May 4, 2018
One of the symbols of the fight against communism, professor Doina Cornea, dies aged 88
Newsroom, 04.05.2018, 13:24
DOINA CORNEA – One of the symbols of the fight against communism, professor Doina Cornea, who was beaten and arrested for daring to criticise the destruction of Romanian villages and churches during the regime of Nicolae Ceausescu, died on Thursday night aged 88. Cornea, a French professor at Cluj’s Babes Bolyai University, sent her first letter protesting the communist regime to Radio Free Europe in 1982, which was followed by dozens of similar letters. She was fired from the University in 1983, after her daughter smuggled an open letter to France in which she was critical of Ceausescu, and was severely beaten by the Securitate, the political police. She was arrested in 1987 after releasing manifestos in support of a workers’ uprising in the city of Brasov. Later she was put under house arrest. She was one of the leading figures of the 1989 Revolution and one of the few personalities to protest against the abuse of the newly installed leftist power. Doina Cornea enjoyed the appreciation of Pope Paul II and of Romania’s last sovereign, King Michael I. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has said that Doina Cornea was a symbol of courage and Romanian resistance during communism and has conveyed a message of condolence to her family.
JUSTICE LAWS — Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has notified the Constitutional Court in regard to the law on judicial organisation, which is included in the package of justice laws that the head of state plans to send back to Court to be re-examined. The other two laws that are part of this recently adopted package are the law on the status of magistrates and the law on the functioning of the Higher Council of Magistracy, respectively.
NOBEL – The Swedish Academy has announced it will postpone this years Nobel Literature Prize for the first time in almost 70 years, against the background of turmoil over links to a man accused of sexual assault. “The Swedish Academy intends to decide on and announce the Nobel Prize in Literature for 2018 in parallel with the naming of the 2019 laureate,” the Academy said. The Swedish Academy has been plunged in crisis since November 2017, when a Swedish newspaper of reference published the testimonies of 18 women claiming to have been raped, sexually assaulted or harassed by Jean-Claude Arnault, an influential figure on the Swedish culture scene. Arnault, the husband of Academy member and poet Katarina Frostenson, has denied the allegations. Katarina Frostenson has resigned because of the scandal just as several other Academy members.
DIPLOMACY — Paying a two-day official visit to Morocco, at the invitation of his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita, Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Meleşcanu had high-level meetings with PM Saadeddine El-Othmani, the Speaker of the House of Councilors (the upper house of Parliament) Hakim Benchamach and with the Education Minister Saaid Amzazi. Minister Melescanu emphasised the importance that Romania pays to the reconsolidation and diversification of its cooperation with the African countries, in particular with the traditional partners in the Magreb region. Melescanu highlighted Romania’s excellent bilateral ties with Morocco, based on its traditional friendship of more than half a century, and also the Romanian side’s wish to boost the bilateral political dialogue at all levels.
MEETING – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis is today attending an informal meeting of the heads of state of Bulgaria, Austria and Romania, hosted by Ruse, Bulgaria. The format of the meeting reflects the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union this year and in the first semester of next year. The talks will focus on the current European agenda, with the aim of facilitating a good cooperation and coordination during the three presidencies. Klaus Iohannis will stress Romanias interest in a good cooperation with Bulgaria and Austria, in order to fulfill the common goal of moving forward the European agenda for the citizens benefit. Also, president Iohannis will participate, alongside his Bulgarian and Austrian counterparts Rumen Radev and Alexander Van der Bellen respectively, in the conference titled: “The sustainable development of the Danube Region and the interconnection between regions.”
VISIT– A delegation led by the Minister for Romanians Abroad Natalia-Elena Intotero is currently on a three-day visit to Italy. According to a communiqué issued by the line ministry, Natalia Intotero is today attending the opening of the first info-chiosc in the region of Puglia. The visit will come to a close in Rome, in the Lazio region. The agenda of the visit includes talks with representatives of the local authorities, of the associative environment, trade unions and members of the Orthodox religious denomination. Data released by the Italian National Statistics Institute show that the Romanian community in Italy exceeds 1,100,000 people of a total of 5 million foreign citizens who are legally residing in Italy, being the largest foreign community in that country.
VOLLEYBALL – Bucharest is for the first time hosting the Final Four tournament of the Champions League in women’s volleyball. CSM Volei Alba Blaj has this year made it to the semi-finals, the first Romanian team to reach this phase of the competition since Champions League got its new format. On Saturday, VakiBank Istanbul of Turkey, the defending champions will face Imoco Volley Conegliano of Italy. In the second semi-final, Alba Blaj will take on Galatasaray of Istanbul. The final and the bronze final matches will be played on Sunday. (Translated by Elena Enache)
