Romanian President Says Moldova Protests Reminiscent Of 1989

Romanian President Traian Basescu at RFE/RL's headquarters


Romanian President Traian Basescu has said that April's post-electoral clashes in Chisinau were a sign that Moldova’s young generation wants real political and economic change. In an interview at RFE/RL's Prague headquarters with correspondent Eugen Tomiuc, Basescu strongly rejected Moldova’s accusations that Romania was behind the violence, and said that Romania's stance toward Moldova will always be “one people, two countries.” The president also spoke about the EU’s eastward expansion plans and about relations with Russia and the United States.

RFE/RL: Romania’s relationship with the Communist leadership of Moldova has gone from bad to worse over the past couple of months, particularly after President Vladimir Voronin accused Romania of being behind the post-election violence in early April. Chisinau introduced visas for Romanians, expelled the ambassador, and restricted Romanian media access to the republic.

The day-to-day economic and social ties between the two states have all but come to a standstill. What can EU member Romania do to help Moldova out of its current political crisis without being blamed for undue “interference in Moldova’s internal affairs?”

Basescu: We will always reject such accusations -- that Romania was involved in the post-election uprising, or that it would get involved in the domestic affairs of the Republic of Moldova. What I can tell you with certainty is that we have seen such events before. We saw them in December 1989, when another Communist leader [Nicolae Ceausescu] failed to understand his own people, and furthermore failed to understand the younger generation.

Mr. Voronin might want to take a look at the footage taken in December 1989 in Bucharest. He will see that there were young people on those streets who wanted liberty, young people who were looking toward Europe, not those voting for Ceausescu.

RFE/RL: This year we mark 70 years since the infamous Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed. You have stated that you will not sign a bilateral treaty with Moldova which would enshrine the pact. There is actually a region called Moldova in eastern Romania, which sometimes adds to an outsider's confusion regarding what exactly a Moldovan identity represents.

Millions of Romanians consider themselves Moldovan -- but only as a regional identity subsumed to their Romanian national identity. Moldova’s leadership, however, has promoted the notion of a separate Moldovan identity, language, and history -- reminiscent of Stalin’s concept of a Moldovan “people.” How can a modern, European Romania hold on to its ethnic and language ties with Moldova without risking being accused of revisionism, chauvinism, and other evils?

Basescu: We will not fall into the trap of timidity when it comes to accusations or political games played by Chisinau toward Romania. We have a policy of explaining to all our European and NATO allies the history of these places and the history of these people. Our concept is clear: one people, two countries. Therefore, in this respect the propaganda coming from Chisinau will not fool anybody.

Furthermore, Romania will not watch events passively. We have increased the number of vacancies in Romanian universities and high schools for Moldovan youths; we will try and support Romanian-language democratic media [in Moldova]; and we will not hesitate to fight within the European Union to convince our friends and allies that Moldova shouldn't be left in the integration package with Ukraine, but packaged together with the Western Balkan countries as far as integration objectives are concerned.

These are but a few examples to show that we are not being intimidated by Chisinau's brutal behavior. With regard to trade, we have given instructions that no exports from Moldova to Romania be hampered in any way. You may remember that when Mr. Voronin was in big trouble because Moscow had blocked Moldova's wine exports to the Russian market, I brought Mr. Voronin to Bucharest and organized a big Moldovan wine exhibition, and since then, the Romanian market has absorbed a large part of Moldovan wine production.

Currently, Moldova is exporting more wine to Romania than to Russia, which has eventually reopened its market to Moldovan wines. Therefore, we will not do anything that could resemble hostility toward Moldova. Furthermore, we are ready to offer any kind of assistance that Moldova might need, in every economic area.

RFE/RL: Who should ask for such assistance?

Basescu: The [Moldovan] government. But we are also trying to stimulate a different way to keep in touch with the Romanians from the Republic of Moldova by stepping up ties at the local community level, and with intellectuals from Moldova.

I had a meeting recently in Bucharest with civil society representatives from Moldova. We have increased the number of places in summer camps for Moldovan youths. Therefore, we are doing our job both as good neighbors and brothers to the Moldovans, although for the moment we do not communicate with Moldova's leadership.

RFE/RL: Romania’s usually cool relations with Russia seem to have become even cooler since the beginning of the Moldovan crisis. Some analysts argue that Moscow is promoting the idea of a “Romanian threat” to Moldova’s feeble statehood to gain even more influence over Chisinau. Can Romania improve its ties with Moscow and hold on to its interests in the region at the same time?

Basescu: I do not believe that those who say Romania has bad relations with Moscow are right. Our commercial exchanges are on the rise, political contacts are very frequent -- this year alone there were five or six visits by Romanian ministers to Moscow to improve cooperation.

And I will tell you one other thing: I don't think Moscow is so engaged in backing Voronin that it's going to become hostile to Romania because of Moldova's relations with Romania. And I know all the details when I am saying this. On the other hand, Moscow definitely has interests in Moldova, and of course Romania has an interest in Moldova's citizens.

We want the citizens of Moldova -- our brothers from the Republic of Moldova -- to have the chance to strive for prosperity. This cannot happen unless Moldova vigorously and steadily chooses the path toward integration into the European Union.

And I would like to clarify this -- you spoke about the confusion between Moldova and the Republic of Moldova. This is a valid issue for those who do not understand that Romania has several historical regions: Moldova, which, if we are to talk about Romanian regions, stretches to the Dniester River -- Banat, Oltenia, Bucovina, Transylvania -- all these are regions inhabited by Romanians, regions where the same people have lived -- and will live -- for many millennia.

RFE/RL: Ever since you became president, you have been a strong proponent of a strategic partnership with the United States. Romania has contributed troops to Afghanistan -- and until recently, to Iraq -- and has offered Black Sea air bases to the United States. Can Romania do more to consolidate its strategic partnership with Washington under the new U.S. administration?

Basescu: It definitely can, and I can tell you that the new U.S. administration gave us all the signals that its policy toward Romania remains unchanged. The objective of both countries is the consolidation of the strategic partnership in two directions -- [military and economic].

Under the security or military dimension, we have offered facilities to the U.S. military at Romanian military bases such as Kogalniceanu, Babadag, and others. Furthermore, we are participating together with troops in missions outside our borders.

But there are [also] U.S. investments in Romania such as those of [automaker] Ford, or investments in the food industry or in agriculture, and many others. This partnership is developing well, in all its dimensions, including the political dimension, where Romania has enjoyed U.S. support and has been a partner of the United States on foreign policy issues.

And, I can tell you that we are developing an equally strong partnership with France within the European Union. It is a partnership that is rapidly gaining ground. And for us, the two strategic partnerships -- with the United States and France -- are two extremely important pillars of our foreign policy.

RFE/RL: Mr. President, thank you.

Basescu: I thank you too, and I wish all the best to the Moldovans!


Source: RFE/RL (Jul 16)

Ethnic Hungarians boo Romanian president

BAILE TUSNAD (Romania) -- Romanian President Traian Basescu was treated to boos and hisses as he spoke during an open university event organized for his country's ethnic Hungarians.

Those gathered in the town of Baile Tusnad reacted negatively to his statement that Romania is a national, united, sovereign and independent state.

Basescu first received the boos when he said that autonomy should be equal in all parts of the country, including in the region of Transylvania, where ethnic Hungarians live.

After he quoted from the Romanian Constitution to say that the country is "a national, united, sovereign and independent state", there was another expression of disapproval.

He then proceeded to twice again repeat the same quotation, and added that he believed that dialogue was possible, but that he recognizes that those present "do not know it".

The 20th open university in the town was also attended by former Hungarian PM and opposition leader Viktor Orban, the Hungarian Parliament's Foreign Policy Commission chairman, and other Hungarian officials and citizens.

Source: BETA

Conference of foreign ministers of Serbia, Romania and Hungary

In Timisoara (Jul 18, 2009), Serbian, Romanian, and Hungarian foreign ministers, Vuk Jeremic, Christian Diaconescu and Peter Balasz respectively, discussed the European integration of the Balkan countries, cross-border projects, the Nabucco pipeline and the EU strategy for the Danube.

Cooperation of the tangential regions of the three countries sends an important message to Europe and it is extremely important for five million people who live in this area, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Balasz told the press conference. Balasz mentioned projects such as the joint industrial park and expansion of trans-European transport and energy supply networks in the region.

The Euro-regional cooperation may become a model for the period following Serbia’s EU integration, said Balasz. He pointed that Hungary and Romania could jointly mobilize EU funds for Serbia and added that cooperation of the two EU member states and their neighbour is ideal from the EU point of view.

The Serbia-Romania-Hungary trilateral was launched in Belgrade in May 2003 at the meeting of foreign ministers of the three countries, who are having their fourth gathering on Saturday.

On Monday (Jul 13, 2009), the EU’s "pipeline politics" took another step forward with the signing in Turkey's capital, Ankara, of an agreement to build a new, 3,300-kilometre gas pipeline called Nabucco, running between eastern Turkey and Vienna, Austria.

MIDEAST: Turkey Gets Boost from Pipeline Politics

The political geography of the modern Middle East has been affected for one hundred years by the appetite of Westerners and other outsiders for the region's hydrocarbons.

On Monday (Jul 13, 2009), the region's "pipeline politics" took another step forward with the signing in Turkey's capital, Ankara, of an agreement to build a new, 3,300-kilometre gas pipeline called Nabucco, running between eastern Turkey and Vienna, Austria.

The project underlines the new influential role that Turkey, a majority Muslim nation of 72 million people, is playing in the Middle East, and far beyond.

The new project's name was chosen, Austrian officials said, after the Verdi opera that representatives of the five participating countries - who include Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary, along with the two terminus states - saw together during an earlier round of negotiations in Vienna.

But the name also gives clues to two intriguing aspects of the project's geopolitical significance. The theme of the opera is the liberation from bondage of slaves held by the ancient Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar ('Nabucco') - and it is a widely discussed feature of the Nabucco project that many European nations want access to a gas source that is not under the control of Russia.

Last winter, several European nations suffered severe gas shortages after Russia, locked in a tariff dispute with transit-country Ukraine, closed off the spigots completely.

But the other implication of the name is more strictly Middle Eastern. The modern-day home of Nebuchadnezzar is Iraq. Washington has given strong support to the Nabucco project - and one of the reasons U.S. officials give for this support is their hope that once Nabucco is up and running in 2015, Iraq can be one of the nations that reaps large profits by feeding gas into it.

However, construction of the pipeline is estimated to cost some eight billion dollars, and many officials in the participating countries are still unclear where they will get enough gas to make it economically viable.

The Nabucco participants had been hoping that a key feeder state would be one of Turkey's eastern neighbours, Azerbaijan. But on the eve of the project's inauguration in Ankara, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev took the CEO of the vast Russian gas company Gazprom to Azerbaijan, where they signed a contract with the state gas company that will force Nabucco to compete hard against Gazprom for any purchase it wants to make from Azerbaijan.

One fairly evident other source for Nabucco's would be Iran, which is reported to have considerable amounts of new gas coming online in the next five years.

Paul Stevens, an energy specialist with London's Chatham House think-tank, recently told the Christian Science Monitor that an Iranian deal alone could put the Nabucco project close to operating in the black. But he noted that the current political crisis in Iran makes that less do-able and thus, "makes the immediate commercial goals dimmer for Nabucco".

On Thursday, the U.S. State Department's special envoy for Eurasian energy, Richard Morningstar, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington that, "This would be the absolute worst time to encourage Iran to participate in a project like Nabucco, when we have received absolutely nothing in return."

He did, however, argue that the prospect of inclusion in Nabucco could be one incentive used to help persuade Iran to cooperate with the international community.

Regardless of whether that comes about or not, this week's formal birth of the long-negotiated Nabucco project underlines modern Turkey's steady emergence as a significant player in Middle East politics, as well as its continuing role as a bridge between Europe and the countries of the Middle East and the Caucasus.

In many of the Arab countries of the Middle East, as in Bulgaria and some other countries in the Balkans, there was until recently much lingering hostility towards Turkey, based on the resentment earlier generations felt about the harsh way they were treated by the former Ottoman Empire.

But the present-day Turkish republic replaced the Ottoman Empire in 1923 and in the Arab Middle East, the earlier hostility towards Turkey now seems largely to have dissipated.

Even in Syria, which for several decades nursed a strong sense of grievance against Turkey for its 1938 annexation of the north-western province of Alexandretta (now Hatay), that grievance has now been replaced by generally warm ties - and much admiration of Turkey's recent economic progress.

In Iraq, there was also for decades strong resentment of Turkey, among both the country's majority Arab population and from its minority of Kurds, who are concentrated along Iraq's mountainous northern border with Turkey.

But the moderately Islamist 'Justice and Development' Party (AKP) that has governed Turkey since 2002 has built good relations with Iraq's central government in Baghdad.

It has also built a decent working relationship with the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) - in spite of the sympathy that many Iraqi Kurds feel with their fellow Kurds inside Turkey, who for a long time were treated very badly by Ankara. (In Turkey's 2007 general election, however, the AKP attracted a clear plurality of support from Turkey's Kurds.)

Turkey now holds several significant levers of power over Iraq. It controls the headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which together are vital to the wellbeing of Iraq's people. It provides an important existing pipeline that takes Iraqi oil to a shipping terminal on Turkey's Mediterranean coast.

It is the only one of Iraq's neighbours apart from Iran that has a military capable of deterring other powers - inside or outside Iraq - from launching aggressive military adventures inside the country as the U.S. military draws down its presence there.

Turkey also projects considerable "soft power"- both in Iraq and in the rest of the Muslim Middle East. It strongly opposed the United States' invasion of Iraq in 2003, a stance that most Iraqis today strongly appreciate. But it also remains on good terms with Washington, as a much-valued member of NATO. And most Iraqis probably appreciate that pragmatism, too.

The AKP also provides an interesting example, to Islamist parties both in Iraq and further afield, of how an intelligent Islamist party can succeed both at home and abroad.

At home, the AKP government has shown moderation and toleration. In foreign affairs, it remains committed to strengthening Turkey's ties with the west, including by continuing Turkey's push to join the European Union.

Now, with the launching of the Nabucco project, Turkey has added to the influence it can exert with many Middle Eastern - as well as European - countries.


Analysis by Helena Cobban - veteran Middle East analyst and author. She blogs at www.JustWorldNews.org

The Craftsmen Fairs—Bringing to Life Romania’s Traditions

Through a series of events taking place across Romania, the Craftsmen Fairs offer tourists an opportunity to explore the beauty of Romanian traditions from different parts of the country, and for genuine traditional artists to express and sell their original artifacts.

As trying to keep alive the old crafts, the fairs are periodically held in most cities in Romania, and many of these traditional craftsmen attend them on a regular basis, while some of them were invited to go abroad to display their creations.

The most recent fair was held in the city of Galati in the first days of July. Besides the display and the selling of handmade items, local promoters also organized shows with folk music and dance.

The craftsmen do their work out of passion and out of commitment to the old ways.

“The satisfaction that results from our work is primarily moral in nature; each item we make is handmade, each is unique,” says the potter Simon Stoica, who hails from the city of Chisinau in the nearby Republic Moldavia. He presented his products, souvenirs made from red clay such as bottles, key rings, bells or decorative wall panels.

The creation of clay objects, as he describes it, is one that requires much dedication and patience: they are spun on the potter’s wheel, decoration is applied, then left to dry for one week, painted and baked in the oven at a temperature of 1000 degrees Celsius. For medium-sized objects the whole process takes a whole month and the smaller ones can be completed in up to two weeks. “We are three craftsmen, each one having his own unique style, but our common aim is to promote traditional cultural values and keep alive the things that were used in the old days,” adds Stoica.

Ionelia Stoica is a painter that specializes in native painting featuring themes inspired by Romanian rural life. She does this kind of painting not only on canvas but also on clay pots and braids of rushes. Her greatest joy is that of creating beautiful objects with her own hands that are admired and appreciated by others.

What these craftsmen all have in common is the revival of the spirit of the traditions, and the way they feel about their work: they take work to be an opportunity for relaxation, and more than that, it is a spiritual experience.

Adam Curta, icon painter from Cluj-Napoca confesses, “My work brings me enormous satisfaction and peace of soul.” He and his wife, both teachers, have set up in their school a glass-painting coterie that is both helping to keep the traditions alive and being a form of what he calls “art-therapy.” Adam particularly stands out among the other craftsmen as he is dressed from head to toe in a traditional costume, with not a single piece of modern clothing on him.

As a specialized glass-icon painter, he has a genuine approach to painting, different from other artists. While the latter made icons as already aged, imitating patina using certain techniques and colors, Adam leaves time itself to work its ways and he paints the icons as they should be: clean, using fresh and vivid colors, without tricks designed give customers the illusion that they have bought a hundreds-year-old icon. This authenticity of his style conquered the hearts of foreigners—Adam showcased his creations in exhibitions in France, Italy, Poland, Israel, and Belgium.

Folk masks, traditional costumes, dolls, icons, paintings, bells, pottery made of black and red clay, wooden spoons and more such things are available at the fairs, all made with the purpose of bringing a cramp of authentic tradition in our often dull contemporary modern homes.

Events like Craftsmen Fair are helping maintain authentic local identity and traditions in the era of technology and globalization. As we rediscover and return to the traditional arts, we have the opportunity to see the true beauty of old times.

Romanian Team Wins First Place in Microsoft's Imagine Cup 2009 For Software Design

Jul 9, 2009 (softpedia.com)

Team SYTECH, a group of four students from Iasi, Romania, has won the first place in Microsoft's Imagine Cup 2009 competition for Software Design. SYTECH won the first prize with a project dubbed UpCity, a collaborative platform designed to bridge the gap between citizens and government agencies.

“There are absolutely no words to describe what we’re feeling right now. Thank you everyone,” said SYTECH's Adrian Buzgar after the winning team for Software Design was announced. “The project will be developed for the city hall of our city at the end of this month. Then we’re going to try to build a company.”

Microsoft revealed that in excess of 300,000 students from over 100 markets around the world signed up for the competition this year. The finals, which took place in Cairo, Egypt, saw no less than 444 students attempt to win in the nine categories of the competition.

“The creativity and imagination that students poured into their projects this year was incredible,” revealed Joe Wilson, senior director of Academic Initiatives, Developer and Platform Evangelism Division at Microsoft. “We hope that all of the students who participated this year will continue their pursuit of creating technology in the service of making the world a better place.”

Here is a list with all 2009 Imagine Cup winners:

Software Design
First place: Romania, SYTECH
Second place: Russia, Vital Lab
Third place: Brazil, Virtual Dreams


Source: softpedia.com

Romania: to get €18-20 billion in IMF-led bailout

Bucharest, March 18, 2008: Romanian President Traian Basescu met Thomas Mirow (EBRD President).


BUCHAREST, Romania: Romania will get an emergency credit-line for €18-20 billion ($24-26 billion) from the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the World Bank to survive the global economic crisis, a Romanian official said Wednesday.

Although a final agreement has yet to be announced, Mihai Tanasescu, the country's representative to the IMF, said the deal is imminent and will help stabilize and boost the economy.

An IMF delegation is currently on a visit to Romania to discuss the loan.

Prime minister Emil Boc said Wednesday that two-thirds of the loan will go to the National Bank, to boost foreign currency reserves and keep the national currency, the leu, at a level that will not hurt the economy. Another part of the bailout funds will go to commercial banks to support mortgages and other loans.

Tanasescu warned economic activity would slow further in April but that if the government manages the loan well, the economy would gradually improve.


He tried to ease fears that taxes will rise as a result of the loan and said that the social implications of the economic crisis — such as higher unemployment and cost of living — were an important issue in the negotiations with the IMF.

Romanian President Traian Basescu, Prime Minister Emil Boc and National Bank Governor Mugur Isarescu met with IMF officials on Tuesday to discuss the loan.

Basescu has said that money from the IMF is the "cheapest that Romania could receive."

The country's central bank warned last month that it might need help to shore up its foreign currency reserves, which amounted to €26.2 billion ($33.2 billion) in December.

Financial analysts have said the expected influx of capital from the loan should calm fears of an immediate meltdown in the economy and could lead to a near-term bounce in Romanian markets. However, it won't eliminate the need for a fundamental depreciation in the leu, they say.



IMF: Romania's 2009 GDP forecast to minus 4%

The International Monetary Fund(IMF) forecasted Romania's gross domestic product in 2009 to minus3 percent or even minus 4 percent, Mihai Tanasescu, Romanian representative to the international lender, said on Wednesday.

IMF's report said that Romanian budget deficit might be higher than 4 percent of the GDP, significantly above the 3 percent Maastricht Treaty threshold, according to Tanasescu, a former Finance Ministry from December 2000 to December 2004.

Last Thursday, Romania's Finance Minister Gheorghe Pogea said that the country is considering an economic growth at between minus one percent and 1.5 percent, although this year's state budget is built on 2.5 percent growth.

The European Commission recently revised downwards Romania's projected growth to 0 - 0.5 percent, after having previously estimated the Romanian GDP would expand at 1.8 percent this year.

In 2008 Romania recorded 7.1 percent economic growth, but such pace slowed down to 2.9 percent in the last quarter.

An IMF mission is visiting Bucharest over March 11-25 in order to continue its assessment of the Romanian macroeconomic conditions.

The delegation will hold talks on a possible IMF program for Romania. Such program will be part of a multilateral pro-active and safety financial package to be backed by the European Union and the World Bank among other international financial institutions.

According to government sources, the Romanian authorities intend to borrow 19 billion euros (23.75 billion U.S. dollars), 12billion euros from the IMF and 7 billion euros from the EU, following an evaluation made by the Finance Ministry and the central bank.