RRI Live!

Listen to Radio Romania International Live

Remembering the victims of communism

President Klaus Iohannis plans to declare 2019 the Year of Gratitude for the opponents of the former communist regime.

Remembering the victims of communism
Remembering the victims of communism

, 15.05.2019, 13:55

President Klaus Iohannis has signed
a decree to decorate the Memorial of the Victims of Communism and Resistance in
Sighet and the Memorial of the Revolution of 16-22 December Timisoara
Association. The decision is intended to mark the 30th anniversary
of the Romanian Revolution this year, as appreciation and
recognition for their important research into the phenomenon of totalitarianism
and for the promotion of national and European values. Sighet and Timisoara,
in the north-west and west, respectively, are essential landmarks on the map of
communist terror. Founded, under the aegis of the Council of Europe, by the
poet and dissident Ana Blandiana, the Memorial is located in a former prison where
dozens of people were held and killed, including democrats, generals and church
officials from the inter-war period. As for the association from Timisoara, it
brings together many of those who, in December 1989, sparked the fire of the
Revolution that led to the flight of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.




President Klaus Iohannis has also
announced plans to declare 2019 the Year of Gratitude, an announcement he will
make on 20th of May, the date when the first free elections in
post-communist Romania were held back in 1990. Klaus Iohannis:




It’s the year when I want us to
show our gratitude for those who made possible the great change that took place
in December 1989. More critical voices have asked me why, then, start in May?
It’s simple: I want to declare 2019 the Year of Gratitude, ending in December
with a big celebration in honour of the 1989 Revolution and beginning when
democratic vote began in Romania. The first free elections in Romania were held
on 20th of May 1990.




The president’s announcement has
been hailed by many voices from the political scene, civil society and the
media, but has also been severely criticised. Given that he has already announced plans to
run for a second term, president Iohannis is accused of turning the homage to
the anticommunist resistance into a campaign theme. A possible rival in the
presidential race, Senate speaker Calin Popescu-Tariceanu says the initiative
seeks to use for election purposes a number of emotional elements, the ousting
of communism, the sacrifice of the martyrs and the rediscovery of freedom.
Leontin Iuhas, the son of Ceausescu’s most famous opponent, Doina Cornea, who
was himself arrested by the secret police (the Securitate), says he will not
take part in the events held under the patronage of the president. Some
commentators are disappointed that petty electoral considerations risk
overshadow a tragic theme.


Instated, at the end of WWII by the
occupying Soviet troops, the communist dictatorship filled Romania with camps
and prisons where at least 600,000 people were interned in the space of fifty
years according to historians. In 2006 in fact, Romania’s previous president
Traian Basescu issued an official declaration condemning the communist regime
as criminal and illegitimate. (Trans: C. Mateescu)

Tags:
November 1 - National Radio Day
Today in the News Friday, 01 November 2024

Radio Romania 96

Radio Romania has celebrated 96 years since it first entered the listeners houses from Romania and abroad. On November 1 1928 the Romanians were able...

Radio Romania 96
(Photo: pixabay@Engin_Akyurt)
Today in the News Thursday, 31 October 2024

Romanians’ concerns

Romanians and Austrians are the most satisfied with their lives among the inhabitants of Central and Eastern Europe, but the former are significantly...

Romanians’ concerns
Elections in Moldova (Photo: Radio Chișinău)
Today in the News Thursday, 31 October 2024

Republic of Moldova, crucial final

On November 3, the citizens of the Republic of Moldova have to choose, for the position of head of state, between the pro-European Maia Sandu, the...

Republic of Moldova, crucial final
Foto: Baza 71 Aeriană / MApn
Today in the News Wednesday, 30 October 2024

Drones, a security issue

The Romanian Ministry of National Defense has placed under decisional transparency a bill that improves airspace security measures. The bill, which...

Drones, a security issue
Today in the News Wednesday, 30 October 2024

The Fugitive Law is constitutional

The Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) has rejected the referral of the High Court of Cassation and Justice (ICCJ) in relation to the so-called...

The Fugitive Law is constitutional
Today in the News Tuesday, 29 October 2024

Challenges of an ageing population

Romanians are getting fewer and older.   The population of Romania in mid-2024 was 21,779,000, down 1% compared to June 1, 2023. According to...

Challenges of an ageing population
Today in the News Monday, 28 October 2024

Romania sees rising public debt levels

Government debt rose in July to over 876 billion lei (that’s around 175 billion euros), from 860 billion lei in the previous month, according to...

Romania sees rising public debt levels
Today in the News Monday, 28 October 2024

Presidential debate in the Republic of Moldova

An unusual electoral debate, in form, but predictable in content, had as protagonists, on Sunday, the two remaining candidates in the presidential...

Presidential debate in the Republic of Moldova

Partners

Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român
Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS
Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online
Institului European din România Institului European din România
Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti
Muzeul Național de Artă al României Muzeul Național de Artă al României
Le petit Journal Le petit Journal
Radio Prague International Radio Prague International
Muzeul Național de Istorie a României Muzeul Național de Istorie a României
ARCUB ARCUB
Radio Canada International Radio Canada International
Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti” Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti”
SWI swissinfo.ch SWI swissinfo.ch
UBB Radio ONLINE UBB Radio ONLINE
Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl
creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti
italradio italradio
Institutul Confucius Institutul Confucius
BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți

Affiliates

Euranet Plus Euranet Plus
AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters
Digital Radio Mondiale Digital Radio Mondiale
News and current affairs from Germany and around the world News and current affairs from Germany and around the world
Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona

Providers

RADIOCOM RADIOCOM
Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company