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RADOR: News from Romania, 98-10-08
October 8, 1998
CONTENTS
[01] Talks at Cotroceni Palace about Kosovo Crisis;
[02] National Defence Minister Victor Babiuc on Kosovo Crisis;
[03] Joint Session in Romania's Parliament;
[04] Communique Issued by the Babes-Bolyai University Rectorate;
[05] PD in Support of Bell Helicopters Contract;
[06] Five Years since Romania Got Council of Europe Membership;
[07] OSCE High Commissioner Max van den Stoel Has Praised Romania's
Government efforts;
[08] MAE Political-Diplomatic Agenda;
[09] Jena's Mayor General on a Visit to Lugoj;
[10] RADOR - Member of the International Association of Monitoring.
[01] Talks at Cotroceni Palace about Kosovo crisis
The Romanian Preisency's Press Office has announced that Romanian President
Emil Constantinescu has called a meeting of Prime Minister Radu Vasile,
Defence Minister Victor Babiuc, Foreign Minister Andrei Plesu and Chief of
Staff Constantin Degeratu for talks about crisis in the Yugoslav province
of Kosovo. At the meeting on Wednesday, the foreign ministOr and the
Romanian chief of staff have presented the president with a report of
recent developments in the area. According to the same source, meeting of
Romania's Supreme Council for Defence is due on October 11 at noon. RADOR
[02] National Defence Minister Victor Babiuc on Kosovo crisis
Romania's National Defence Minister Victor Babiuc has issued a statement
concerning the recent developments in the Kosovo province. The statement
says the international community, and Romania included, are most concerned
about the growing conflicts around Romania, and the conflict in
neighbouring Yugoslavia in the first place. Minister Babiuc says he had
always expressed his support of international and domestic diplomatic
efforts seeking a peaceful solution to the conflict. He pointed out that he
never agreed nor he ever voiced the Romanian Government's decision to
accept a military intervention in Kosovo. "Romania is fully complying with
the UN resolutions (and the UN Security Council resolutOons especially)
concerning the conflict in Kosovo. Parts of the resultions are recommending
drastic measures, and military measures included, against those who ignore
the requests and the efforts the international community is making to find
a solution to the conflict. NATO made some plans and even ordered several
operational forces on the allert in case a political mandate would be
issued. As NATO partner and complying with the UN resolutions, Romania has
welcomed the NATO decisions. Consequently, any allegation about Romania's
possible involvement in military operations against Yugoslavia is
absolutely untrue. The public opinion should know that the National Defence
Ministry (MApN) is making every effort to prevent any negative consequences
as a result of the deteriorating situation in Kosovo", the MApN statement
says. RADOR
[03] Joint session in Romania's Parliament
At a joint session in Parliament on Wednesday, the Romanian senators and
deputies have concluded debates over Ohe draft order concerning the
structure of the special parliamentary commission to control Romania's
Intelligence Service (SRI). The commission is to examine and confirm the
way the SRI was complying with the Constitution, its budget and the hearing
of the person the Romanian president was supposed to appoint as SRI
director. The commission is allowed to use both the SRI experts the
director is recommending and experts representing the public authorities in
the field. The candidates for director of the Romanian Television (TVR)
were subject to a first round of secret voting. With 226 and 153 against,
the first candidate, Lucia Hossu-Longin, did not get the majority of votes
requested (243) while Neculai Constantin Munteanu has withdrawn. A new
round of voting is expected next Wednesday at 9 AM. RADOR
[04] Communique issued by the Babes-Bolyai University Rectorate
A communique of the Babes-Bolyai University Rectorate in Cluj-Napoca says
that recent reports of the university's strOctures and profile are
tendentious and untrue. Consequently, the rectorate informs that 14 of its
18 faculties include Hungarian language teaching departments while nine of
them include German language teaching departments. Two of the existing 18
faculties - the Protestant and the Roman-Catholic theology faculties - are
exclusively using the Hungarian language teaching. The students at Babes-
Bolyai University include 17,112 Romanians, 2,528 Romanian Hungarians and
478 Romanian Germans. Any attempt of misinterpretation is an infringement
on accurate information and an obstacle in promoting the multiultural
academic system, the communique concludes. RADOR
[05] PD in support of Bell Helicopters contract
The leader of the Democratic Party (PD), Petre Roman, says his party was
not expected to renounce the purchase of fighter-helicopters. Mr Roman said
the signing of the contract should be only delayed until a financial
solution or a similar contract to replace it would be found. If thO prime
minister believes the Bell Helicopters contract may be delayed, it's OK,
but the PD believes that the lack of money should not prevent its signing.
Minister Babiuc was not allowed to make speculations over the matter, Petre
Roman added. RADOR
[06] Five years since Romania got Council of Europe membership
Romania has won the confidence and respect of Europe's oldest parliamentary
forum. The statement belongs to Mrs Leni Fischer, the president of the CE
Parliamentary Assembly, who attended the joint session in Romania's
Parliament on Wednesday celebrating of the fifth anniversary since Romania
became a full member of the Council of Europe. Mrs Fischer said that
Romania learned to secure the values absolutely essential for the European
architecture today. She has mentioned Romania's efforts to promote
cooperation relations with all its neighbouring countries and the bilateral
treaties promoting mutual confidence between those involved. Also on
Wednesday, Mrs Leni Fischer mOt Prime Minister Radu Vasile who expressed
his concern about the recent developments in Kosovo and said the Council of
Europe should host a meeting between representatives of the governments,
parliaments and NGOs in the Balkan countries. At a ceremony on Tuesday, Mrs
Leni Fischer was awarded the Doctor Honoris Causa Title of the University
in Bucharest. RADOR
[07] OSCE High Commissioner Max van den Stoel has praised Romania's
Government efforts
The OSCE High Commissioner for national minority affairs, Max van den Stoel,
has praised the government's efforts to find a solution and answer the
Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR)'s request of a
minority language teaching university. In a communique issued in the Hague
on Wednesday, Mr Van den Stoel welcomes the procedures designed to set up a
multicultural Hungarian-German university and applauds the UDMR's decision
not to leave the government. RADOR
[08] MAE political-diplomatic agenda
At a press conference oO Wednesday, the spokeswoman of Romania's Foreign
Ministry (MAE), Carmen Podgoreanu, has presented the ministry's political
and dimplomatic agenda in the next days. The Prime Minister Radu Vasile is
expected to attend the second summit of the South-East-European Cooperation
Initiative in the Turkish resort of Antalya on October 12-13 while Foreign
Minister Andrei Plesu is to head the Romanian delegation at the second
meeting in Budapest of the joint intergovernment commission for Romanian-
Hungarian cooperation and active partnership. The Romanian-Moldovan
periodical meeting on traveller and goods traffic in border areas over the
river Prut is planned in the Moldavian city of Iassy on October 9 while on
October 10, the President of the Republic of Moldova, Petru Luchinski, is
due in Romania for a private visit. RADOR
[09] Jena's mayor general on a visit to Lugoj
The Mayor General of the German City of Jena, Peter Rollinger, is on a
visit to Lugoj, a Jena-associated western RomaniOn town on the banks of the
Timis river. Starting from Wednesday, the German mayor is expected to visit
economic agents and hold talks with members of the German Democratic Forum
in Lugoj and the German consul in Timisoara. RADOR
[10] RADOR - member of the International Association of Monitoring
The Romanian Broadcasting Corporation (SRR)'s RADOR News Agency has become
a member of the International Association of Monitoring. In a phone
interview on Wednesday, SRR secretary general Dragos Seuleanu said RADOR
joined one of the world's most prestigious bodies and the benefits of the
membership were expected to be mostly informative. "We have succeeded in
establishing contacts with monitoring networks in the US, Canada and
Western Europe. Such contacts will allow a better information about Romania
because, unfortunately, there is few accurate information about Romania
around the world", Mr Seuleanu pointed out. According to Mr Seuleanu, the
gains from the professional standards are Olso important. "We should reach
a professional standard similar to such standards around the world. There
should be no more Central and East-European categories rejected for their
poor professional skills. We should fight together and prove that our
countries are competitive. Otherwise, the big Romanian businesses, and I am
speaking about Romania's honest businesses and money-making people, are not
supposed to conquer the international market", the SRR secretary general
concluded. RADOR
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