Romanian Diaspora asks for CSAT reunion

-- The Summer University of Romanians Worldwide, held in Izvoru Muresului, Romania, in August 16-19, housed debate on the problems Romanians abroad are faced with. The National Foundation for Romanians Worldwide, the Covasna-Harghita European Study Center organized the event together with the Orthodox Episcopate of Covasna and Harghita.
The representatives of the Romanian Diaspora attending the event demanded yesterday that the Romanian Presidency, Parliament and government should summon a reunion of the CSAT (Supreme Council for National Defense) to tackle the problems of Romanians living abroad. In an open letter written for President Traian Basescu, PM Calin-Popescu Tariceanu and the presidents of the two Parliament Chambers the authors claims such a CSAT meeting is needed because Romanians abroad make a component of Romania's National Security Strategy. In the document there is mentioned that authorities' indifference to it may be taken for an attempt against national security.
The participants have also demanded a strategy for the Romanians abroad should be elaborated and the law on Romanians worldwide should pass at once. The authors also claim the Department for Romanians Worldwide should be restructured, depoliticized and freed from bureaucracy, just as the institution should finance projects the European way.
Citizenship
One priority identified by the attendants and needing support from Romanian authorities is the urgent adoption of the law on the recognition of the citizenship for Romanians in Basarabia and Bucovina, accompanied by the promotion of easier means of granting Romanian citizenship to Romanian-origin people living in regions close to the borders and in the Balkans. Another difficulty consists in the acknowledging of university diplomas released in Romania by the non-EU neighboring states.
The open letter mentions the need to intensify diplomacy procedures to help the Romanian communities in Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania and Greece acquire status as national minorities. The authors also want the state budget for Romanian schools to finance the building of Romanian teaching schools in the West. Authorities are solicited to reopen actions to establish in Cernauti Romanian teaching university institutions part of a Multicultural University.
The contents of the open letter was decided on by the representatives of the Romanian Diaspora (Moldovan Republic, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Serbia, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Serbia, Australia, Canada and the US) together with the representatives of Romanian associations and organizations in Harghita and Covasna and those of the Moldavian Catholics. Officials from the Orthodox Episcopate in Harghita and Covasna and public personalities, MPs, scholars and local leaders contributed as well.
The US State Department has decided together with Romanian authorities to proceed to an opinion poll and see whether the legalization of prostitution in Romania would have a positive impact on the fight against the flesh trafficking or not. Eleanor Gaetan, a senior coordinator representing the US State Department, described Romania as a transit state as well as a source for the trafficking in human beings.
The attendance of the representatives of Romanians abroad was an exceptional opportunity for institutions fighting against it to talk about a common strategy to diminish the phenomenon.

I.C.
Ziua Luni 20 August 2007 http://www.ziua.net/english