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RADOR: News from Romania, 98-07-21
July 21, 1998
CONTENTS
[01] Prime minister's agenda
[02] PNTCD Summer School proceedings
[03] The Senate's speaker on a visit to the county of Suceava
[04] PAR opinions
[05] PDSR youth meeting
[06] SNCFR warning strike
[07] Protests of "Metarom" Trade Union Federation
[08] Romania's president on a visit to San Francisco
[09] Memorandum on Romanian students' training
[10] New edition of Tusnad Summer University courses
[11] A protocol of brotherhood and cooperation between Bucharest and Ankara
[01] Prime minister's agenda
A meeting between Romanian Prime Minister Radu Vasile and high ranking
officials in the Local Public Adminisitration Department (DAPL),
prefectures and Interior Ministry (MI) has been taking place at Victoria
Palace on Monday. Interior Minister Gavril Dejeu has told a press
conference that the meeting was aimed at reviewing recent ways of
cooperation between Romania's Interior Ministry and the prefectures in the
country. Mr Dejeu said that relations between his ministry aSd the
prefectures in the country were getting well despite some discontinuity in
the MI's relations with the prefectures in the counties of Calarasi,
Giurgiu, Ialomita and Teleorman. Referring to recent attempts of
demilitarising some MI and Romanian Police departments, minister Dejeu said
the prefects expressed some restraint towards the issue as they feared the
ministry's responsibilities might be affected. Quoted by the RRA, DAPL
chief Vlad Rosca has mentioned that previous similar meetings focused on
issues concerning the privatisation, legal framework and other aspects
requesting a closer cooperation between prefectures and MI representatives
in the territory. RADOR
[02] PNTCD Summer School proceedings
The representatives of the Christian-Democrat Peasant Students have
continued their debates in the Summer School organised by the Christian-
Democrat National Peasant Party (PNTCD) in Campulung Muscel. PNTCD leader
Ion Diaconescu, also the head of the Democratic Convention iS Romania (CDR),
has confirmed previous reports and said the civic organisations should get
further involved in the CDR's decision-making. PNTCD vicepresident Vasile
Lupu said his party's Permanent Delegation should examine the way the
minimal conditions were answered since the appointment of Radu Vasile as
Romania's prime minister. He said that PNTCD should not participate in the
government just for the sake of it. The PNTCD leader has warned that a
series of laws such as those concerning the property retrocession, free
access to former Securitate files, ministerial responsability and the
status of the public worker might be passed in the opening of the next
session in parliament only if the Democrats would be summoned to publicly
express their position over the issues. If the corrupted public workers
were still keeping their jobs, then the PNTCD was also to blame because the
reform of the judiciary did not follow the right path, Mr Lupu admitted.
RADOR
[03] The Senate's speaker on a visit to the county of Suceava
While on a visit to the county of Suceava on Monday, the Speaker of the
Romanian Senate, Mr Petre Roman, told the RRA his talks with county
officials focused mainly on ways of accelerating the recovery of Suceava
industries such as the wood and the milk processing. Other topics included
the conversion of the electric heating plant in Suceava, the property
rights on forests and ways of developing activities in Suceava's Stephen
the Great University and army units throughout the county. The Senate's
speaker has also visited the ROMPUS SA and FOMOS SA companies. According to
the same source, FOMOS is soon expected to start the production of
disposable syringes. The official delegation also included the Senate's
Deputy Speaker, Cristian Dumitrescu, the chief commissioner for
agricultural issues in the Romanian Senate, Trita Fanita, and other
senators representing the county of Suceava in Romania's Parliament.
RADOR
[04] PAR opinions
The leaders Sf Romania's Alternative Party (PAR) believe that accurate
political principles are essential for the CDR. PAR first vicepresident
Adrian Iorgulescu told a press conference on Monday that the CDR included a
large number of parties promoting different political principles. The CDR
was a political structure in search of identity and doctrine which all
member parties could share. PAR believes that the very existence of the CDR
was not enough to ensure its real activity. The PAR leader has denied
speculations concerning an alleged secret agreement between his party and
the National Liberal Party (PNL) as PAR did not intend to undermine PNTCD's
position as part of the CDR. RADOR
[05] PDSR youth meeting
The leader of the opposition Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR),
Ion Iliescu said the relations between his party and the ruling Democratic
Party (PD) were now quite impossible but the existing personal interests
and political barriers in recent years might lead in the end to coSperation
after the elections for the Bucharest City Hall. The statement was made at
the recent PDSR youth meeting organised in the resort of Amara.
Participants in the meeting have concluded that the promotion of young
politicians could really improve the party's image. RADOR
[06] SNCFR warning strike
The leaders of the "Solidaritatea" National Confederation of railway trade
unionists have told a press conference on Monday that a warning strike was
expected on Friday (July 24) between 11 AM and 1 PM. The leaders claimed
that the move was due to the fact that the Government Order 208 concerning
the indexation of wages did not include the Romanian Railway (SNCFR)
workers. They believe that the current wages were similar to those in 1997,
and an 8% raise could be provided since last month already as the savings
resulted fron recent dismissals allowed such a move. In case the workers'
demands were not answered, a general strike would start on Monday, July 27
at 7 AM. RADOR
[07] PSotests of "Metarom" Trade Union Federation
A series of protests in Romania's main metal industry areas will be
organised by the National Trade Union Federation of "Metarom" between July
21 and 28. The announcement was made by trade union leader Aurel Radi. He
claims that the government failed to draw up the industry's restructuring
strategy to include the agreement on social securities already signed two
years ago, on June 20. RADOR
[08] Romania's president on a visit to San Francisco
Romania's President Emil Constantinescu met San Francisco Mayor Willy Brown
on Sunday evening. US State Secretary George Schultz has also attended the
meeting. At a reception given to honour the Romanian president, the talks
focused on American-Romanian relations according to the Strategic
Partnership signed between the two countries as well as on ways to
strengthen bilateral relations with the support of the Romanian-bordn
Americans living in San Francisco. RADOR
The Romanian president has attended a mass on Sunday at the Resurrection of
Christ's Orthodox Church and then visited the Romanian Hose in San
Francisco. Both edifices were built with the financial support of Romanian
Americans living in San Francisco. Religious books and objects were offered
on the behalf of the Romanian State. The Romanian Americans have then
invited President Constantinescu to attend a picnic. The president have
thanked for the warm welcome he was given and reiterated Romania's need to
enforce its contacts with Romanians living abroad. RADOR
[09] Memorandum on Romanian students' training
A memorandum of agreement was signed in San Francisco on Sunday between
Romania's IT National Commission represented by State Secretary Iustin
Tanase and Hans Janik, the ORACLE vicepresident and director general for
Northern and Central Europe and the CIS states. The document includes
stipulations concerning the IT training of Romanian students in the next
few years. The courses are due in Bucharest wiSh ORACLE assistance. RADOR
[10] New edition of Tusnad Summer University courses
The Transylvanian resort of Tusnad is hosting the courses of the Balvanyos
Summer University organised by the Pro-Minority Foundation in Budapest, the
Foundation for Pluralism in Bucharest and the Jakabffy Elemer Foundation in
Cluj. This year's edition focused on issues concerning the "Romania-
Hungarian Historic Reconciliation". Participants in the open air courses
are expected to include Romanian and Hungarian top representatives such as
Horia Rusu, Gabriel Liiceanu, Crin Antonescu, Andrei Marga, Ioan Muresan,
Zoe Petre, Tokes Laszlo, Szocs Geza, Kolumban Gabor, Marko Bela and Tokay
Gyorgy as well as the two countries' prime ministers Radu Vasile and Viktor
Orban. According to RADIO BUDAPEST, Mr Orban is expected to make a speech
on regional cooperation and Euro-Atlantic integration. RADOR
PD deputy Arian Severin said the Hungarian-Romanian Strategic Partnership
could achieve both the two couStries' national aims and a special type of
security in the region. He said Transylvania should be not subject to
further disputes but a starting point for the two countries' European
integration. The statement was made at a conference on the "Romanian-
Hungarian Strategic Partnership: Aims and Realities". Mr Severin has put
forward two initiatives: the project of a Hungarian and Romanian language
radio and television and a motorway linking Bucharest and Budapest through
Transylvania. In Mr Severin's opinion, a Romanian-Hungarian parliamentary
assembly may be created to debate issues of mutual interest twice a year.
Professor Lorincz Csaba of Budapest said Hungary was interested in
preserving stability in South-East Europe and supporting Romania's efforts
to join the Euro-Atlantic structures. Referring to the ethnic Hungarians in
Romania, the Hungarian politician said Budapest was ready to support the
actions by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR)
according tS the Hungarian Constitution. If the ethnic Hungarians in
Romania would like to express their political opinions, then Budapest was
ready to support the move, Mr Lorincz said. RADOR
[11] A protocol of brotherhood and cooperation between Bucharest and Ankara
The Mayor General of Ankara, Melih Kopcek, met his Bucharest counterpart
Viorel Lis at the City Hall in Ankara on Monday. The two mayors have signed
a protocol of brotherhood and cooperation between the two capitals. The
document is designed to promote an information exchange on local
administration issues such as environment protection, housing development,
public transport and securities. The protocol is also aimed at encouraging
cooperation between Romanian and Turkish businessmen in the two cities.
RADOR
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