March 27, 2016 UPDATE

Thousands of people attended in Chisinau the events marking the 98th anniversary of the union of Bessarabia with the Kingdom of Romania

Newsroom, 26.03.2016, 12:08

MESSAGE – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Sunday 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 terrorist threat in Romania is real, but things are kept under control, Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos said. In an interview with a private TV station, Ciolos 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 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 explained that the issue was in the attention of the justice and interior ministers. Prepaid phone cards from Romania have been used during in preparation for the attacks in EU member countries, Ciolos pointed out.

SYRIA – The Syrian army supported by its Russian allies recaptured the city of Palmyra from the so-called Islamic State. Military sources say the Syrian army now has “full control”. Government forces had been on the offensive for nearly three weeks to try to retake this Palmyra that fell to the extremists last May. IS demolished some of the best-known monuments of this UNESCO world heritage site, including two large temples dating back more than 1,800 years and a Roman triumphal archway.

DNA – The head of Romania’s National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA), Laura Codruţa Kövesi, will be interviewed on Monday at the Higher Council of Magistracy for another term as chief of the DNA. On February 29, Justice Minister Raluca Pruna proposed Kovesi for another term in office. Investigating high level corruption, recovering demages and confiscating illegal fortunes are among Kovesi’s goals for the new period. Her management project, posted on the website of the Higher Council of Magistracy, has been launched for public debate. Codruta Kovesi also palns to further reject any action aimed at intimidating or discrediting prosecutors. Under the Romania law, the DNA chief prosecutor is appointed by the head of state, at the proposal of the justice minister, with the advisory opinion of the Higher Council of Magistracy.

ANNIVERSARY – Thousands of people attended on Sunday in Chisinau, the Republic of Moldova, the events marking the 98th anniversary of the union of Bessarabia with the Kingdom of Romania. The anniversary was celebrated in Romania and in the Romanian communties outside the country. 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.

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.

(Translated by Elena Enache)