March 17, 2014 UPDATE
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Mihai Pelin, 17.03.2014, 16:29
The EU foreign ministers, including Romania’s Titus Corlatean, held talks in Brussels on Monday about the situation in Ukraine, following the Sunday’s referendum in Crimea on the intention of this breakaway republic to become part of the Russian Federation. In Brussels minister Corlatean has firmly reiterated the support of Romania for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity within the internationally recognized borders. Corlatean has joined the other ministers disavowing the so-called referendum in Crimea underlining its illegality and unconstitutionality. The EU and the USA have imposed sanctions, such as travel restrictions and freezing the assets of several Ukrainian and Russian officials whom they blame for the annexation of Crimea. US president Barack Obama has told his Russian counterpart that the USA and the West will not recognize the referendum. According to the final results, 96.7% of the participants in the referendum have voted in favour of joining the Russian Federation. The Kremlin leader is expected to brief Parliament in Moscow on this issue on Tuesday.
On Monday in Kiev, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Iurie Lenaca reiterated the support of his country for Ukraine adding that the authorities in the Republic of Moldova do not recognize the result of the illegal referendum in Crimea. Leanca held talks with Ukraine’s interim president Oleksandr Turchynov, who said that Ukraine appreciated Chisinau’s support at a time when it is confronted with the issue of separatism. Iurie Leanca also met his Ukrainian counterpart Arseniy Yatsenyuk and during the talks he pleaded for maintaining stability in the region and overcoming the present crisis exclussively through peaceful means. The authorities in Kiev gave assurances the country would continue its European progress.
Almost a third of the Republic of Moldova’s population believes the events in Ukraine are a political provocation from Russia, shows a study conducted by the Association of Sociologists and Demographers based in Chisinau, the capital of the Republic of Moldova, an ex-soviet country with a Romanian majority. More than 50% of the interviewees have criticized Moscow’s military intervention in Crimea, whereas only 24% believe it was a fair decision. The study reveals that the numbers of those in favour of the EU integration and those who want the republic to join the Eurasian Union are almost equal. If election were held next Sunday, the Communist Party would get the largest number of votes, almost 30%, while the Liberal-Democrats would come second with 12.5%, followed by Democrats with 7.9%, the Liberal Party with 6.3% and Socialists with 4.8%.
According to President Traian Basescu, Romania views the referendum on Crimea’s breaking away with Ukraine as illegal and would not acknowledge its results. In a press release, the Romanian president believes a referendum held under the threat of military occupation cannot be described as a democratic process and as such cannot be acknowledged by the international community.
Over 1.7 million foreign visitors used Romania’s tourist infrastructure last year and spent almost 1.1 billion euros in the country, according to the National Institute for Statistics. 58% of the total number of foreign visitors came to Romania for business or to attend congresses, conferences, training courses, fairs and exhibitions, while 42% came on private trips.
This week, Bucharest is playing host to a documentary film festival dedicated to human rights entitled One World Romania. Its line-up features 50 titles divided into 5 sections, a documentary film workshop, screenings for high school children, theatre performances, a tourist programme and debates. Many of the films screened in the festival, which come from all over the world, have won awards at prestigious international festivals and are shown in Romania for the first time. The five sections are “25 Years Later”, “Rebels with a Cause”, “Rules of Corruption”, “Media Rehab” and “Love is a Human Right”. Initiated by the Czech Centre in Bucharest seven years ago and based on a similar festival held in the Czech Republic, One World Romania is this year held in memory of Vaclav Havel, a Czech playwright, politician and human rights activist.
