December 25, 2014
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 25.12.2014, 13:57
Christians from around the world, Romania included, today celebrate Christmas, the nativity of Jesus Christ, one of the greatest holydays for the Christian world. Patriarch Daniel performed the Holy Liturgy in Bucharest, and in his Christmas address, he emphasised that this day is a celebration of God’s love for mankind. He called on believers to offer gifts and joy to each other. In Romania, Christmas is celebrated with special religious services in churches and monasteries, as well as with beautiful customs and family gatherings. One of the most common traditions is carolling, a ritual comprising ceremonial texts, dances and gestures. Carollers wish their hosts good health, wealth and happiness, and are given in return fruit, sweets and money. Eastern Orthodox believers, mostly in Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, celebrate Christmas on January the 7th, according to the Julian calendar.
The new president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, sent a Christmas message to all Romanians in the country and abroad, pointing out that Christmas is a family holiday, but Romania is the EU country with the largest number of children living separated from their parents. The head of state added that his thoughts go to all the children whose parents are away from them, to all the parents who miss their children, and to all the families of Romanians, in the country and the diaspora. PM Victor Ponta also issued a message, stating that this year Christmas has special connotations, in that it marks 25 years since the December ’89 Revolution. In his Christmas address, King Mihai called on Romanians to stay united. Romania’s last king said the country made an important democratic choice at the end of this year, and expressed his hope that from now on the rule of law and the respect for public institutions will be firmer than ever.
In Bucharest and other major cities in Romania ceremonies continue, which commemorate the heroes who died in the anti-communist revolution 25 years ago. Started on December the 16th 1989 in the western city of Timisoara, the uprising quickly spread across the country. On December the 22nd, hundreds of thousands of protesters stormed the headquarters of the Communist Party in Bucharest, forcing the dictators Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu to flee, but the clashes with the communist supporters continued in the following few days. Bucharest was virtually in a state of war, with strategic sites defended by tanks and armoured vehicles and troops patrolling the city. The climax of the uprising was the execution of the Ceausescus, on December the 25th, 1989, after a summary trial. Romania is the only Eastern European country where the regime change was accompanied by violence, with over one thousand people killed at that time.
The Romanian Minister for Finances, Darius Valcov, said he saw no reason why Bucharest should extend the agreement with the IMF, which is due to conclude in September 2015. Valcov explained that a new deal with the IMF is not a priority, given that, he said, ”Romania is stable enough to no longer need guidance.” ”I would be very glad to see Romania start living its own dream. Let’s try not to live somebody else’s dream,” Darius Valcov added. The statement was made after last week PM Victor Ponta said Romania might sign a new agreement with the IMF, similar to that of Poland, with a flexible credit line and less strict terms. Romania’s current stand-by loan agreement is the third since the start of the economic crisis.
The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, was once again chosen as the politician of the year in Russia, just like in the previous years. He was named by 71% of the citizens, the Russian Public Opinion Centre. According to this source, the head of the Russian state has topped the poll for the past 11 years. Second came the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, seen as the best politician of the year by 8% of the interviewees, and third came PM Dmitry Medvedev, with 5% of the votes. The poll was run on 1,600 people in 46 Russian regions.
The Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif has today announced the set up of military courts to try terrorism suspects, as part of an ambitious plan to counter the threat of the Taliban insurgents and their ideology. He added that the special courts will be operational two years. Leaders of the political parties in Pakistan, army chiefs and heads of intelligence services convened in Islamabad to put together this action plan for fighting terrorism. The meeting was held in the wake of the December the 16th tragedy, when armed Taliban attacked an army school in the town of Peshawar, in the north-west of the country, killing 149 people, of which 136 children.
