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RADOR: News from Romania, 98-04-27
April 27, 1998
CONTENTS
[01] Prime Minister Vasile on Cigarette Smuggling at Otopeni Airport;
[02] Commander Ioan Suciu Arrested;
[03] Justice Minister Valeriu Stoica Committed to Respond to Corneliu Vadim
Tudor's Attacks;
[04] Meeting at Victoria Palace;
[05] IMF Chief Negotiator Has Arrived in Bucharest;
[06] Last Day of Foreign Minister Plesu to the US as Reported by Romanian
Ambassador Mircea Geoana;
[07] Hungary Is Not to Impose Entry Visas for Romanians, Budapest Says;
[08] Divisions Among Western States Concerning Entry Visas for Romanians
and Bulgarians;
[09] False Information About Romania in a Study Issued in Kiev.
[01] Prime Minister Vasile on cigarette smuggling at Otopeni Airport
Referring to the scandal around the cigarette smuggling at the Otopeni
Airport, Romanian Prime Minister Radu Vasile has warned that, if guilty,
any of his ministers would have to resign. RADOR
[02] Commander Ioan Suciu arrested
On Saturday evening, the Military Attorney's Office has issued a five-day
warraAt for the arrest of the former Otopeni Military Airport Commander
Ioan Suciu who is accused of smuggling and association to crime. Ioan Suciu
is involved in the cigarette smuggling at the Military Otopeni Airport
where an Ukrainian plane landed in the evening of April 16. The Otopeni
case includes two other civil workers, Dumitru Popescu and Gabriel Negoescu,
who coordinated the transport of cigarette boxes to a storehouse in
Mogosoaia, as well as SPP colonel Gheorghe Trutulescu. Further inquiry into
the case is coordinated by the Military Court of Appeal in Bucharest.
RADOR
[03] Justice Minister Valeriu Stoica committed to respond to Corneliu Vadim
Tudor's attacks
Romanian Justice Minister Valeriu Stoica says he decided not to react as a
"private person" to Senator Corneliu Vadim Tudor's attacks. In an interview
on April 26, Mr Stoica said that, until now, he thought a dialogue with
such a man as Vadim Tudor was under his dignity. "However, as I am the
minister of justice, I cannoA ignore him anymore", the minister added. "As
far as his actions can be penally punished, I am committed to take every
measure necessary". As the leader of the Greater Romania Party (PRM) is
granted immunity, the justice minister said that "the time has come for
solidarity in Parliament, the solidarity of all those who believe that the
Parliament is the real forum of the Romanian nation. (...) Such solidarity
should be also proved by the action taken against the senator who does not
deserve to hold such a position as he is a disgrace for the Parliament of
Romania". RADOR
[04] Meeting at Victoria Palace
On Sunday at Victoria Palece, Romanian Prime Minister Radu Vasile met Mr
Klaus Frake, the head of the German-Romanian Frienship Group in German
Budestag. The talks focused on issues concerning the programme of economic
cooperation between the two countries. The two officials have also
discussed about future projects of a Romanian-German Business Center and a
Romanian-German Chamber Af Commerce in Bucharest. RADOR
[05] IMF chief negotiator has arrived in Bucharest
The IMF chief negotiator for Romania Poul Thomsen has arrived in Bucharest
on Sunday. In his statement at the Otopeni Airport, Mr Thomsen stressed he
came to meet members in the new Cabinet but he stopped short of making any
other comments. He will meet Prime Minister Radu Vasile on Monday at 10 AM.
RADOR
[06] Last day of Foreign Minister Plesu's visit to Washington as reported
by Ambassador Mircea Geoana
Romanian Foreign Minister Andrei Plesu has ended his nearly one week visit
to the US. On Saturday, the last day of the visit, he met the US
presidential security adviser Sandy Berger, Ken Conrad, Democrat Senator of
North Dakota and Marc Grossman, Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and
Canada. Romanian Ambassador to Washington Mircea Geoana said the meeting of
minister Plesu with Mr Berger was "extremely good, warm and friendly".
Recalling the warm welcome the US president has received during hAs visit
to Romania in 1997, Mr Berger said that both the White House and the
National Security Council wanted to respond the same way when the Romanian
president was to come to the US.
The talks with Senator Conrad - one of those who intend to vote against the
ratification of Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic's NATO membership -
were aimed at finding out the reasons of his opposition. "I am convinced
that, irrespective of the vote on Wednesday, Senator Conrad will improve
his impression of Romania until the next time when, much to our hope, the
US Senate will be called to express its vote for the next countries invited
to join NATO", Ambassador Geoana said.
The meeting with Assistant Grossman - the man who has signed in Bucharest
the documents concerning the US-Romania Strategic Partnership - focused on
the bilateral relations and recent European developments in the context of
NATO's future expansion. The agenda of the talks included issues of
economic and regional cooperAtion as well as the Kosovo crisis. According
to Ambassador Geoana, the two officials discussed details concerning the
visit of Romanian President Emil Constantinescu to the US and concrete
projects concerning the Strategic Partnership, the SECI Regional Center and
Romania's trilateral cooperation with other countries in the region.
Referring to the official inauguration of the lobby group for Romania in
the American Cogress, Ambassador Geoana said: " It is a group of friends of
Romania and, if such important American congressmen wish to lobby for
Romania, we can only be pleased. But more important is the fact that an
impressing number of major American politicians accept to dedicate much of
their time and energy to the US relations with Romania. The inauguration of
the lobby group and the presence in the Capitol Hall of American cogressmen
and Romanian MPs were both significan moments".
[07] Hungary is not to impose entry visas for Romania, Budapest announced
Despite the request ofAthe Austrian foreign minister issued on April, 11,
Hungary is not to impose entry visas for Romanians, Hungarian Defence
Ministry Deputy Secretary of State Csaba Liszkay announced. "Once in the EU,
we shall watch our borders as efficiently as we can, but Hungary alone can
decide how to do it", the Hungarian official said while in Vienna. He
motivated the Hungarian reaction by the fact that there were 1,7 million
ethic Hungarians living in Romania. "We cannot impose entry visas only for
some Romanian citizens and favour the others", Mr Liszkay said. RADOR
[08] Divisions among Western states concerning entry visas for Romanians
and Bulgarians
According to the Commission for Internal Affairs in the European Parliament,
the EU Member States should eliminate the entry visas for Romanians and
Bulgarians. As both countries are EU applicants, the entry visas are
serious obstacles in their accession preparations. At the same time, some
EU countries fear that, once the visas eliminated, a groAing number of
people crossing Romania and Bulgaria will enter the EU looking for jobs.
RADOR
[09] False information about Romania in a study issued in Kiev
Some members in the Brasov branch of the ruling Christian Democrat National
Peasant Party (PNTCD) expressed their protest against a study inssued in
Kiev under the title "Ukraine and Romania". According to the PNTCD members,
the study reiterates the Soviet idea accusing Romania that, after 1918, the
country has illegaly extended. The PNTCD members say that, as the author
put it, "Romania illegaly included Northern Bucovina and Southern
Bassarabia into its territory". RADOR
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