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RADOR: News from Romania, 99-01-15
January 15, 1999
CONTENTS
[01] Law Promulgated;
[02] Cabinet Meeting;
[03] PDSR Protests;
[04] Reactions to PDSR Accusations Against Interior Minister Gavril Dejeu;
[05] PUNR Believes the Government Should Meet the Miners;
[06] Complaints Calling for the Lifting of Senator CV Tudor's Parliamentary
Immunity;
[07] Further Strike Actions in Jiu Valley;
[08] Negotiations at the Industry and Trade Ministry;
[09] Romanian Joint Chief of Staff Decorated by the Spanish Ambassador.
[01] Law promulgated
Romanian President Emil Constantinescu promulgated the Law approving the
Emergency Ordinance on disfavoured areas regime. The disfavoured areas
include the mining regions of 25% unemployed resulted from collective
dismissals, the monoindustrial areas concentrating 50% of their working
force, the areas where collective dismissals affected more than 25% of
their working force, the areas where the unemployment rate is 30% higher
than the national average rate or the remote areas of poor infrastracture
and communication links. The disfavoured areas are stipulated in a
government order. The businessmen investing in such areas are exempt from
customs duties and VAT for the equipments and facilities they provide. They
are also exempt from tax on the profit as long as the area is declared as
disfavoured. And more, the investors will benefit from priority loans,
guarantees and state financing programmes. RADOR
[02] Cabinet meeting
At a meeting on Thursday, the Romanian Government has approved the draft
law on national territory planning and the communities network, a draft
order on implementation standards of the Law on meal tickets and a draft
order on indexation level of the annual tax on state-owened land leasing on
non-cultivation purposes. The head of the Local Public Administration
Department, Vlad Rosca has presented a government order granting 15 billion
lei to the public administrations in the Jiu Valley in an attempt to solve
the problems of water and energy supplies. Industry and Trade Minister Radu
Berceanu has presented the Cabinet with a memorandum setting up a fund to
restore the mining areas. RADOR
[03] PDSR protests
At the end of its two-day visit to the county of Caras-Severin, the leader
of the Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR), Ion Iliescu, said the
incidents in the Jiu Valley were due to the government's inability to find
the best solutions and prevent the hardships the miners were facing. In a
communique on Thursday, the PDSR calls on President Emil Constantinescu and
Prime Minister Radu Vasile to remove Interior Minister Gavril Dejeu from
his job. The party expresses its protest against "the totalitarian police
regime" and calls on all political and civil forces to unite and
democratically stop the fall of Romania under dictature. The PDSR leaders
has urged President Constantinescu, the Cabinet and the leadership of the
Christian Democratic National Peasant Party (PNTCD) to publicly express
their position on the recent decisions of Interior Minister Gavril Dejeu.
RADOR
[04] Reactions to PDSR accusations against Interior Minister Gavril Dejeu
As guest to the new programme of the Romanian Television (TVR) on Thursday,
Interior Minister Gavril Dejeu has rejected the PDSR accusations that he
ordered the armed forces in the Jiu Valley to open fire against the miners.
The minister said that, according to a law issued in 1994, it was the local
authorities at the request of the police, and not the interior minister who
was to decide the intervention of the police against the people threatening
the public order. He recalled that the policeman was entitled to use white
or fire arms when absolutely needed and according to law. Minister Dejeu
has admitted that the government ordered the local authorities to stop the
miners leave for Bucharest, but he pointed out that the weapons could not
be used against people claiming their rights. Referring to the PDSR
accusations and the alleged order of minister Dejeu, PNTCD spokesman Remus
Opris said "there was no such order because nobody did such a thing". He
said the PDSR communique was politically irresponsible. In his opinion, the
PDSR and the Greater Romania Party (PRM) are trying to benefit from the
miners' protests against the government. RADOR
[05] PUNR believes the government should meet the miners
In a message on Thursday, the leader of the Romanians' National Unity Party
(PUNR), Valeriu Tabara, calls on Prime Minister Radu Vasile to consider the
Mining Trade Unions Confederation (CSMR) request and meet the CSMR
reprresentatives as soon as possible as the crisis in the Jiu Valley could
still be solved while there was a growing social unrest in the region. The
PUNR leader warns that the unjustified delay in the social dialogue may
cause a general chaos. Force cannot replace in any way the natural dialogue
between social partners as force should not be used, the PUNR leader
concludes. RADOR
[06] Complaints calling for the lifting of senator CV Tudor's parliamentary
immunity
After the PUNR publicly declared it was no more going to tolerate the lies,
public insults and insolent remarks of PRM leader Corneliu Vadim Tudor, the
Romanian Social Democrat Party (PSDR) also expressed its support of the
lifting of the PRM leader's parliamentary immunity. At a press conference
on Thursday, PSDR leader Sergiu Cunescu said "the PRM senator's outragous
attack against the Presidency was an attempt to deteriorate the
institutional order and his move was similar to the fascist actions of
miners' leader Miron Cozma who was trying to deteriorate the social order".
The PSDR leaderhas warned about the possible connections between such
actions as he believed they were very dangerous. He called on all political
parties to express their position and fight against extremism. RADOR
[07] Further strike actions in Jiu Valley
On Thursday at 10 AM, the miners in the Jiu Valley have resumed their
protests in front of the National Mineral Coal Company (CNH) headquarters
in Petrosani. After reporting of the obstacles and barricades they should
face in case they would try to leave for Bucharest, miners' leader Miron
Cozma called on its colleagues to renounce all sorts of violence as "some
people were trying to instigate and persuade them to take actions that
could turn into a massacre". In his flamboyant speech, Miron Cozma has
asked his colleagues to allow one and a half hour break in order to
centralise all the signatures and wait for the trade union leaders in
Oltenia mining region. Miron Cozma told the miners that, in case the trip
to Bucharest would be decided, then at least 10,000 miners should leave for
the capital. He insisted the action was legal as they were leaving for
Bucharest in order to attend, along with the government, the funrals of the
mining industry and, in this case, there were no special provisions in the
law. RADOR
[08] Negotiations at the Industry and Trade Ministry
Another two rounds of negotiations have been taking place between miners'
representatives and ministry officials at the Industry and Trade Ministry
headquarters on Thursday. Participants in the meetings included Industry
and Trade Minister Radu Berceanu, State Secretary Nicolae Staiculescu,
trade union leaders in the mining industry and representatives of the CNH
Administration Council. The trade unionists have asked for some 649 billion
lei subventions, but the ministry, following an agreement with the Finance
Ministry, has offered only 350 billion lei. The miners have also asked for
a 35% raise in the average salary paid by the CNH, but the ministry
officials said the demand was unrealistic. Minister Berceanu has assured
the trade union leaders that the money for the 2.6 tonnes of coal to the
CONEL would be paid on time. After consultations with the Coordination
Council of trade unionists in the Jiu Valley, the miners' delegates have
notified the ministry about the demands in their programme. RADOR
[09] Romanian joint chief of staff decorated by the Spanish ambassador
The Spanish ambassador to Bucharest, Antonio Belver, has decorated on
Thursday Gen. Constantin Degeratu, the Joint Chief of Staff of the Romanian
Army. General Degeratu was awarded the Great Cross of the Military Order
following a decree signed by HM Juan Carlos, the King of Spain, as a praise
of his efforts to improve the military relations between the two countries.
Quoted by the RRA, ambassador Belver said Spain was supporting Romania/s
efforts to join NATO and the Spanish officials were working along with
their allies to prepare the package of measures designed to achieve the
NATO expansion, The documents are expected to be put forward at the NATO
summit in Washington this year. The ambassadors of Turkey, Italy, Britain,
Norway and Belgium have been also attending the ceremony. RADOR
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