must reorganize its intelligence services. The French MPs say that the blame for the killing of 147 people and the wounding of another 500 in those attacks should not be put on the people working in these structures, but on the fragmentation of the intelligence community.

This fragmentation hampered communication and thus made the prevention and combating of such terrorist acts impossible. Currently, the French intelligence services are split into six separate entities, under the subordination of the home, defense and economy ministries, also involving the participation of police, customs officers and soldiers. In order to avoid this excessive fragmentation, the parliamentary commission has proposed the setting up of a single command unit, a national agency for the fight against terrorism, subordinated directly to the Prime Minister, after the American model of the National Counter-terrorism Centre set up in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

The European countries should ensure a better sharing and coordination of information collected by national authorities, said the German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere after the attacks in Brussels. Currently, the offices in charge of registering foreigners, the visa granting authorities and the intelligence services keep their data separately. According to the German official, Europe, including Germany, is a target for terrorists. Some people think that threats diminish as the Islamic State loses ground in Syria and Iraq, but things are not at all like this, Maiziere also said. According to him, the effect is asymmetrical: if the Islamic State gets weaker, it will definitely try to transfer the conflict abroad.

8 July 2016
30 June, 2016

US President Barack Obama has said the UK vote to
leave the EU raises longer-term concerns about global growth. He also called
for an orderly
process for the British exit. In Paris, the French finance minister Michel
Sapin told the BBC that everything is on the table in the EU’s negotiations
with the UK, including the freedom of movement. In London, prime minister David
Cameron’s office has underlined that replacing 40 years of agreements between
the UK and the EU may involve a long and complicated process.

The United
States will be taking additional security measures in the run-up to the 4th
of July holiday following Tuesday’s terrorist attacks at the Ataturk airport in
Istanbul, Turkey, in which 42 people were killed and more than 200 injured, US
flight security experts and officials have said. The CIA director John Brennan
said the attack bears
the hallmark of the Islamic State group and warned the group may also carry
out attacks in the US. The additional security measures include a more visible
presence of security forces carrying weapons and tactical gear and an increase
in the number of passenger checks, screenings and complex verifications.
Approximately 43 million Americans are expected to travel for the 4th
of July.

Slovakia on Friday will take over the EU 6-month rotating presidency
from the Netherlands. The main challenges of its presidency are the UK vote to
leave the European Union and the situation of the refugees. Slovakia’s left
wing prime minister Robert Fico said he was expecting a difficult presidency.
The 27 member states remaining in the EU after the UK exit must find the
necessary strength to embark on a profound reform of the EU’s fundamental
policies, Fico also said. A former communist country in Central Europe,
Slovakia has been under criticism for its response to the refugee crisis. The
authorities in Bratislava have, in fact, submitted a complaint to the European
Court of Justice against the introduction of obligatory migrant quotas
established by the EU.

At least 27 people have
been killed and 40 injured in a suicide attack on a police convoy close to the
Afghan capital Kabul, according to France Presse and Reuters. The Afghan
district governor said the attack, which was claimed by the Taliban, targeted a
bus convoy carrying officer cadets returning from their graduation ceremony.

The weather is generally warm and beautiful in most regions, with highs
of 27 to 33 degrees Celsius. Hydrologists have maintained red, orange and
yellow code alerts for flooding on several rivers in the west and south-west.
Following heavy rain in recent days, tens of people have been evacuated and
hundreds of homes flooded. A thunderstorm caused problems in the capital Bucharest
yesterday, flooding streets and underpasses and bringing down trees.

Fifth seed
Simona Halep of Romania today faces Italian player Francesca Schiavone in the second round at Wimbledon, the third Grand
Slam tournament of the year worth more than 36 million euros in prize money.
Also today, Romania’s Monica Niculescu faces Serbia’s Aleksandra
Krunic in the first round. The other three Romanian players in the women’s main
draw at Wimbledon, Irina Begu, Patricia Tig and Sorana Cirstea, were eliminated
in the first round. In the men’s draw, Romania’s only player at Wimbledon,
Marius Copil, today continues his first round match against the French player
Lucas Pouille, which was suspended yesterday because of rain at
one set all.

Poland and Portugal face each other today in the first Euro 2016
quarterfinal. In the same stage of the competition, Belgium take on Wales,
Germany face Italy, while France play Iceland. Romania were eliminated from the
competition in the group stage.

30 June 2016
Reactions in the Aftermath of the Istanbul Attack

Previously regarded as a pretty safe country, Turkey is now the site of extreme violence either by the separatist PKK party or by ISIS, the terrorist organization that controls extended areas in Syria and Iraq. On Tuesday night, Istanbul, which is Turkeys commercial, cultural and historical center, was the site of a new bloody attack that claimed the lives of dozens of people and injured 150. Several foreigners have been reported among the victims, but most of them are Turks.

The suicide attack, held in full tourist season, targeted the Ataturk airport, the third busiest airport in Europe. Three attackers started shooting at people close to the international flights terminal, using automatic weapons, and after an exchange of fire with security forces they blew themselves up. Authorities in Ankara suspect ISIS as having masterminded the attack. “We call on the world, especially on the Western countries, to take a firm stand against terrorism,” the countrys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said soon after the attack.

The Romanian authorities have condemned the attack and emphasized the need for joint international efforts to deter such actions. President Klaus Iohannis has conveyed a message of condolence, and defined the attack as an atrocity, a cruel act against innocent citizens. President Iohannis has reiterated Romanias firm commitment to fighting terrorism. Romanias Foreign Ministry has too condemned the attack and stressed Romanias pledge to combat all forms of terrorism, also highlighting the need for joint international efforts to fight this plague.

A series of attacks have been staged in Turkey as of July 2015, when a man blew himself up among a group of young Kurds in a city at the border with Syria, and killed dozens of them. Also last year, in autumn, over one hundred people died in Ankara during a protest of the Turkish opposition, following a double suicide attack. The wave of attacks has continued this year, turning the area into a dangerous place.

29 June 2016
The prepaid phone cards issue

Against the backdrop of the terror attacks that have rocked Paris and Brussels in the past months, talks on security, the battle against terrorism and ways to prevent it, have gained a new dimension, even in Romania. A statement made by Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, after the Brussels attacks, has rekindled, after a year and a half, the debate on the use of prepaid phone cards. According to the Prime Minister, prepaid phone cards from Romania — one of the few EU countries still selling them without checking the buyer’s identity –have allegedly been used in masterminding the attacks in the European Union.

The moment chosen by PM Ciolos for making this statement, shortly after the attacks in Belgium, and the absence of further details, has given the impression that prepaid phone cards from Romania could have been used in preparation for the latest terror attacks. Under the circumstances, the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), a staunch supporter of the idea that buyers should reveal their identity upon purchasing prepaid phone cards, said that the institution together with its western partners are investigating the sale of such cards in areas with terrorist activity.

The SRI has also announced that recent information indicate that threats at some transport infrastructures in Europe have recently been made from prepaid phone cards. On the other hand, the present debate is a good opportunity for the SRI to raise the prepaid phone cards issue again. In the fall of 2014, the Constitutional Court ruled that the law that makes compulsory the presentation of an ID card upon purchasing prepaid phone cards, did not offer sufficient guarantees that personal data would not be stored in a manner likely to violate people’s right to privacy. Furthermore the Court mentioned a European Commission conclusion, under which at that time, the measure failed to yield the desired results in the member states that had enforced it.

However, things have changed lately as the terrorist attacks have struck fear and pain deep into the heart of Europe, in places long known for their safety. And since desperate times call for desperate measures, western pundits believe that terrorism could be kept at bay only through radical changes, in both European and local legislation. The obligation to provide personal data upon purchasing prepaid phone cards might even be regulated through a European directive.

(Translated by D. Bilt)

31 March 2016
31 March, 2016

Romania’s president Klaus
Iohannis is attending the nuclear security summit in Washington. Before his
departure, he emphasised the need for solidarity, responsibility and joint
action in the face of terrorist threats, which can take many forms. He also
said that Romania meets the highest standards when it comes to nuclear
security. Today, Klaus Iohannis will visit the Holocaust Memorial in Washington
and attend a dinner at the White House hosted by US president Barack Obama in
honour of the participants in the summit.

The Bucharest
Tribunal today looks at a request by anticorruption prosecutors to allow the
temporary 30-day arrest of Craiova’s mayor Lia Olguta Vasilescu. She was
detained on Wednesday on charges of bribe taking, using her influence to obtain
undue financial benefits and goods and money laundering. Prosecutors allege
that in 2012, when she was serving as a senator for the Social Democratic
Party, Vasilescu convinced a number of business people to finance her mayoral
race by contributing more than 130,000 euros to her campaign. Also today, the
High Court of Cassation and Justice is considering a new date for the so-called
Referendum case, in which the Social Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea is accused
of creating a national system of voter influence that allegedly rigged the
referendum on the impeachment of the then president Traian Basescu on 29th
July 2012.

According to the
Pentagon, the US will deploy an armoured brigade in Eastern Europe with
continuous rotations starting in February 2017, as part of efforts to
discourage possible Russian aggression. The brigade will number 4,200 troops,
as well as tanks and other types of armoured vehicles. The troops will rotate
in and out of the allied states on the eastern flank, such as Romania,
Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. US combat brigades of the
ground forces are also stationed in Germany and Italy. About 62,000 US military
forces are permanently based in Europe. To reassure its allies in Eastern
Europe, NATO took a series of measures in the spring of 2014, such as opening
logistical centres and deploying fighter aircraft in the Baltic states and
additional ships in the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. Moscow says the permanent
deployment of troops along its borders violates the NATO-Russia Founding Act
signed in 1997.

The Romanian Intelligence Service is investigating,
together with national and international partners, the use of Romanian anonymous
pre-paid phone cards in areas with terrorist organisations. The Service has
recently said that persons affiliated to terrorist groups have used pre-paid
phone cards in Romania to communicate abroad. The investigation also looks at
the possible use of such cards in the attacks carried out in Europe.

The International Criminal tribunal in The Hague today
acquitted the former leader of the Serbian Radical Party Vojislav Seselj, who was on
trial for inciting and committing war crimes in Croatia and Bosnia Hertegovina
during the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. Held for 12 years at the
Scheveningen prision from February 2003
to November 2014, Seselj was temporarily released on humanitarian grounds. He
did not attend the reading of the verdict. A week ago, the court in The Hague
sentenced the former political leader of the Bosnian Serbs Radovan Karadzic to
40 years in prison for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Romania may become an important player on the regional
energy market by 2020 if the BRUA natural gas pipeline is developed, the
Romanian economy minister Costin Borc told the Bucharest Forum held by Aspen
Institute Romania. According to the minister, the pipeline, which links
Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria, provides new opportunities for the
Romanian energy sector on the European market. He also said Romania must
continue work on the Arad-Szeged pipeline between Romania and Hungary and on
the Iasi-Ungheni pipeline linking Romania to the Republic of Moldova, which
will allow Romania to consolidate its position as an exporter on the natural
gas market. The minister also emphasised the need to develop the country’s
transport and IT infrastructure.

Two Romanian women’s handball teams are playing in the
Champions League quarterfinals in two home matches. In their first
participation in this most important club competition in Europe, the Romanian
champions CSM Bucharest face the Russian side Rostov-Don. To qualify for the
Final 4 tournament in Budapest on the 7th and 8th of May, CSM have the difficult
task of defeating the Russian champions, the only team in European women’s
handball to win every match in the last 8 months. The return match is scheduled
for 9th April. The second Romanian team playing today are the domestic
vice-champions HCM Baia Mare, who are facing the Montenegrin side Buducnost
Podgorica. The return match is scheduled for 10th April.

The
Romanian-Russian pair Monica Niculescu and Margarita Gasparian on Friday
face the Hungarian-Kazakh pair Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova in the semifinals of the Miami tennis
tournament worth 6 million dollars in prize money. While this is Niculescu and
Gasparian’s third tournament as a pair, they pulled of a surprising win over
the Swiss-Indian pair Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza. In the
singles event in Miami, world no. 5 Simona Halep of Romania lost to the Swiss
player Timea Bacsinszky, world no. 20, in the quarterfinals.

(Translated by: C. Mateescu)

31 March 2016
March 27, 2016

MESSAGE – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has today conveyed a message of solidarity with the victims of violence and intolerance. On the occasion of the Catholic Easter, Iohannis said in a post on his Facebook page that “these days, when we celebrate the gift of light and life, we should be close to all those who need our solidarity.” A German ethnic, President Iohannis is a Lutheran, the traditional religion of Transylvanian Saxons, who also celebrate Easter today. However, Iohannis attends the religious service at the Roman-Catholic Church in Sibiu, whose member his wife, Carmen, is. In Romania, about 1.5 million Christians are today celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The country’s majority Orthodox community and the Greek-Catholic believers will celebrate Easter on May 1st.

SECURITY – The risk of terrorist attacks in Romania is real, but things are kept under control, Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos has said. In an interview with a private TV station, Ciolos has said that intelligence services must be provided with the instruments they need in order to monitor the situation without affecting transparency and citizens’ rights. Ciolos has pleaded for a more thorough control of the prepaid phone cards sold, which in Romania can be purchased without checking the buyer’s identity, and has explained that the issue is in the attention of the justice and interior ministers. Prepaid phone cards from Romania have been used during in preparation for attacks in EU member countries, Ciolos has said. His statements come after Tuesday’s attacks at Brussels’s airport and metro station that killed 31 people and injured around 300.

DST – Clocks changed in Romania on Saturday night, when 3 am became 4 am. The practice, known as Daylight Saving Time, is meant to use sunlight as much as possible. In summer, clocks are turned forward by one hour. Now there is a 3-hour difference between Romanias time and UTC. Sunday is thus the shortest day of the year, with only 23 hours. More than 100 different countries worldwide use Daylight Saving Time. In Romania, this system has been used since 1932.

ANNIVERSARY — Street events are marking this evening in downtown Bucharest, the 98th anniversary of the union of Bessarabia with the Kingdom of Romania. On March 27, 1918, as the Russian Empire fell apart, the legislative body of Bessarabia voted in favour of the mostly Romanian-speaking province joining the Kingdom of Romania. The establishment of the Romanian nation state was to be completed late that same year with the union of Bukovina, in the north-east and Transylvania, Banat, Crisana and Maramures, which had that far been part of the Habsburg Empire. In 1940, further to an ultimatum, Moscow annexed both Bessarabia and northern Bukovina, which are currently part of the national territories of the ex-Soviet republics of Moldova and Ukraine.

FOOTBALL – Romania’s national football team is playing this evening against the defending European champions Spain, in a friendly game on home turf, in preparation for the European Championship scheduled to take place this summer in France. On Wednesday, Romania won a match against Lithuania, 1-nill, in the southern Romanian town of Giurgiu. In Euro 2016, the Romanians will play the opening game, on June 10, against France, in a group that also includes Switzerland and Albania. Romania’s latest participation in a continental final tournament was in 2008, when they left the competition in the group stage.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, No. 5 in the world, will play against British Heather Watson in the fourth round of the Miami Open, with 6 million dollars in prize money. In the third round Halep defeated German Julia Goerges in two sets, 6-4, 6-1. In the same round, Romanian Monica Niculescu will be up against the American Coco Vanderweghe while Irina Begu will play against Krstyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic.

(Translated by Elena Enache)

26 March 2016
A conflict with major implications

The conflict in
Syria has resulted in a massive refugee crisis, a high death toll and the
worrying rise of the Islamic State, which has become a threat to the entire
world. Faced with terrorist attacks at its very heart, the European Union has
had to come up with new rules.

The problems on
Europe’s borders are to a large extent the consequence of the dramatic
situation in Syria, which has been torn by civil war for more than four years
and where the Islamic State has consolidated its positions. The jihadists hide
behind defenceless men, women and children as human shields, said US president
Barack Obama recently, adding that while ISIS targets are hit harder than ever
in Syria and Iraq, progress needs to keep coming faster.

According to the
US Department of the Treasury, ISIS has become the best-financed terrorist
group in history in a matter of years, smuggling antiques, doing human
trafficking and demanding ransoms of hundreds of thousands and even millions of
dollars to release hostages. The group is also financed by donations made by
influential people from the Arab world.

Most of the
money, however, comes from the black market of oil products, which is believed
to bring in around 40 million dollars a month to ISIS or Daesh, the Arabic
acronym by which the group is also known. The term is, however, banned in the
territories controlled by the terrorists but used more and more frequently in
the West. It is no accident that soon after November’s terrorist attacks in
Paris, the French president Francois Hollande used this very term to condemn
the attacks. In Arabic, the word for state, dawla, means both state in the
modern sense of the word, and the mediaeval caliphates, and experts say ISIS
intentionally used this term to create ambiguity and to encourage its adherents
to consider the Islamic State in Iraq as a proto-caliphate.

Regardless of
the name used to describe it, this terrorist organisation has developed a
network of supporters in Europe and the United States, making intense use of
the Internet, social networks and contemporary forms of communication.
Political and military analyst Claudiu Degeratu explains:

What we are
dealing with here is not only a support network, but active cells, trained
people who regularly go to the training sites in the Middle East, in particular
Syria, where they constantly plan new attacks. This is why there is no
difference between, let’s say, the terrorist profile of the Middle East and that
of Europe. In my opinion, at least as far as Daesh is concerned, we should talk
about a similar profile in both Europe and the Middle East. We are dealing with
a proto-state and with institutions that use certain procedures, which is why
the tendency is to consider Daesh not only as a terrorist group, but also as a
state with specialised functions and networks. These are not just simple cells
acting according to an autonomous plan.

We asked Claudiu
Degeratu if some states are more exposed to terrorism than others within the
European Union:

At this point,
if we look at statistics and any sophisticated model, the interconnection is so
great that I think there is a common area of threats and risks, while there are
also differences between one country to the next. It’s difficult to create a
hierarchy in terms of possible targets and level of exposure. Exposure is high
because there is a larger freedom of movement within the European Union, so the
level of exposure is, statistically speaking, significantly similar.

This very week, the European Commission has proposed the
setting up of a new agency responsible for coast guard and border control on
the EU’s external borders. The agency will use the resources of Frontex and of
the member states, and also will purchase its own equipment and will be able to
mobilise a rapid-reaction force within just 3 days, if need may be. The
decision was made after the refugee crisis highlighted the weak points of the
EU’s external border management mechanisms.

Responses to the growing threat posed by the Islamic State
terrorists also come from the Muslim world. Saudi Arabia has announced the
setting up of a military alliance with another 34 Muslim countries to fight
against the extremist groups in Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Afghanistan. This announcement comes
from the Islamic world’s vigilance in fighting this disease so it can be a
partner, as a group of countries, in the fight against this disease, said
Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Defence Minister Mohammed bin Salman. The
new alliance’s joint operations centre will be based in Riyadh.

In another move, in Washington, president Barack Obama has
once again excluded the possibility of deploying a large number of ground
forces to the region, although, according to a recent opinion poll, more than
50% of the Americans say their country should send ground troops to Iraq or
Syria to fight ISIS.

18 December 2015
Jihad in Europe

Sharm el-Sheikh, Beirut, Paris and Bamako
– in less than a month Jihadists hit three continents, leaving hundreds dead.
Brussels, the administrative capital of
the EU and host to the NATO headquarters, was for days paralyzed by the
fear of similar attacks. The press in neighboring countries accused the Belgian
authorities of allowing the development of what journalists called a real
Jihadist neighborhood in Brussels. The murderous fanatics are already in the
heart of Europe. Late last year, Kremlin adviser Andrei Ilarionov, since then
fallen out of Putin’s favor, warned of the risks of an ‘Islamic Spring’ in
Western Europe, which he said was more vulnerable than ever. The EU does not
have the capacity to mobilize and solve the crises it faces, as professor
Vasile Puscas, former head negotiator with Brussels, said. In an interview with
Radio Romania, he talked about the lack of a coordinated reaction to the
refugee crisis and a lack of a common plan for combating terrorism:

This is a formula that didn’t work even in the
international financial crisis; it is well known that decisions were late in
coming and uninspired in the EU, and now, with the refugee crisis, we see the
inability to apply the European legislation. There were measures taken as early
as 2007 by European institutions for states to react to such a case. No one got
prepared, no one applied decisions that keep changing as the crisis deepens. We
are now in another crisis, that of international terrorism, and once again we
are faced with the issue of a decision to cover not just one state or region,
but the whole of the EU.

It is obvious that the Jihad has spread all over the continent. No
matter how much they dislike this, the
promoters of political correctness are starting to agree that the seeds are in
the numerous Muslim communities on the continent. In 2010, there were 44
million Muslims, accounting for 6% of the population, and 19 million in EU
member states alone, which is almost 4% of the total. If the pace of migration
and natural population growth stay the same, in 2050 there will be 60 million,
which means one in ten EU citizens will be of Islamic faith.

Spanish experts
quoted by Radio Romania said that the Paris attack could be followed by others
of similar size, and that the phenomenon of recruiting people who commit
similar acts has undergone a transformation. If, until recently, this happened
mainly through mosques, the on-line environment has become the main means of
radicalization. 45% of people arrested in Spain suspected of terrorism have
Spanish citizenship, and 40% are born there. The experts call this ‘local
terrorism’. The study emphasizes the age of the terrorists, who are younger and
younger, between 15 and 29 years of age, and points out to the rising number of
Islamic converts, who have become radicalized in a short time to legitimize
their belonging to the group. Against the background of debates in Bucharest on
quotas of refugees from the Middle East and North Africa, which may allow
Jihadists to slip through, President Klaus Iohannis underlined the fact that
Romania, as a Central and East- European country, is not a favored destination
for them.

As the president said, terrorism only works if it foments fear: If we let fear penetrate the social fabric of our
countries, then the terrorists have reached their true aim, and we cannot allow
anything like this to happen. We cannot allow xenophobia, ultra nationalism and
chauvinism to become relevant in our societies. Under no circumstances may we
let this fear lead to stigmatizing an entire religious community, who is at no
fault in this regard.

Out of respect for religious and ethnic minorities, Romania’s Muslim
population will not be target to special measures. The new minister of justice
in Romania, Raluca Pruna, has stated that Romania will not hesitate to
contribute to the efforts made in the rest of the EU to prosecute terrorism.
Most Muslims in Romania are ethnic Turks and Tatars who reside mainly in Dobrogea,
in the south east of Romania, a region that was for centuries a part of the
Ottoman Empire before its demise. They are around 70,000 people, and are a
model of integration and loyalty in the Romanian state. Both communities are
represented by law in the lower chamber of the Romanian parliament.

In the
early 2000s, when the Romanian army had contingents in Afghanistan and Iraq,
the spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense was a very popular officer of
Turkish descent. The head of the Muslim denomination in Romania is Mufti Murat
Iusuf, who has firmly condemned the
acts of cruelty committed in Paris, as well as the perpetrators of such
attacks. It is a crime against humanity with no connection to the Muslim faith,
said the Mufti, who recalled the verse in the Koran according to which if one
kills one person, he kills a whole community.

4 December 2015