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RADOR: News from Romania, 98-09-18
September 18, 1998
CONTENTS
[01] President Constantinescu Met PNL MP Groups;
[02] Senate Proceedings;
[03] House of Deputies Proceedings;
[04] October 25 - the Date for Bucharest City Hall Early By-Elections;
[05] PDSR Breaks Off Contacts with Romania's Presidency;
[06] SELFINVEST Sailors' Demand;
[07] Symposium on Organised Crime;
[08] A MAE Official on a Visit to Croatia and Slovenia;
[09] Romanian-Born Israelis Set Up Their Own Party.
[01] President Constantinescu met PNL MP groups
President Emil Constantinescu had further meetings with MP groups in the
governing coalition. At a meeting with parliamentary groups of the National
Liberal Party (PNL) on Thursday, discussions have focused on legal
priorities in the parliamentary sessions to come and ways of improving
relations between the Government and the Parliament as well as MPs activity
in the territory. Presidential counsellor Zoe Petre said after the meeting
that President Constantinescu has presented the Liberals with his proposals
designed to improve activities in the ruling coalition. According to Mrs
Petre, the president indicated that counselling groups should be created to
ensure contacts between Government, Parliament and Presidency. PNL first
vicepresident Valeriu Stoica said the president shared most of the
proposals the Liberals put forward. "I have noticed we had similar opinions
on Romania's both domestic and foreign political strategies. And more, we
had similar opinions on PNL's future strategy by the year 2000 and even
2004", Mr Stoica said. The absence of PNL senator Viorel Catarama
(seemingly separated from the party in recent days) and Finance Minister
Daniel Daianu (seemingly not invited) were reported. Though not a PNL
member, the party is giving Mr Daianu its political support in the Cabinet.
The relations between the PNL and President Constantinescu improved
recently, and the meeting at Cotroceni Palace was a proof as discussions
neglected the present and focused mainly on the future. RADOR
[02] Senate proceedings
At its meeting on Thursday, the Senate has adopted the report by the
mediation commission solving differences over the draft law amending and
completing some articles in the Law 80/1990 concerning the pensions and
social security rights for farmers. The Senate has also adopted the
Emergency Ordinance 39/1997 amending the Law 66/1993 on the management
contract. Debates over the law on Romania's public debt were posponed at
the request of the Finance Ministry. The senate proceedings are expected to
resume on Monday at 3 PM. RADOR
[03] House of Deputies proceedings
At their meeting on Thursday, the Romanian senators have decided to
postpone the debates over the justice minister's demand to lift the
immunity of Gabriel Bivolaru, a deputy representing the opposition Party of
Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR). The decision was made following a
request by the justice minister who claimed that the Attorney General's
Office with the Supreme Court of Justice assed for a new survey of the
Bivolaru case and the report was still not completed. The deputies then
discussed the draft ruling amending and completing House of Deputies
regulations. As many participants doubted the necessity of the move while
others proposed a permanent commission to make a decision on the matter,
the issue was subject to longlasting debates. The session was then
suspended as the deputies did not succeed in making a quorum. RADOR
[04] October 25 - the date for Bucharest City Hall early by-elections
At its meeting on Thursday, the Romanian Cabinet has decided that the early
by-elections for the Bucharest City Hall should take place on October 25
while the election campaign should open on October 1. As the gopvernment
spokesman was attending the meeting of President Constantinescu with the
PNL MP groups, it was the state councellor Petrisor Gabriel Peiu who made
the announcement at a press conference on Thursday. RADOR
[05] PDSR breaks off contacts with Romania's Presidency
[10] PDSR communique
In a communique issued to the press, the PDSR blames President
Constantinescu for his recent attempts to instigate the main ruling party,
the Christian Democrat National Peasant Party (PNTCD), and persuade it to
attack the Opposition, mainly the PDSR. As the head of state has been
repeatedly neglecting its presidential resposibilities and the role of
mediator the Presidency should play according to Constitution, the PDSR
believes the president should appologise to the Opposition and the PDSR
leaders in the first place, the communique concludes. RADOR
[11] PDSR executive secretary Corina Cretu's statement
In an open letter to President Constantinescu issued on Thursday, PDSR
leader Ion Iliescu says the recent presidential message was similar to an
instigation against the Opposition. Consequently, the PDSR has announced it
was breaking off any contacts with Romania's Presidency. According to media
sources, PDSR executive secretary Corina Cretu said: "We break off a
contact that actually never existed, because Mr Constantinescu never
deigned to open a real and honest dialogue with the Opposition. On the
contrary, he even used us to improve his image when he wanted to appear as
a man supporting the dialogue. All the agreements we reached during the
meetings we had with the president did not result in anything actually".
RADOR
[12] PNTCD deputy Ionut Gherasim believes PDSR reaction is unjustified
PNTCD deputy Ionut Gherasim said the PDSR reaction was unjustified: "I am
surprised to hear that the PDSR is accusing President Constantinescu of
persuading us to attack the main opposition party. Unfortunately, all these
cheap speculations are nothing but a prove that the PDSR is not powerful
enough to remove the ruling parties". RADOR
[06] SELFINVEST sailors' demand
The sailors of the SELFINVEST Company, who were arrested on Romanian ships
in ports around the world and then sent back to Romania three months ago,
have asked for the government's support in regaining their salaries unpaid
for nearly two years. At a meeting with Prime Minister Radu Vasile on
Wednesday, the sailors were told that the government was not supposed to
cover the debts a private company owed to its workers. Some measures are
however expected: the SELFINVEST professional sailors may be transferred to
the Port of Constantza Administration while the ship commanders may join
the Civilian Navy. RADOR
[07] Symposium on organised crime
Starting from Thursday, the Black Sea Business Centre in Mangalia is
hosting a two-day symposium on "New Faces of Organised Crime" as reported
by the Attorney General's Office with the Appeal Court in Bucharest. The
event is organised by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. RADOR
[08] A MAE official on a visit to Croatia and Slovenia
Mihai Ungheanu, Secretary of State with Romania's Foreign Ministry (MAE),
has started a two-day visit to Croatia and Slovenia on Thursday. Mr
Ungheanu said his talks in Zagreb with Croatian officials are expected to
focus mainly on economic issues while the talks in Ljubljana will seek new
ways of improving political relations between the two countries. According
to the Romanian official, the Croat Prime Minister Zlatko Matesa is due in
Bucharest later this month. RADOR
[09] Romanian-born Israelis set up their own party
The Romanian-born Israelis have set up their own party in Israel, the
Centre Party for Progress. The new party is expected to run for the Kneset
in the next general elections. The president of the party, Adrian Ioinovich,
said the Centre Party for Progress was designed to support the Romanian-
born Israelis facing difficulties in Israel and "solve the problem of
higher pensions for the jews who worked in Romania and now got pensions
from the Romanian State". "We shall try to establish contacts with similar
groups in Western Europe, the US and Canada in an attempt to persuade the
Romanian politicians to find a solution and help the jews get back their
goods and properties confiscated by fascists and communists", Mr Ioinovich
said. In his opinion, "the Romanian political parties wishing to address
such complaints may need international pressures to gain votes in the
Romanian Parliament". RADOR
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