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RADOR: News from Romania, 98-03-04
March 4, 1998
CONTENTS
[01] Senate proceedings
[02] House of Deputies proceedings
[03] PL leadership in support of a new government and a new prime minister
[04] New law promulgated
[05] Ion Iliescu reiterates his belief: "It is better to be poor and
honest"
[06] SNCFR president dismissed
[07] SANITAS representatives disappointed
[08] Hungarian ambassador on a visit to Botosani
[09] Resumption of Romanian-Yugoslav relations on border waters
[01] Senate proceedings
The draft law allowing free access to former Romanian Intelligence files
and the exposure of the Securitate as political police was subject to
further debates on Tuesday in the Romanian Senate. All parliament groups
have expressed their support for such an initiative which was perceived as
a good opportunity for a moral clean up of the Romanian society.
Participants in the Senate session included representatives of the Romanian
National Defence Ministry (MApN), Ministry of Internal Affairs (MI),
Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE) and Romanian Intelligence (SRI). The
Senate has discussed and then passed the draft law on banking bankruptcy
and on approving the Emergency Ordinance 24/1997 concerning adoption
procedures. Further debates also focused on the new adjustments to the
Senate Regulations. RADOR, March 4
[02] House of Deputies proceedings
On Tuesday, the Romanian deputies have passed the Ordinance 34/1998
stipulating a raise in the salaries of health workers according to
government proposals. Starting from February 1, the basic salaries of
health workers will raise by 25%. According to new amendments adopted, the
ordinance also refer to welfare personnel. The salaries of debutante and
resident phisicians and pharmacists will raise by 30% starting from March
1. RADOR, March 4
[03] PL leadership in support of a new government and a new prime minister
The leaders of the Liberal Party (PL) have expressed their support for a
new government and another prime minister. At a press conference on Tuesday,
PL Deputy Octavian Bot said his party would support a reforming government
including both representatives of the Democratic Convention in Romania
(CDR) and PD members. Mr Bot said the departure of the IMF negotiators was
a blow for the Executive. As far as the political crisis is concerned, the
PL leadership says that both the governing Christian- Democrat National
Peasant Party (PNTCD) and Romanian President Emil Constantinescu were to
blame for it: PNTCD - for its further support for Prime Minister Victor
Ciorbea, and the Romanian president - because he moved the PNTCD-PD
conflict on to the parliament. RADOR, March 4
[04] New law promulgated
The Romanian Presidency announces in a communique that President Emil
Constantinescu has promulgated the law concerning the rights of the people
persecuted, deported or imprisoned for political reasons under the
communist regime in power on March 6, 1945. RADOR, March 4
[05] Ion Iliescu reiterates his belief: "It is better to be poor and
honest"
In his address to those wishing to congratulate him on the occasion of his
birthday, former Romanian president Ion Iliescu said: "Despite the gossip
around me, although some people try to depict me as a primitive instigator
of hatered against someone else, I think that closer to the truth are my
critics who say I am too goodhearted and not as tough as I should be with
those who deserved it. But I do not share their opinion. I think that this
so-called weakness of mine proves a strong character actually. I think that
good men are actually strong. They are ready to play the role of a
lightining rod in society, and take over all hardships, and thunders, and
lightnings, the hatered of his enemies and the progress of the society.
This is what I had wanted all my life: helping people and my country. I
never wished my own prosperity. I did not try to play the poet when I said
it was better to be poor and honest. It does not mean however that I want
to idealise poverty or live in poor conditions. This is not the question.
But the honesty means more than a robbery-based prosperity, and it is
through honesty that we could find the path to prosperity, but not the
prosperity of the few". RADOR, March 4
[06] SNCFR president dismissed
Romanian Transport Minister Anton Ionescu has ordered the dismissal of
SNCFR President Virgil Leancu. Mr Leancu was replaced by Viorel Simut, a
former Romanian Railways adviser in the Transylvanian town of Cluj-Napoca.
The minister did not provide any further details about his decision. RADOR,
March 4
[07] SANITAS representatives disappointed
The Romanian Service of the BBC reports that, without any further disputes,
the Romanian deputies have passed the law stipulating a raise in salaries
of health workers according to the government proposals, and the 25%
increase remained unchanged. Due to PDSR Deputy Smaranda Dobrescu, two
amendments were however adopted: a 30% to 40% raise in the salaries of MDs -
too little, in trade unionists' opinion. The SANITAS trade unionists hope
however that the Senate will adopt a more favouring version of the law: a
100% increase as some of the senators have previously promised. RADOR,
March 4
[08] Hungarian ambassador on a visit to Botosani
The Hungarian ambassador to Bucharest Ferenc Socs is on a visit to the
Moldavian town of Botosani. He had meetings with high ranking local
officials in the County Council and he mentioned Budapest's growing
interest in the county of Botosani as it has recently joined the Carpathian
Euroregion including Romania, Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine. RADOR, March
4
[09] Resumption of Romanian-Yugoslav relations on border waters
Between March 4-6, the Timisoara branch of the Romanian Autonomous Water
Company is hosting a session aimed at preparing the resumption of the
Romanian-Yugoslav cooperation on border waters. Participants include the
Yugoslav deputy minister of agriculture, waters and forests, the Romanian
secretary of state with the Ministry of Waters, Forests and Environment
Protection, the chief of the Waters Coordination Directorate as well as
other Yugoslav and Romanian experts. A new agreement on waters between the
two countries will be signed in the Vojvodinian town of Novi Sad on the
occasion of a meeting scheduled between March 31-April 3. RADOR, March 4
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