August 17, UPDATE

Romanian anti-organised crime prosecutors have started criminal investigation against the Sky News TV crew who made the report on alleged gun running in Romania/ Sieranevada is Romanias submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

Newsroom, 17.08.2016, 12:20

SKY NEWS – The Romanian anti-organised crime prosecutors of DIICOT have started criminal investigation against the three crewmembers of the British TV Channel Sky News, who made the report on alleged gun running in Romania, for having communicated false information which might impact the national security of the Romanian state. According to the courts motivation of the ruling, the three Britons intentionally communicated and disseminated those pieces of information online and through mass media, although they knew the information was not real. On August 12, the Court of Appeal in Bucharest decided to take into temporary custody the three Romanian men who are featured in the Sky News report, for setting up an organised criminal group, violating the regime of arms and ammunition, and for circulating false information.

MINORITIES – The rights of the Romanian minorities living near the countrys frontiers and in the Balkans as well as Romanias relations with the countries which host large Romanian communities were some of the issues on the agenda of the talks on Wednesday, at the Summer University at Izvorul Muresului, in central Romania. The representatives of the Romanians in the Diaspora have demanded the setting up of a Ministry for the Romanians Around the World and a coherent strategy to save their ethnic identity in the states of residence. In another move, the Romanians living abroad and in the Republic of Moldova have drawn attention to the fact they consider boycotting the parliamentary elections due later this year if the authorities do not ensure proper voting conditions for the Diaspora, in all towns which host large Romanian communities. They have also called for increasing the number of MPs who represent them in the Romanian Parliament. The representatives of the Romanian communities living near the borders of the country and in the Diaspora pleaded for the union of the Republic of Moldova with Romania. They launched an appeal to Dacian Ciolos, to start a permanent and institutionalised dialogue between the authorities of the two countries

ROMANIAN TURKISH RELATIONS – Turkish deputy prime minister and development minister, Lütfi Elvan, who is currently on a two day visit to Romania has thanked the Romanian authorities on the stand they have taken to support democracy in Turkey and the Turkish state in the wake of the attempted coup of July 15. In another move, he announced that the Ankara government will send to the Bucharest authorities a list with companies active in Romania, which allegedly provide financial support to the movement of the cleric settled in the US, Fethullah Gulen, accused of being behind the failed coup in Turkey. As regards bilateral economic relations, Lütfi Elvan says some 14,000 Turkish companies are active in Romania at the moment, with an overall turnover of six billion Euros.

TURKEY – Turkey has a long and difficult road ahead before obtaining visa waiver status with the EU, and short-term prospects are not encouraging, said the German Minister for European Affairs, Michael Roth, quoted by Reuters online. He said that it was clearly stated right from the start in the migration agreement between Turkey and the EU that Turkey has to meet 72 criteria before the Union would allow Turks to travel without a visa to its member countries. At the same time, Roth said that it was important for communication channels to be kept open, since Turkey is a major partner, considering both the refugee crisis and the fact that the Turkish community in Germany numbers over 3 million.

PRISTINA – Visiting US Vice-president Joe Biden, on Wednesday called on the Kosovan authorities to crack down on corruption. He met with President Hashim Thaci and PM Isa Mustafa in Pristina. On Tuesday in Belgrade, the US Vice-president urged the Serbian officials to normalise relations with the separatist province of Kosovo, which unilaterally declared its independence in 2008. Talks with Serbias President Tomislav Nikolici and PM Aleksandar Vucici covered such issues as bilateral relations, the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina as well as Serbias European integration. Joe Biden, also presented a message of condolences to the Serbian people, for those who died in the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. He is the first high-ranking US official to make such a gesture, after the intervention of the North-Atlantic Alliance during the war in Kosovo. Many Serbian nationals, particularly ultra-nationalists, are still accusing the US for the role it played during the wars which led to the dismantling of Yugoslavia.

CINEMATOGRAPHY – The film Sieranevada, directed by Cristi Puiu, is Romanias submission for the US Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, shows a press release issued by the National Centre for Cinematography. Sieranevada, the fourth long reel directed by Cristi Puiu, has been selected to the official competition of the Cannes Film Festival this year, being screened on the first day of the festival.

FOOTBALL – Romanias defending champion, Astra, is facing the English team West Ham United on home soil on Thursday, in the Europe League play-off round. In another move, Romanias football vice-champion Steaua on Tuesday lost on home soil to the powerful English team Manchester City, in the Champions League Playoff round, 0-5. The return match is scheduled for August 24. Steaua has secured qualification for the Europe League group stage. Three other Romanian teams, CSMS Iasi, Viitorul Constanta and Pandurii Targu Jiu, were eliminated in the preliminaries of the European cups.

OLYMPIC UPDATE – Three Romanian female athletes who competed in the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday got eliminated, failing to go past the qualification round. In wrestling, Emilia Alina Vuc competed in the 48 kg category, while Claudia Bobocea and Florina Pierdevara ran in the 800 m track event. After 11 days in the Olympics, Romania still has only four medals: the gold obtained by the women’s epee team, the silver obtained by the pair Florin Mergea/ Horia Tecau in the men’s tennis doubles, and two bronze medals, obtained by Gabriel Sincraian in weightlifting, and by the women’s coxed eight rowing team. Romania did not get any medal in gymnastics at this edition, which happens for the first time in the last 44 years. The last time the Romanians came back home without a medal in that discipline was in 1972, after the Munich Olympics.

(Translated by Diana Vijeu and Calin Cotoiu)