Traian Basescu and the political prosecutors

Traian Basescu is between the sea and the devil, meaning between the political prosecutors he unbound and the Superior Council of Magistracy who reached a decision. The Council came up with a real indictment against the National Anti-Corruption Department in general and against those prosecutors collaborating best with Cotroceni Palace in particular. Since he is 'a president-player' making use of his ambition to confiscate the whole power, Traian Basescu has got to defend his protegees. Due to these prosecutors of state who serve the President's personal interests instead of serving Justice and national interests Traian Basescu can keep his political adversaries in the cramp and break their spines by election time. On the other hand, as he is a head of state, he must obey the Constitution, meaning state institutions and their independence. And he must also serve citizens and see that their fundamental rights are respected. It is just that the report by the Superior Council of Magistracy, the supreme instance in matters of Justice, shows it as clearly as possible that the prosecutors working for the National Anti-Corruption Department broke procedures and therefore human rights too. But a question such as "What will Basescu do in the end and how will he settle the above-mentioned dilemma ?" is just rhetorical.
Traian Basescu made a choice. A short time ago he dared express a too early opinion on the scandal in Chishinau, with a Romanian diplomat accused of visa trafficking. He had actually claimed the diplomat was innocent before there was any inquiry. But the diplomat was presently accused. In this case too the President praised the political prosecutors just a few days before the Superior Council of Magistracy reached verdict. The Romanian President tried not only to influence a decision up to the supreme Justice institution, but also to humiliate the members of the above-mentioned Council. In other words, he managed to defile Justice independence, which is why he is as silent as a fish now, because there is no other way he can explain it.
Justice can't possibly continue as the black sheep among the powers in the Romanian State and it can neither be some politicians' whore. The idea of fight against corruption has been enough compromised by political vendettas. Together with the very insufficient budget, this is why people's distrust in Justice has reached as low as ever in a democratic state. It is no wonder that Romanian and foreign analysts think Justice is running out of credibility reserves. So what is left of a state where this power is knocked out by the very constitutionally elected President ?
Take your hands off Justice, Mr. Basescu ! Out with the political prosecutors at once ! Each of them must be under investigations and we must return to citizens' agenda. Romanian courthouses are crowded with people asking for their rights, mostly in civil trials, thousand times more numerous and some of them more painful than the criminal ones. Prosecutors were turned into state lawyers, some of them against their will, to serve government and Presidency. As for judges, the only magistrates still pleading for fair Justice, they can't work normally because of having no facilities, although it is them who do away with as much as can be done away with from the shame of Justice, trying to deadlock the political prosecutors' abuses, among others.
Now they are working on the 2008 budget. If political parties have got the slightest respect for citizens and the slightest consideration for Justice, supposed to be a truly independent power in state, it is time for these institutions to get the necessary funds. Justice needs to drive away the incompetent ones, just as it needs money and management.

Sorin Rosca Stanescu
Ziua thursday 11 october 2007 http://www.ziua.net/english

Plot against minister Remes

The assemblage of the images showing the Romanian agriculture minister Decebal Traian Remes caught red-handed while taking so-called bribe from ex minister Muresan, broadcast in the News on TVR, the public television channel, shows the offensive comes from Cotroceni Palace.
The effects of the decision to dismember the Cotroceni commission are proving devastating for the Tariceanu Cabinet's credibility. The 'flagrant' leads to the conclusion that the Ordinance on the ministerial responsibility law was released so that President Basescu would no longer get to ministers.
The recording images show ex minister Muresan telling denouncer Ciorba: "They have expected... the guy to attack. You know, BASESCU... And they dissolved that commission through which he summons ministers to the COMMISSION ! So he has got no place to summon them to !"
Theoretically speaking, the leak may come from the National Anti-Corruption Department, the Prosecutor's Office, the Bucharest Courthouse or Court of Appeal or even Cotroceni Palace. The Prosecutor's Office claims not unsealing the evidence. Muresan says the courts showed no recording. Therefore the recording could have been produced only by Cotroceni Palace or the National Anti-Corruption Department at the President's request.
The Romanian Justice minister Tudor Chiuariu wants criminal investigations on the leaking information. The Romanian PM Calin Popescu-Tariceanu intends to ask agriculture minister Decebal Traian Remes to resign, but he also wants to watch the recording broadcast by TVR.
As for the minister allegedly caught red-handed, he made no comments. On the other hand Avram Muresan didn't admit he had talked about some envelope, but the images recorded show the opposite. (...)

George Tarata
Ziua thursday 11 october 2007 http://www.ziua.net/english

Budget to rejoice

The Romanian government passed yesterday the law draft on the 2008 budget, described as a budget for Romania's development. Therefore the government met the October 15 deadline set in the public finance law, according to which the government is now to provide the Parliament with the budget projects by October 15. The MPs are to consent by December 15.
No extra taxes and fees
According to the government, one main target of the budget is to stick to a stimulating fiscal policy. It is to be mentioned that it settles no tax or fee raise and no new taxes, the Romanian PM explained. The income to the general consolidated budget is to reach 174,2 billion RON, which is 39,6% of the gross domestic product. The consolidated budget deficit is estimated to reach 2,7% of the GDP, as in 2007.
According to the figures the Romanian PM Calin Popescu-Tariceanu presented yesterday, the GDP is to go up to 440 billion RON (138 billion Euro) next year, meaning 7,000 Euro per 1 Romanian. They estimate the economic growth will reach 6,5% and inflation is evaluated to 3,8%. As for the current account deficit, it is 13,3%. (...)
Enough for everybody
The PM argued: "It is a budget for Romania's development. The main ideas are that it meets the interests of all social categories and the requirements on Romania's development". He also announced the priority fields: education, transportation, infrastructure, research, health, agriculture and pensions. The PM said education would get 6% of the GDP, 27% than this year, research would be granted 0,7% of the GDP and 4% of the GDP was meant for transportation, which is 14% more than in 2007. (...)

Corina Scarlat
Ziua thursday 11 october 2007 http://www.ziua.net/english

European Commission's last warning for Romania

The European Commission has announced Romania that the EU will apply the safeguard clause and Romanians will lose 443 million Euro, unless the state settles the severe deficiencies in agriculture in one month's time.
As predictable, Romania has got into trouble in Brussels again. A letter by the European Commission reached the Romanian agriculture minister Decebal Traian Remes yesterday, warning the safeguard clause was a threat. If applied, it would mean a 25% cut on the EU subventions for Romanian agriculture, reaching 443 million Euro in 2008. Unless Romania remedies certain severe deficiencies in its fund management and control system, the Commission will meet in late November and decide to apply the safeguard clause, which doesn't go for Bulgaria too, because the officials have concluded everything is working perfectly in the latter country.
The European Commission mentions in the release those persisting flaws in Romania, as noticed by the audit teams who visited the country in June and September: the IT system allowing the outcome of checks to enter the system and the calculation of sums to be paid. There are also mentioned deficiencies persisting in administrative checks and more.
The statement made by the European Commission's spokesman makes it obvious that Brussels officials are now waiting for a miracle to bring very fast action and guarantee for more checks on the spot. One more problem may consist in their intention to continue the audit controls and to check on the system's solvency with help from an international company. EU officials are little or not at all confident in national authorities' ability to achieve it.
In his interview to ZIUA, Michael Mann, a spokesman for the European Commission, explains this is a last warning for Romania. He advises the country to start work at once, hurry up and make the IT system operative. The EU official mentions the first deadline is November 9, when Romanian authorities are to present the updated state of computer systems. The spokesman adds that, in case they decide not to apply the safeguard clause, they will have to proceed to audit controls in the first months of 2008 and he claims that EU officials are neither optimistic nor pessimistic, but just hopeful.

Cristian Unteanu, Brussels
Ziua thursday 11 october 2007 http://www.ziua.net/english

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Another failure of Traian Basescu's

Another plan plotted by the President reached a deadlock yesterday and turned to dust in the Parliament of Romania, where his presidential party, accompanied by the PLD (Liberal-Democrat Party) and together with Geoana's wing in the PSD (Social-Democrat Party), had just managed to establish majority. The organic law voted yesterday forbids the President to arrange a referendum to take place at the same time with the local or parliamentary elections. This is a commentary on the defeat Traian Basescu suffered yesterday, because it is not just one failure among others, but the start of a disaster, if we consider the highly important political consequences of the most recent parliamentary decision.
Politicians together with the press and the other components of civil society have lately been taking real interest in the various versions of the uninominal vote law. The possibility to achieve an intensified reform of Romanian politics lies ahead of this vote system. It may be achieved due to substantial changes in the behaviour and structure of parties. It will be illusionary to think that the adoption of the uninominal vote system, according to which people matter more than the lists drawn by parties, could have positive effects on the elections due next autumn. On the contrary, haste may turn this important political project, which all parties embraced before Traian Basescu got to pretend to author it, into real remarkable failure. If politicians were elected on grounds of a uninominal mechanism starting with tomorrow, parties would find it impossible to proceed to prestidigitation and simply invent new people, different from those in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, people to guarantee a more efficient, more modern and cleaner Parliament. How could parties produce such people in just a few months ? Parties should make such people, especially in their youth branches.
Therefore the 2012 election would be a prospect more realistic than the 2008 ones. Except for the PD (Democrat Party), an expert in presidential karaoke, all the parties are aware of this now. But neither the President nor the PD is interested in the contents, in the real substance of the uninominal vote. They only care about the momentary propaganda and electoral effects of an action such as taking over this initiative. It is not the denouement that matters to Traian Basescu, in fact. He is pursuing the exceptional opportunity to make propaganda for his credibility and for the PD's credibility, although a President, and get no sanction because of the Constitution. The referendum is the vehicle to be used. Could he decide to hold a referendum, he could speak freely, claiming he informs people about it at times when the electoral campaign is progressing. It is the very reason why the President has announced his firm intention to have the referendum take place at the same time with early elections.
The government, assailed from all sides, is trying to counter this move. Government members have insinuated that, in order to avoid a referendum, they are ready to take responsibility for a uninominal vote law to be applied starting with 2012. Seemingly, it is one more opportunity to overthrow the government. Parties would have all reasons to vote for the latter version and the government would thus go the safe way. The government would be wrong not to take responsibility for the law and the other way around: the government would be right to take responsibility for it. And hence the defeat the President suffered yesterday may make room for one more defeat the coming days.
And the scandal on the political prosecutors has been intensifying. The National Anti-Corruption Department has lost its credibility because of wasting too much fuel on political abuses. The other department in the Prosecutor's Office has lost credibility too. Traian Basescu's two political weapons are running out of bullets.

Sorin Rosca Stanescu
Ziua wednesday 10 october 2007 http://www.ziua.net/english

SRI swears there was no political police action

The SRI (Romanian Secret Service) report on the information uncovered by Mugur Ciuvica, a head of the Group for Political Investigations, admits the documents' authenticity, still claiming the documents are the outcome of common mass-media monitoring, an ordinary activity of the SRI.
Parliamentary sources say the report argues that those SRI documents on some activities of the PNL (National Liberal Party), of Liberal senator Norica Nicolai and of Social-Democrat Victor Ponta are just ordinary, "unclassified" pieces of information. But, they add, these pieces are not to be found in the SRI archive, as they were destroyed, because of their insignificance. Sources explain: "The interior regulation of the department authoring these reports goes that unclassified documents are to be destroyed once a year. And therefore the SRI is claiming the documents Mugur Ciuvica produced are authentic, but they no longer exist in the SRI archive because they were destroyed".
The same sources argue as well: "According to the SRI report, the SRI is in the habit of drawing such reports from open sources such as TV and radio shows and newspapers and sending them in a synthesized version to some higher authorities". Sources mention the conclusion goes as follows: "The SRI has never taken part in political police action. The information on Norica Nicolai, Victor Ponta and the PNL did not effect from intelligence operative action by the SRI". The SRI representatives also provided the parliamentary committee to control the institution with an annex consisting in unclassified information on various public persons, drawn in the course of time. (...)
MPs are enraged
Some MPs in the committee to control the SRI expressed their dissatisfaction with the explanations given by the SRI officials. One committee member argued: "We don't believe that an entire department in the SRI watches TV, listens to the radio and reads newspapers just to draw common, unclassified reports. We need more explanations from the SRI and we hope the SRI chief George Maior will explain things to us during the hearings". The senators and deputies in this committee are meeting today too and they intend to reach consensus and inform the press.

Razvan Gheorghe
Ziua wednesday 10 october 2007 http://www.ziua.net/english

Either referendum or election of MEPs

Romanian deputies passed yesterday an amendment authored by the Social-Democrat Party, disallowing the President of Romania Traian Basescu to arrange that the referendum on the uninominal vote system and the election of MEPs in Romania take place the same day.
Therefore if the national referendum gets to be held in the day when the election takes place, the latter will be postponed. And if President Basescu insists to have the referendum on the uninominal vote in November 25, when the Euro-elections are due, the latter will have to be postponed.
It is to be mentioned that the Chamber of Deputies is the institution in charge of this decision. As for the Romanian Democrats, they announced they would address the Constitutional Court against it. (...)

R.P.
Ziua wednesday 10 october 2007 http://www.ziua.net/english

Kurd extremists financed from Romania

The intelligence services in Turkey have warned the generality that the PKK organization finances terrorist action via several associations established in some European states, including Romania. The information is present in a report published by the electronic edition of The Journal of Turkish Weekly.
Marius Bercaru, a spokesman for the SRI (Romanian Secret Service), has replied that in the latest years the SRI has outlined the matter in every yearly report. He has mentioned that the contributions of such associations housed by some European states have been significantly diminishing in 2007.
The Turkish security services have listed in several reports those countries sheltering such associations: Romania, Germany, Austria, Spain, Belgium, Greece, Finland, Denmark, Russia, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Italy and Great Britain, apart from the US, the above-mentioned daily notices as well. Such associations provide the PKK with funds reaching $ 300 million the terrorist organization used to buy weapons. The final report reaching the Turkish military includes evidence on the PKK's involvement in drug and gun trafficking, warning that the terrorist organization has been expanding its activities in the Caucasus region as well. The drug trafficking affects mainly the Scandinavian states, the Turkish secret services have mentioned.

D.E.
Ziua wednesday 10 october 2007 http://www.ziua.net/english

* ROMANIA's WONDERS *

The Fun Graveyard – Sapanta (Maramures) – This graveyard is unique in the World, for his funniest funeral inscriptions and naïve paintings maded by Stan Ion Patras on more than 1.000 funeral monuments.

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Ministers banned to use cell phones in government meetings

The Romanian PM Calin Popescu-Tariceanu decided yesterday to ban Cabinet members to carry their cell phones in government meetings, as during such reunions there would be used special equipment for protection against "active interception". Furthermore, the employees of the Government's General Secretariat attending such meetings must have a certificate of access to classified information.
The decision also mentions that only those mass-media representatives allowed to attend government reunions may use audio and video recording devices.

R.I.P.
Ziua tuesday 9 october 2007 http://www.ziua.net/english

Verdict: Guilty

Prosecutors Department in the CSM (Superior Council of Magistracy) admitted yesterday the CSM Inspection's check report on the activity of the DNA (National Anti-Corruption Department), after admitting 12 insignificant objections raised by the DNA head Daniel Morar. Right after the CSM reached verdict on grounds of the unveiled deficiencies, the Romanian Justice minister Tudor Chiuariu wrote a solicitation to revoke prosecutor Doru Tulus, a head of Department II in the DNA, pointing to poor management and inappropriate activity.
Surprisingly enough, the Justice minister didn't ask that the other DNA officials and head Daniel Morar should be revoked, despite the deficiencies in their activity. The revocation of prosecutor Doru Tulus is to be analyzed in a future meeting of the CSM, most likely next week.
Despite the severe dysfunctions unveiled in the report, the CSM has got no right to take measures. According to the law, it is only the President of Romania that may appoint or revoke the head of the DNA, if the Justice minister suggests it and if the CSM consents. Therefore the final decision is up to President Basescu, the official who appointed Doru Tulus at the suggestion of Monica Macovei, Romania's ex Justice minister. In case of no presidential decree, Doru Tulus may not be sacked.
The CSM prosecutors also decided to make new checks on the DNA in 6 months' time and see if the deficiencies were settled. (...)
Allowed to raise objections
Daniel Morar raised several objections against the CSM inspectors who had checked on the activity of the Department II in the DNA, headed by Doru Tulus. He accused them of amateurishness. His demonstration was skilful, meaning he avoided to take up the essential components of the checks and the deficiencies noticed. All he did was raise procedure matters and argue there were no norms that he had to do one thing or the other. He claimed the CSM inspectors had broken the check methodology and described their report as "inhomogeneous", "incomplete" and "unreliable". (...)
The DNA head also commented that the inspectors had "overpriced the relevance of the deficiencies discovered" and demanded that from the report they should eliminate all references to those criminal cases involving phone call recordings, claiming they were cases in progress and the references might jeopardize the inquiries.

Razvan Savaliuc
Ziua tuesday 9 october 2007 http://www.ziua.net/english

The Kafkian reform of Justice

People's trust in the Romanian Justice system is about to reach lower than ever in history. It is no surprise, since the activity of the third power in state has never been more lamentable. The system has never behaved more aberrantly or incoherently. It has now reached a standstill because it is split due to the battle this system should be indifferent and impartial to. Never before has the reform of Justice promised during the campaign by the "Truth and Justice" Alliance seemed such a gloomy joke.
I admit I trusted Monica Macovei honestly. I trusted her good intentions. A long time I thought she was a victim of the mafia connections and of a diseased system's resistance. But it is the outcome that unveils a reform. And Justice is nowadays more dysfunctional than ever. Gone are the days when Rodica Stanoiu would complain that the case against the Traian Basescu hadn't been produced from the drawer on time ! The habits mentioned in the stenograms of the Social-Democrats' meetings enraged public opinion in 2004. But compared to what is going on now, they seem touching naivetes.
The ordinary war between Traian Basescu and Calin Popescu-Tariceanu has split magistrates in sides. Criminal cases have got to be a prevailing weapon for political battles. The great inquiries seem to be progressing only in front of TV cameras and they alter before being completed. The fight against corruption has lost any credibility, turning into a sort of Machiavellian game meant only to defile the adversary's reputation. Even if those asked to report against enemies are indeed guilty of coming severe crimes, no one is still confident that to learn the truth investigators' priority. Cases are no longer analyzed in terms of unbiased and indubitable evidence, but in terms of backstage interests.
Elementary procedure rules are serenely broken, out of stupidity or premeditation. It doesn't matter, nothing happens to anyone, anyway. God forbid someone should try to sanction a prosecutor or a judge ! He would denounce 'revenge' at once and he would remember that he was in charge of a 'hot' case once. To incompetent magistrates, such politically fueled pell mell is true manna.
The system has been growing more and more complicated and attributions have become more and more ambiguous. The harmonization of Romanian Justice with European practices looks like a blue joke. In which developed country is the head of state supposed to consent to the opening of criminal investigations against a former of present official ? What about the independence of Justice ? I thought the law was the same for everybody. But the Constitutional Court thinks it is not. The Constitutional Court threw one more ball for President Basescu to catch. The Court did the same during the referendum last April by changing the rules during the game and allowing for the validation of results, although more than 50% of Romanians didn't go voting. It was a valuable gift to the Democrat Party, who became more relaxed when starting campaigning.
Traian Basescu is now lamenting that it is the government who changes rules during games and modifies the components of the commission meant to advise the President before he decides which official may be under investigations and which may not. The government's action is in keeping with common sense, but it is not at all enough. It actually fails to reach the core of the problem: It is not the business of a politician, even if the most important one in state, to decide on the opening of a criminal inquiry. No constitutional law expert will ever persuade me into thinking the opposite. And no politician, anyway.

Miruna Munteanu
Ziua tuesday 9 october 2007 http://www.ziua.net/english

Most corrupted university top coming up

Several NGOs are going to release in 2008 a top of the most corrupted universities in Romania and inform the Prosecutor's Office about the severest crimes committed in universities. Such measures are part of the "Coalition for Clean Universities", a project launched yesterday.
It is meant to do away with corruption and flaws in universities, commented yesterday Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, a president of the Romanian Academic Society.
The authors are going to draw a list of habits in Romanian universities, such as clientele-based promotion and lack of transparency. They are going to be dismissed with every dean and contracts are going to be signed so that the deans would get committed to eliminate corruption from the universities they head. (...)
A group for monitoring is going to be established in every university, with both students and education staff as members. (...)

M.S.
Ziua tuesday 9 october 2007 http://www.ziua.net/english

* ROMANIA's WONDERS *

Sibiu – Medieval City Place – Sibiu, was designed as Cultural Europeean Capital in 2007.

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Destructive Basescu

A government may not be changed just because this what Traian Basescu and his servants in the DNA (National Anti-Corruption Department) want so. It is only the Parliament's will that may change the government. The bill against the government failed lamentably, despite the Democrat plotters' struggle to incite the opposition in the Parliament and despite the solicitations for criminal inquiry the DNA made up overnight. But it unveiled a head of state willing to make any compromise or restore disorder in the country to satisfy his organic hatred of PM Calin Popescu-Tariceanu. It is to be reminded that it was the very President himself who had appointed him a PM, with kisses and hugs. Instead of working for social and political equilibrium and for making the standards of living the main priority, Traian Basescu wants instability and he instigates state powers against each other by horrible diversion.
The last of the kind was launched last Friday to the less and less citizens willing to trust him. The idea is that the entire government is in conflict with Justice. But the entire government is actually in conflict against Traian Basescu and the DNA. The latter institution does not represent Justice. According to Article 126 in the Constitution, justice is done only through the High Court and the other courts. The DNA is an institution with all heads appointed by Traian Basescu, after having been carefully selected by Monica Macovei, the presidential pupil.
Minister Chiuariu and PM Tariceanu released an ordinance replacing the special commission in Cotroceni Palace, made up of humble members easy to blackmail, with independent judges. Traian Basescu's vehement opposition made an embarrassing public show. But the press response had been appropriate. Except for the submissive dailies reporting on "the death of Justice", there have prevailed those headlines claiming Basescu was left without his "toy", that is the obedient commission, and the DNA (a simple department in the Prosecutor's Office) is left without means to ask for criminal investigations against a minister. One is blind if one can't see that Daniel Morar, the tool-prosecutor, whose victims had to cash 2 billion ROL as damages from the state budget because of his inquiries, has got to send lots of criminal inquiry requests to Cotroceni Palace, although the ministers at stake get no information whatsoever on the nature of the charges. Since the bill failed, maybe the DNA will succeed. Maybe there are ministers who broke the law and have to pay for it. But I can't possibly trust the chain of requests coming all of a sudden. I am also convinced that criminal cases have been drawn against some ministers just to make them get suspended.
As far as the Justice minister is concerned, the DNA has obviously reached a conflict of interests and overt enmity. The DNA is reproached for being involved in political police activity by all the parties, except for the Democrat Party, whose leaders are the only ones who have no criminal cases. To me the DNA has become an institution whose officials lie about the President's immunity in order to keep his records aside. And on the other hand they open criminal cases against other people if the President orders so.
But there is a chance that we should soon get a DNA independent from the President or other political factor. This is up to the Superior Council of Magistracy. The Council is to reach today a decision vital for the fate of some DNA members: point to prosecutors disobeying norms and thinking they can do what they please or hide the dirt under the mat and prove certain prosecutors are either unable to split from politics or they are above the law they are supposed to watch. Today we will all learn how many people like Daniel Morar and Doru Tulus there are in the CSM.

Razvan Savaliuc
Ziua monday 8 october 2007 http://www.ziua.net/english

PM is sure MPs will pass budget

The Romanian PM Calin Popescu-Tariceanu is sure the MPs will pass the draft on the 2008 state budget. Yesterday he said he had respect for any opposition party's right to make suggestions about it, claiming he didn't mind debate on it because he wanted to see "what political parties are willing to promote".
When asked how the draft would pass, given a possibility such as political groups in the opposition coming up with their own projects on the 2008 budget, the PM answered: "I am surprised that the Social-Democrat Party, who had power, doesn't know that it is the government who elaborates the budget draft and the Parliament receives it. There is no other budget project. Of course I respect the right of any party in the opposition to come up with its own approach to the budget. We are going to talk about it".
The PM opined every parliamentary party had the means to proceed to a contribution, but, he added, the budget was mainly the way the government would present it and it enjoyed large consensus.
PM Tariceanu also argued: "I don't think anyone will oppose the need for finance and investments in education and transport infrastructure, health, agriculture, social protection and environment. I think this debate on the budget will finally be more substantial than all this political story lasting for about a month and a half. The budget does not belong to Tariceanu, to the finance minister or to the government. It is called the budget of Romania. Romania needs it not only to pay pensions, unlike what a Social-Democrat as notorious as Ioan Sarbu claims. (...) I am telling you the MPs will pass the budget. We won't deadlock an entire country because the Social-Democrats are now too hot with the bill success".
The official commented he was expecting the debate on it to be "the main political debate of the year". (...)

Corina Scarlat
Ziua monday 8 october 2007 http://www.ziua.net/english

Pain in Mircea Geoana's neck

The fear of suicide together with the electoral potential saved Ion Iliescu, an honorary president of the PSD (Social-Democrat Party), from being expelled from the party. He won the first confrontation with the PSD president Mircea Geoana. Ion Iliescu was neither expelled nor sanctioned and he is still a leader of the PSD group in the Senate.
Still while in Brasov he got an unprecedented warning: after the electoral battle he is to decide whether he stays in the PSD or not. The reasons why they want to keep him are simple: the fear the party may split and the 10% he wound bring in the electoral confrontation. Mircea Geoana has muffled the domestic scandal for the time being, wishing to achieve a moratorium to ban every member to criticize the party heads. If they do, they are as expelled from the PSD.
"No more public shows"
After the meeting of the Executive Committee members Mircea Geoana argued: "Our decision on those who took overt action so that the bill against the government wouldn't pass, Mr. Ion Iliescu included, is the following: a time for reflection and a moratorium on it till November 25. Mr. Ion Iliescu too will thus have time to think about whether he wants to be with the PSD leaders elected in Congress or not".
He commented more: "As far as Ion Iliescu is concerned, I think about my father. They are the same age and it is my duty to be polite and listen to his opinion. But he too has got his obligation. With all his merits we respect, he has the obligation to join this team, be coherent and disciplined". Still he went on by criticizing the Social-Democrats loyal to Ion Iliescu, reproaching them for having played truant when they had voted on Corina Cretu's bill. "We will make no more public shows", Geoana concluded. (...)

Roxana Andronic
Ziua monday 8 october 2007 http://www.ziua.net/english

National Anti-Corruption Department is politicized

ZIUA is the first to provide you with the conclusions reached after inspection by the CSM (Superior Council of Magistracy), concerning the objections raised by Daniel Morar, head of the DNA (National Anti-Corruption Department). They unveil severe illegalities.
The CSM inspectors ran into criminal cases kept hidden or muffled, severe law breaks and ungrounded phone call interception. Although over 100 cases were delayed, Daniel Morar was fast in providing protection to the Romanian President's adversaries. The solutions to such cases depend on interests, not on the "apprehension date"...
In order to avoid certain cases, Daniel Morar made use of accounts including terms such as "registration date" and "apprehension date". According to the report now reaching the Prosecutors Department in the CSM, the head of the DNA ordered checks on older cases, there were emphasized 67 cases, although there were actually 118 cases.
In 9 months prosecutor Aristotel Popa worked nothing for the 18 cases he was in charge of, but his superiors took no measures, although the law demanded them to. Deputy prosecutors Carmen Galca and Doru Tulus were supposed to supervise and coordinate the activity of the experts working for the Experts Department, but they sabotaged the expertise, in fact.
In the report there is also mentioned: "Checks unveil 77 cases on which prosecutors did not use the criminal inquiry activity". It was such delay habit that saved President Basescu in the famous Fleet case, but this is not the only situation of the kind on this political side.
To put it brief, the final conclusions are devastating for all the officials of this institution meant to fight corruption, who have been using persuasion these days to get some disquieting paragraphs out of this report. The latter is reaching the Prosecutors Department in the CSM today and it should effect in sanctions against the DNA officials, if CSM members take responsibility for their observations. And there is one bothering question: since more than 100 cases have been delayed because of insufficient time, how come the DNA has found the time to work so fast on those cases against some adversaries of Presidency ? (...)

Silviu Alupei & Razvan Savaliuc
Ziua monday 8 october 2007 http://www.ziua.net/english

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