Mar 20, 2007 (Romania Report)
Romania’s Foreign Intelligence Agency chief resigned on Monday; President Basescu had talks with parliamentary political parties to defuse crisis; Conservatives asked Mr. Basescu to quit
Romania’s Foreign Intelligence Agency chief resigned on Monday
Claudiu Saftoiu, the chief of the Foreign Intelligence Agency (SIE), resigned yesterday after less than half a year in office. Mr. Softoiu – a former presidential senior advisor – was appointed as the country’s spy agency boss back in October, 2006.
Last week, he was interviewed by a special hearing parliamentary commission investigating the alleged impeachment grounds against President Traian Basescu’. At the hearing, media sources say Saftoiu spoke of SIE activities related to tapping phones in
Romanian MPs reacted differently to the resignation of Claudiu Saftoiu, the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, as only the Democratic Party seem to defend him. Saftoiu, whose resignation yesterday came following alleged blunders in the parliamentary hearing last week, now faces accusations that SIE was breaching human rights by tapping phones on Romanian territory.
That would be illegal, since SIE is not allowed to run such activities and warrants as these would be delivered by judges, not the Prosecutor General.
Among deputies interviewed by ‘HotNews.ro’, only a representative of the Democrat Party, Daniel Buda, defended Saftoiu, saying that his statements were “tendentiously interpreted” by MPs.
Social Democrat MP Florin Iordache and Conservative Party leader Dan Voiculescu said the resignation was the right choice as taking into account Saftoiu’s statements. Voiculescu also said the actual problem was not the man, but that the phones should not be illegally tapped in
National-Liberal Party (PNL) deputy-president Puiu Hasotti said the resignation “was a minimal sign as considering the human rights abuses performed by SIE… Claudiu Saftoiu should hide in a cave so that we not hear about him for ten years or so.”
MPs agreed yesterday that a special commission be formed to investigate alleged phone-tapping activities by SIE. The investigation was asked by Social Democrats and Greater Romania Party in opposition, with support from the Liberals in the ruling coalition. The Democrat Party, Liberals’ partners in the governing coalition, abstained.
President Basescu had talks with parliamentary political parties to defuse crisis
Romanian President started discussions with parliamentary parties on Tuesday, at the Cotroceni Palace, in bid to defuse the ongoing political crisis which opposes Mr. Basescu and his Democrat Party (PD) supporters, on one hand, to PM Calin Popescu Tariceanu’s Liberals (PNL) who teamed up with Social-Democrats and Conservatives in opposition, on the other hand.
Basescu first met representatives of the Social Democrats (PSD) in opposition led by party leader Mircea Geoana, who has been accusing the head of state of no longer representing a reliable mediator between political groups but a source of many scandals that have affecting Romania for months.
The Social-Democrats said they did not believe these talks with the President would solve the political crisis in
While the PNL had announced PM Tariceanu would join the talks today, the prime minister failed to show up and thus the Liberal team was eventually led by deputy-president Puiu Hasotti.
The Democrats have said they believed that the only solution for the current crisis would be early polls. The Hungarian Democrats instead said the crisis would be over either by early polls or by identifying a new parliamentary majority able to support a revamped government.
Conservative Party representatives had only a 15 minutes long meeting with President Basescu. The Conservative leader Dan Voiculescu later told to the press that he asked Mr. Basescu to resign from his office as head of state (sic!).
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