According to several Romanian news media, on Monday Dec. 18th, Romanian President Traian Basescu will officially condemn communism in a statement in the Romanian parliament in Bucharest.
Present will be several guests who fought communism in the past, such as former Czech President Vaclav Havel, former Bulgarian premier Jelio Jelev; the former President of Poland, Lech Walesa will also be present.
17 years ago, Romania's anti-communist revolution began in the western Romanian city of Timisoara. In just one week—by December 22nd, 1989—the revolution was shaking Bucharest, and freeing the country from the communist regime, at least theoretically.
Despite the apparent success of the revolution, communism's specter, in its various forms, did not disappear completely in Romania after the end of the December 1989 revolution.
An ex-member of the Communist Party leadership and former dictator Ceausescu's former ally, Ion Iliescu imposed himself as a leader of the National Salvation Front in late 1989. The National Salvation Front, formed mainly from members of the second rank of the Communist party, immediately exercised its control over the state institutions, all media, including the national television and radio stations.
The NSF used its control of the media to launch propagandist attacks against its political opponents, especially against the traditional democratic parties, the National Liberal Party and National Peasant Christian-Democratic Party, which were trying to reform after 50 years of underground activity. In 1990, Ion Iliescu succeeded in becoming the first democratically-elected Romanian state leader after the Second World War.
Ironically, after an anticommunist revolution in which thousands of innocent youths sacrificed their lives, the first Romanian president, though democratically elected, was also a former communist. He was the one who, in June 1990, acting in a way typical of communist leaders, pitted different social classes against each other.
When Romanian students protested against the commandeering of the revolution by the old leaders of the Communist Party, under the guise of the National Salvation Front, President Iliescu summoned the police and the mineworkers to violently crush the student demonstrations.
Despite such actions, Ion Iliescu remained a powerful force in Romanian politics, winning reelection to a second four-year term in 1992, and capturing the Presidency for a third time in 200, after four years of a more democratic administration guided by President Emil Constantinescu.
The Romanian people, conditioned by 44 years of Communist rule, were not accustomed freedom of thought and expression. Much of the population had never known anything but communist rule. The political career of Iliescu, a trusted aid of ousted dictator Ceausescu, demonstrates the ambiguity of Romania's revolution— the bloodiest of all the Eastern European anti-communist uprisings of 1989, but also the one that brought the least change
Traian Basescu Defeats Adrian Nastase in the 2004 Elections
Traian Nastase of theDA Alliance defeated Adrian Nastase of the PSD—an ally of Ion Iliescu and the old guard— in the 2004elections. Traian Basescu's coming to state leadership marked important changes for the Romanian people. Romania became a member of NATO in March 2004, and in spring of 2005 Romania officially joined the European Union, with full membership starting on January 1st, 2007.
Much of this success was due to the unheralded efforts of the several anticommunist activist organizations.
While the state has ignored their efforts, these groups have labored tirelessly to see that Romania realized and admitted the need to move beyond communism if the country were to be truly free. Whether the Association of the Ex-political Detainees, or the November 15th 1987 Association, or the various scholars, writers, historians, journalists—all of them knew that their mission would not be completed until the communist specter had really ceased to exist in Romania. So, they continued diligently on many occasions to require the state leader, Mr. Traian Basescu, to officially condemn communism.
After repeated requests, Mr. Basescu finally called for the establishment of a presidential commission to investigate the crimes of communism. The report of this Commission will be presented to the Romanian Parliament on Monday, December 18.
Parliament to Hear Commission Report on Crimes of Communism
At the end of March, this year, Traian Basescu appointed political researcher Vladimir Tismaneanu to lead the Presidential Commission investigating communist crimes. According to Mr. Tismaneanu's statement in Cotidianul newspaper, published on 7 April, 2006, the president's request was short and concise: "I need to form an analysis which to undeniably certify the communist crimes and restrictions, from the detention camps to the crimes related to abortions. I know that they took place, but there is so much material; some reports provide a figure, others another figure. I need a full report". Vladimir Tismaneanu accepted the nomination.
Mr. Tismaneanu says that the purpose of the report is not to incriminate specific persons, but to expose a criminal regime. He further mentioned that the report cannot ignore the names nor the responsibilities responsible of those who were politically active during 1945-1989. The Commission is not a punitive one; it will not seek punishment for anyone, Vladimir Tismaneanu pointed out.
Romania Officially Condemns Communism
On Monday, Dec. 18th, Mr. Basescu will read before Parliament the declaration condemning the communist regime. According to Evenimentul Zilei as well as other mainstream Romanian media, on Monday Romania will become the first country where communism has been officially condemned. With similar condemnations or resolutions being issued in Poland, Latvia and Croatia, the complete doom of communism in Eastern Europe and around the world seems to become more and more certain.
If expectations are confirmed, Monday will be an historic moment for Romania, which could then enter the European Union with renewed dignity and clarity.
It is expectedly that the former communists who are still active on the political scene, will show their true colors by trying to boycott this solemn moment in Romania's history. Through their attitudes they do nothing but confirm the importance of the decision which Romanians took on December 16th, 1989 and strengthened on December 18th, 2006: the decision to completely free Romania from the shackles of communism, forever.
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