According to Xinhua:
Romania will not recognize the independence of Kosovo province, Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu said Friday.- - - - - - - - -
Tariceanu made the statement before heading to Brussels to attend a one-day summit of the European Council, the state Rompresnews agency reported.
The prime minister stressed that “there is a strong interest in supporting a common position related to this matter” in Europe.
“But there is a problem on which Romania’s stand is quite clear: we will not recognize the independence of Kosovo province, as we have serious doubts related to how such a status of independence should be granted and also related to the possible consequences for the entire Western Balkan region,” Tariceanu said.
European Union leaders and foreign ministers are scheduled to discuss Kosovo during a working lunch Friday on the sidelines of the winter session of the European Council in Brussels.
The closer a country is to the source of contention, the more likely its opposition to an independent Kosovo.
Keep an eye on Bulgaria, Macedonia, Greece, Slovenia, Switzerland, Hungary, Austria, and Italy. Those are the countries whose interests might well prompt them to resist the arm-twisting of the twits at the U.S. State Department.
Hat tip: Henrik.
52 comments:
Thanks to the people and government of Romania!
And thanks to the Lord for answering our prayers that more and more people will learn and understamd what is going on here, and do what is right!
From the Monday J Post:
[Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike] “Mullen is asked to clarify an earlier comment that his "greatest concern on the strategic landscape" is challenges faced by the Army. Interestingly, the admiral responds not by citing Iraq, Afghanistan or even Iran, but a part of the world we don't really think about much here: the Balkans, in particular the situation in Kosovo.”
What??? A breath of sanity from Eastern Europe? There may still be hope. But wait. Has this been cleared with the Charles? Weren't those Romanians allies with you know who in 1943?
George Soros-funded ICG fears that the Kosovo crisis they helped to cause may spread faster than they had planned.
They lit the fuse, and now they are sitting on the powder keg with their fingers in their ears!
After seeing some paranoia at blog with Serbian sympathies towards the Vatican as the driver of all this, I am glad to see the one Slavic nation where the people speak a Romance language, and are, IIRC, Roman Catholic, come out against the socialist weenies of the EU and their drive to create a haven for al Qaeda in Europe.
I also hope the anti-American socialists at the US State Department do not succeed in making this mistake a US policy, as they seem to be doing.
Maybe there will be another Balkan war, this time the right one. This one would not be so far from the gates of Vienna. It is mind-blowing how close the Muslims are to victory again in Europe, chewing away from within this time, like rats on a ship.
Ed,
Regarding the people of Romania - I don't know how much of their cultural and ancestral heritage is Slavic and how much is from the eastern Roman Empire. But you are correct; they do speak a Romance language. However, it is my understanding that the population is roughly 80 percent Orthodox Christian.
I forward a motion that Vlad the Impaler be brought out of retirement with genetic cloning!
I forward a motion that Vlad the Impaler be brought out of retirement with genetic cloning!
Careful there, Homophobic Horse. Supporting Vlad the Impaler and his uncanny ability to keep the entire Ottoman Empire at bay by being willing to get his hands dirty would be considered "fascist" by our LGF stalkers.
At least it was in my case.
I used to use Vlad as my drinking toast in the LGF lounge:
"Let's have us a beer now, for my dear old dad Vlad. Defender of Christendom, greater never was had. So pour us some lager, and dare to be bad. And toast our great forebear, my dear old dad Vlad..."
- Sodra
Romania is 85% Eastern Orthodox, yet was allied with Nazi Germany in the war.
My mistake, I was wrong about Romania, I just didn't think Orthodox nation was on the Axis side of WW2.
Let us not forget that Vlad the Impaler practiced a form of realpolitik, and when the Hungarians turned against him, he had the Turks help him out. No great principled defender was he. He just went with one side when it helped him out, then the other when the climate changed.
Wimbledon,
I think Vlad was a principled defender of his land, not necessarily the business class. Keep in mind that the business class in his domain actually had more power in aggregate than he did, and several of them were in fact the murderers of his father and older brother (the one not appropriated as a male concubine for the future Ottoman emperor).
Of course Vlad understood the concept of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" and used the Turks as needed and his Hungarian allies as needed to defend his land.
However, the fact remains that the entire Muslim Ottoman Empire stopped in its tracks when it encountered this one, singular prince.
- Sodra
What difference does it make whether Kosovo is independent or not? Under the new EU-SSR treaty, all EU countries are all one country anyways. It's like saying that parts of Georgia want to be "independent" so it could join Alabama.
Julia Gorin on why an Islamic Kosovo is a really, really, bad idea.
Whose idea was the EU again? Just thinking about the point 'Queen' brought up. Even if Kosovo remained part of Serbia, Islamic terrorists who can legally gain admission to any EU country can travel anywhere in the EU.
To mistaken posters: Serbia, Albania, and Kosovo (whatever that is) are not in the EU. Kudos to Romania, hope others join in. I wonder if Bill Clinton ever realizes how mistaken he was about Kosovo.
What can be learned from the Kosovo disaster? Milosovitz's mistake was that he thougt the russians could protect him from whatever the rest of the world would do.
If he'd played his cards more intelligently he might have achieved 80% of the Kosovo province becomming part of Serbia,while never crossing the red line that would "justify" a Nato atack agaist him.
That's how the Israelies work..
The closer a country is to the source of contention, the more likely its opposition to an independent Kosovo.
Too true. Gates of Vienna all over again.
Sodra,
You have a funny name, but damn! you got fight in you. Give us all some of your brew, will you?
Kosovo. We (America) backed the wrong side 10 years ago, seeing a cheap and easy opportunity to suck up to Islam. For thanks we got 9/11.
To any and all Americans here, don't fall that that one again! Serbia/Russia/Rumania/Cyprus are right, no matter what our idiot jackass government says.
I am a simple soul so may I ask a question , Serbia is the sovereign state for Kosovo , therefore how can any nation but Serbia grant independence to Kosovo ?
Neither the USA or the EU can grant independence to Kosovo .
Somehow, the notion that EU is at unity on the issue looks less like truth and more like media manipulation. Check this piece from Cyprus:
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=36582&cat_id=1
Snippet:
POLITICAL analysts yesterday advised Nicosia that it stood to gain more from a flexible angle on Kosovo, 24 hours after President Tassos Papadopoulos said Cyprus would not accept a unilateral declaration of independence by the breakaway Serbian province.
Speaking after the EU summit in Brussels, Papadopoulos told newsmen that any agreement on Kosovo “must be done with the blessing of the Serbs”, though he acknowledged it still made sense to begin preparations for the EU police mission.
EU leaders declared after a one-day summit that negotiations on Kosovo's future were exhausted, the status quo was untenable and there was a need to move towards a Kosovo settlement. They stopped short of endorsing independence.
Although Cyprus’ reservations are shared by countries such as Spain, Slovakia, the Netherlands and Romania, Nicosia’s stance is widely regarded as being the most hard-line within the 27-nation bloc.
I saw the Danish PM talk on Kosovo Friday. He mentioned "Protection of minorities" and "Protection of religious monuments."
That's new, and it's good. Society for Danish Culture just distributed some documentation to the Danish parliament about the situation, and I belive it has contributed to the more sensible wordings he's coming with now.
On a general note, one of the more efficient ways to counter radical Islam is to identify key issues, like Wahhabism in the Balkans, and react on them in time. Friends of mine has done that over Cyprus to good effect, too.
One may of course wonder why we should interfere in foreign policies of our governments? The answer is, of course, that they are showing such incompetence that we are morally obliged to do so. And with polite, positive attitudes, practical suggestions and ample documentation, that's perfectly doable. Being a small country like Denmark makes it easier, of course.
Bush and Condi support Kosovo, but would they support California choosing to become a separate country? NO! Therefore they are the biggest hypcrites, just like the EU who can allow Belgium to split up...
Just some minor corrections:
- Romanians are a Latin people; should anyone claim they're a Slavic people, (s)he would be ripped apart (metaphorically speaking...) in no time. We Romanians are damn proud of our Latin heritage!
- more than 85% are nominally Christian Orthodox; the alliance with the Nazis is part of a very convoluted WWII evolution (primary reason was the theft of what's now Republic of Moldova perpetrated by the USSR following the Ribbentrop-Molotov treaty)
- Vlad The Impaler is seen in Romania as the peak of commoner-loving princes (he is said to have kept the nobility at bay by the use of the stakes; also during his time the country was reportedly the safest in all Europe - it was said that you could leave a bag of gold coins near a public fountain overnight and it was there the next day!). Probably legends, but Vlad's figure is summoned even now, in relation with the high-level corruption.
- Romanians and Serbians have been historically very close. During Western bombings of Serb targets, the grassroot attitude was violently against, and the government of the time had to play all his cards to allow bombers passage through Romanian air space.
All said and done, granting Kosovo independence is one of the most stupid things to do - I feel it would summon all the warrior ghosts frozen, but not dead, in Balkans.
To mistaken posters: Serbia, Albania, and Kosovo (whatever that is) are not in the EU.
Yes but they are on the list aren't they? Is the EU-SSR really going to leave them on the table?
Romania was an Axis member only to get back the provinces stolen by the bolsheviks of USSR: Basarabia and Bucovina.
As to the origins, the Romanians are latins. (Rome-Romanians...) and 90% Orthodox Christians.
I wish the Romanians have a leader remotely close to Vlad Tzepesch-the Impaler.
I'm delighted of Romania's stance on Kosovo. I have always hoped that our politicians wouldn't mess things up in Kosovo-Metohia.
Dan Bostan, Catalin Blaga > check out patrupedbun.net , fratilor :-).
Dan Bostan: "I wish the Romanians have a leader remotely close to Vlad Tzepesch-the Impaler."
Romania has a far better leader: President Traian Basescu. Traian is the best leader in all of Europe today. He's got Churchill qualities (as in: alone against everybody else, and still leading the country in a difficult situation). It's a pleasure to hear about how he deals with the situation down there. It's unfortunate that most people do not get to hear about it.
The Romanians, like most Eastern Europeans, have the advantage (or unfortunate experience) over the West of having lived under tyranny and are in no hurry to be crushed under another one be it Islamic or an EUSSR. The more we can do to discourage their adoption of the soft Socialism of the West the better. I think Eastern Europe may one day have to save the West.
Queen,
Your reasoning is based on so many faulty assumptions that it is hard to know where to start.
"It's like saying that parts of Georgia want to be "independent" so it could join Alabama."
Think: Georgia want to be "independent" so it could join Saudi Arabia, and then you get much closer to what we are talking about.
And no, Serbia, Albania, or Kosovo are not on any list. Not even close.
And writing "EU-SSR" and then assuming that being a member state in the EU is fully equal to being a republic in the USSR is far from the reality. The people are powerless because the elites have all the control. But the elites in a country could take a different direction from the EU without much consequence. The problem is in the conformism of the minds of the elites in the different countries.
You assume that being part of the EU makes "independent state" a defunct category. That would mean that the independence of Flanders would be just as meaningless as you imply that it's meaningless whether Kosovo is independent or not.
All the burnt down churches should tell you something also.
I really do not know how you can get this all so wrong. I think you write "EU-SSR" and then you stop thinking. How it goes for a region depends on who is in control. Now the Muslims are, that means that all the churches are being burnt down. But the implication of what you write is that all the churches would be burnt down just the same if Christian Orthodox Serbs had been in control, just because they are on some list (which they aren't either).
To convince yourself of how independence of Kosovo matters. Compare how it is in Kosovo to how it is in Serbia (or how it used to be in Kosovo). In one case all of the churches in the process of being burnt down, in the other they are all up and fine. Even if we for a moment stipulate your worst horror scenario of EU as completely equivalent to the USSR, and that Serbia and Albania would be members or on some list, all of your assumptions are the same for Serbia and Kosovo. How do you account for the differences? The only thing you are saying that if all is under EU-SSR, it will all be the same. But it is not the same. All churches burnt down, or not burnt down, is very different. And it's this difference that is the reason to oppose an independent Kosovo.
"Serbia, Albania, and Kosovo (whatever that is) are not in the EU."
Somehow, I have the feeling that Serbia is in no rush, whatsoever, to join...
Did you notice that EU offered Serbia a fast track to EU membership if they would let go of Kosovo?
First, that's a first-rate bum deal. I'm sure it has little appeal in Serbia. The EU officials, in their common delusion, probably saw it differently.
Second, the Serbian PM is absolutely right in stating that these two things have absolutely nothing with each other to do.
If it had, it would be tantamount admitting that EU fudges the membership conditions. Which it does big way, but that's a different story. The 'admitting' part is what matters here.
The Serbs have integrity and national pride.
The Serbs are doing something real interesting. They're quoting all the great European and American leaders for saying it's OK to defend ones homeland:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/16/europe/serbs.php
For the past two weeks billboards carrying the images of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle have appeared throughout the country above the mantra "Kosovo Is Serbia!"
Extracts of their speeches are printed next to their busts, each one selected, and adapted in some cases, to advocate Serbia's cause.
[...]
But the government's recent billboard campaign suggests that Serbs can use the icons of Western democracies in protesting the possible loss of Kosovo.
Churchill is shown with a cigar in hand, alongside an extract of a speech urging the British to stand up against Nazi Germany: "We shall defend what is ours. We shall never surrender."
For obvious reasons, they use real leaders, not Barroso, Solana or other Eurocrats.
Unsurprisingly, Serbian support for EU membership is plummeting.
Conservative Swede,
While I support Basescu, and admire him for his guts, he is not blemish free...
I think it would be very, very difficult to find a blemish free leader after 40 years of communism.
Thanks to the murderous ethnic cleansing/genocide of Slobodan Milosevic and his even more radical Serbian followers, Kosovo can now never be re-united with Serbia. Any attempted reunification would be much more bloody than independence.
Furthermore, once Kosovo is independent the whole limited range of support radical Islamists have right now there will disappear. It is only there right now in the guise of Kosovar patriotism against the Serbian menace.
As for Romania, it has a long and unfortunate history of hostility and violence towards non-Romanians. Remember that infamous dicator Nicolae Caucescu's downfall was instigated by his ruthless attempts to ethnically cleanse and "Romanian-ize" ethnic Hungarians in Timosoara in the late 1980's. The Romanian pogroms against Jews during World War II were so brutal that even the Nazis blushed.
I doubt it that Nazi extermination forces could blush. At the same time, it should be noted that 400000 Romanian Jews survived WW2, even though Antonescu was an antisemite. Regardless of the reasons, these people survived.
Ceausescu's downfall wasn't triggered by Hungarians alone. As for his policies, keep in mind that the communist regime used tougher methods against their own people in the time of Dej. Hunderts of thousand of Romanians died in communist prisons or served time for many years because of class war philosophy. Ceausescu didn't love ethnic minorities. Well, he didn't care for the rest of us either.
P.S. I don't suppose you've heard of Mihail Roller. During the '50s, he was the president of the Party's History Institute. He is responsible for creating a communist and soviet-friendly history of Romania: denouncing everything that is Latin and tryig to demonstrate the Slavic nature of the Romanian language and ROmanian people. Learning Russian was compulsory and if by any chance you would say something in defense of your national identity or your Romanian brothers in Basarabia, well... it's the prison for you, chauvinistc class enemy.
http://www.memorialsighet.ro/en/sala.asp?id=35
Imperialistu: I forgot to mention the reason so many Romanian Jews survived, the incompetence and corrruption of the Romanian authorities. Many Jews were able to buy their freedom, many others undoubtedly escaped by assuming new identities in the chaos.
But for those Jews who found themselves in the anti-semitic net, it is well-documented that the Nazis were actually appalled by the cruelties inflicted by Romanian persecutors of Jews, and even stepped in occasionally to bring some order and "decency" to the carnage.
I am happy that there is now hope for Romania, a nation blessed by nature but often cursed by its people and rulers. And, I know that it is heresy on this site, but hope for Romania comes in the form of the European Union.
Enough already, Gordon! We have refuted your false accusations against the Serbs, over and over and over, with a superabundance of evidence, but each time, you keep repeating the same lies on a new thread.
You are nothing but a malicious liar.
Former Gordon, I think you're being unreasonable to both Serbs and Romanians here. You seem to think that just because of the crimes committed by Romanians during WWII, their support for Serbia is hypocritical?
The Serbs were the heroes of the Balkans during WWII, but suffered hard under the hands of the Ustasha regime and the Handzar division of Bosnia. Still, they actually managed to fight the Nazis out of the Balkans on their own, which was a severe blow to the German war machine.
The Balkans holds another omnious secret related to Nazis, Jews and Arabs. Check this little booklet:
http://www.terrorismawareness.org/files/NaziRoots.pdf
There is a strong connection and direct inspiration between Nazi and Islamic Jew-hatred. It's important to know.
But back to more recent events, it is important to remember that Serbs are victims of a slow ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, where UCK/KLA made life unbearable for Serbs through many years, causing what some (I don't remember who) has called a "Voluntary ethnic cleansing". A really weird expression engineered to absolve Albanian terrorists from responsibility in the matter.
Serbs were also the victims of the fastest and most effective ethnic cleansing of the entire civil war complex. It took the Croats only 4 days to do that in Operation Storm. The operation was actively supported by the United States, which is why there were no bombing campaign against the Croats, nor is it likely that this matter will ever be raised in international court.
Finally, it is worth knowing that Slobodan Milosevic was found 'not guilty' on the war crimes in Bosnia. A different Milosevic was sentenced 33 years, and from what I've seen he did (random bombing of civilians in Sarajevo) that seems justified. But that's a different story, at a level equal to the many other war crimes in the area, including those committed by the Mujahedeen.
What is needed now is not more vilifications. It is Truth and reconciliation.
Cobra,
Name-calling (and other ad-hominem attacks) violate the "civility" rule of comments here.
However, I don't want to delete your comment outright. Here's what you had to say, stripped of its name-calling.
Please try to abide by the standards so that I don't have to do this kind of thing.
------------------
Cobra said...
Hey, Gordon!
Romanians were and still are the the most tolerant people in that neighbourhood.
I doubt you heard, or if you did, acknowledge, what happened to Romanians (the vast majority of the Transylvanian population) under the Hungarian regime.
Or that the Hungarians in Romania were allowed much more autonomy, including cultural autonomy, than Romanians in Hungary.
And, by the way, the people of Timisoara, who started the revolution in 1989, stood up for Tokes (who later was proven to be a Hungarian separatist), against the Securitate-the Romanian KGB or STASI...
Or that the Russians, stole roughly 33% of our country and our national treasure we sent to Moscow to be protected during WWI....
You are biased, spewing hatred about things you know NOTHING.
Fellows, no need to get excited.
Gordon, i hope you do realize that there is no way some 300000-400000 people could buy their lives through public authorities corruption. Nobody is denying the suffering of innocents, but accusing everyone of jew-hatred just doesn't do.
As for the European Union, it remains to be seen. I'm pretty skeptical about it. There are positive effects without any doubt, but in the long run, I have this feeling that we're gonna get a lot more than we've bargained for. Socialism with human face, PC militia and a rally beacon for Northern Africa, Middle East and Asia.
Cobra si ceilalti romani care mai calca pe aici > intrati pe patrupedbun.net/ . Incercam sa ii strangem pe cei interesati de islamism, corectitudine politica, apararea civilizatiei occidentale s.a.m.d.
I think the comments from 1389 and Cobra (as edited by the Baron) prove my point that the passions and hatreds from "Christian" forces in the Balkans wars are equal to, if not greater than, any passions of the Albanians, Kosovars, or Bosnians. In Cobra's case, it shows that these passions and hatreds are not a Muslim-Christian construct, but rather an ethnnic/Christian sect construct (Romanian/Romanian Orthodox vs. Hungarian/Roman Catholic).
1389, I provided ample evidence from numerous censuses and reports on a previous thread indicating that Kosovo was lost demographically to Serbia by 1912-13, when Serbia wrested the territory from the Ottomans in the last Balkan War pre-World War I. In response you have provided nothing but blanket refutations and insults, no links to contrary sources.
Once again, I urge those concerned about the impact of Muslim immigration into Western and Central Europe not to let their skepticisim about Islam allow them to be hijacked by those like 1389 who want to avenge ancient ethnic and religious Balkan blood-feuds.
Former Gordon, I think you are being downright mean now. Judgemental bordering on racist.
On one point I do agree, however, in that you posted relevant demographical data that 1389 did not comment on.
Referring again to my comment above, I recommend that we dig out enough history to be able to lean back and say "OK, no more hatred" over all this.
And then coorperate on something vital in the Balkans: Defeating Wahhabi Islam. It's completely foreign to the region, a major destabilizing factor, and deserves a one-way ticket back to its funders in Saudi Arabia.
That's more important than any infighting over historical issues.
Hey, Gordon (wo. the adjective you deserved...)!
You are wrong again!
I'd be the happiest guy to see the Romanian Orthodox Church reunited with the Catholic Church (as a matter of fact there is one part of the Orthodox Church from Transylvania, recognizing the Pope, the so called the United Church).
The facts in my previous post have nothing to do with the religious differences between Romanians and Hungarians.
By the way, my wife is Hungarian, so I have intimate knowledge of the issue, shall I say…
The best example of your lack of understanding of historical facts is that the Russians and Romanians are Orthodox Christians, yet that doesn't change anything regarding our problems...
Start reading and don't be such a shallow leftist.
All,
Can we leave the charges of "...ist" or "...ism" to our Left/Liberal/Socialist opponents? We should not bandy these near meaningless terms about like they do. It certainly doesn't give any weight to one's arguments.
I think that almost all the problems the West faces are coming from the the neo-liberalism, which is a mutated form of marxism.
Therefore we must abandon the Political Correctness, a form of censorship, term even found in Communist books, by the way.
We must diagnose the disease before getting the right medication for our own survival, for God's sake!
Henrik, I agree with you that Jihadist Islam is a new and menacing force in the Balkans. I believe that it has gained successes by taking the opportunity afforded by the Serbian depredations against Bosnia and Kosovo, while I'm sure you disagree. Be that as it may ...
At this point, however, the best way to ensure that Jihadist Wahhabist Islam maintains and strengthens its presence in Kosovo is to deny that province independence. The resulting civil war/ethnic cleansing will do nothing but ensure that the Jihadis are seen by Kosovars as their only saviors and defenders.
In contrast, I believe that Kosovar independence, combined with a partition of the small northern three province area (see map on Wikipedia site regarding ethnic divisions in Kosovo) is the best way to eliminate Jihadi/Wahhabist influence in Kosovo. Once Kosovo is independent and wanting to join the prosperous European Community club (or at least have strong economic ties with the Club), the fact that Kosovars are European Albanians and not Muslims will become most important, and will lead Kosovo onto the slow path toward the rule of law that the rest of the Balkans is currently trodding.
Cobra - absolutely correct. Multiculturalism and its bastard child Political Correctness are the diseases that stifle free speech and free action because, God forbid, someone's feelings might get hurt. We have left the Age of Reason and stepped into the Age of Feeling where feelings drive actions instead of cold, hard reason.
Correction, Charlemagne, :-) I believe multiculturalism is the bastard child of Political Correctness, not the other way round. Lenin invented the partiinost long before the Left had the multi-culti revelation.
I'm very glad to see so many Romanians here (I count to four). I hope you stay around so that you can help me telling the story of Traian Basescu. I see it as a gospel.
Cobra, So President Basescu is not blemish free? Such an utterly redundant thing to say. What are you looking for: an angel, a god? Traian Basescu is more flawless than Winston Churchill and that is good enough for me.
There are several good lessons to learn from President Basescu about good leadership. Knowledge that used to be known in the West but that is now all lost, but that can be found today in Romania. The moral lesson is: i) that good leadership is possible in these times, ii) how it is done, and iii) that the PC elites in Western Europe acts exactly in the same way as the ruling oligarchy of former Securitate officers in Romania. I haven't found any major differences in their modus operandi so far.
Traian Basescu stands up against this oligarchy of former Securitate officers, the billionaires, as one single man. The oligarchy controls all other political parties except for Besescu's party, and virtually all journalists except for Traian Ungureanu. All the other parties together with the journalists are at war against President Basescu. But he is a tough guy with strong will power. This is a very good and morally educating story to tell to the whole world. It illustrates better than anything else what politics is all about and shows what is possible. It's a story of hope for the hopeless.
Winston Churchill was just as alone in May 1940 as Traian Basescu is today in Romania. The image of the audience applauding the Blood, Sweat and Tears speech in the parliament is a lie. It was received very coldly. Everyone else of importance wanted to sign a peace treaty with Hitler. Churchill was alone in pushing for what he believed in. This is real leadership. The single man showing the right way.
I hope one day soon that the Romanians will drop their idiotic inferiority complex and tell the world this very important story that needs to heard. It needs to be told by someone else than a Swede. So far when I requested this from Romanians I get to hear the lament of how very unimportant your country is and how nobody wants to hear about it, yada yada. I have to tell you that I'm sick of hearing that, and that it's utter BS. Tell the world about what's happening in your country! I cannot think of any more important country to know about for the best educational experience about politics and leadership.
Swede,
interesting to see you so interested in Romania and its politics.
While Basescu seems to be of a different cloth than others, he was a ship commander, getting out of the country when only very few did, and mostly were collaborators with the dreaded S.
I am not saying he was, I am saying there is a high likelihood he was.
How relevant would that be I’d say not much after 18 years (even if I viscerally despise the securists).
He is clearly more pro-American than most, which is a very good sign.
The S structure was very different than the structure of Western European intelligence services.
If you would like to learn more, just google Ion Mihai Pacepa and you’ll find many articles in English that deal with that subject.
Regarding dropping the so called “inferiority complex” I can not speak for Romanians.
I am an American of Romanian heritage for a long time…
However I would guess that not too many of Romanians still have that complex.
But who knows?
Swede,
while I am most impressed of your interest in Romania, I must warn you that you're treading on treacherous ground when dealing with local politicians.
Basescu is most clearly a "product of the system", so to speak. He evolved more than others but - in essence - he enjoys a public perception better than the real thing is. His image crew did a wonderful job and he just keeps capitalizing on that (true story: in 2000, when he was running for mayor in Bucharest, he asked his advertising company to stop spewing the regular BS and "sell him as if he were a detergent". For any ad pro in Romania, "detergent Basescu" is a classic).
That is not to say he's totally devoid of qualities. He's powerful, has charisma, speaks the language of the commoners, doesn't flinch when calling a pig a pig, won most of his political battles (though not all) and he revels in conflict.
On the other hand, he still has some explaining to do on some very mundane scandals (like a house seemingly illegally acquired, selling out the Romanian fleet during his term in office as Transportation Minister a.s.o.), he's apparently unable to negotiate ("my way or the highway"), unable to live both with friends an enemies (right now he's in White Fang's position, alone against everybody else) and has yet to learn about political intricacies in an international environment.
I tend to believe he sees himself as an "illuminated despot", that is I suspect he really wants "the good for the nation", but accepts only his own definition of "good". And he proved unable to keep alliances alive - most of his former allies are now his enemies, the rest are simply his minions.
From a "realpolitik" standing, your position is correct. But living under his reign isn't always easy...
As for the inferiority complex, I'm not that sure. I guess it's more of a public perception than truth. At least I never felt that complex, not while speaking about Stefan Procopiu (physics), Gogu Constantinescu (sonicity and RAF), Nadia Comaneci, Ion Tiriac, Ilie Nastase, Gheorghe Hagi et al.
"From a "realpolitik" standing, your position is correct. But living under his reign isn't always easy..."
Well this is funny. Arguing over Basescu, on a foreign blog. May I ask why would it not be easy "under his reign"? Despot iluminat? Absolut amuzant... Cataline, you must be one of those PNL-Tradiceanu fans/ PSD supporter.
The man is not a saint, but he doesn't have to. If he makes the right moves, it's perfect. So let's cut the BS.
Catalin Blaga,
I'm glad to see a Romanian proud of his country. Romania is a country of many exceptional talents. You could add the following to your list of celebrities: Traian Basescu, Traian Ungureanu, Horian Patapievici.
But whatever pride there is, of course: when it comes to telling the world about the important things of their country (and no it's not sports), I haven't yet met a Romanian who thinks it worth telling the world about it. And you don't think so either.
Your description of Basescu is extremely tilted and has no relation to reality: "product of the system" - that is indeed laughable. The rest Imperialistu' took care of, and I agree with him. You must belong to the opposition to Basescu, which would mean that you support the henchmen of the oligarchy, the former Securitate officers. This is almost as bad as supporting the PC multiculturalist elites in e.g. Sweden. But you are entitled to your opinion of course.
The interesting thing is how the strongest thing an opponent of Basescu can come up with is "living under his reign isn't always easy". Well, living isn't always easy, period. LOL!
This is an indication of how very well Basescu is doing. There's really no substantive criticism to put up against him. He's truly a talent.
Anyway, I think it will have to be a Swede telling the world about President Basescu. after all. I will do so in my blog not long after Christmas. Keep a lookout.
Catalin's text was a really neat propaganda piece against Basescu, and you can see the hand of the oligarchy behind it. Structurally it's not different from the oppressive power hierarchies in e.g. Sweden. The usual tricks are applied. E.g. "unable to negotiate", "unable to live both with friends an enemies", "alone against everybody else". Quite as in PC Sweden, the whole stage is rigged, all parties except for Basescu's party are controlled by the oligarchy. This is the language of political bullying that I know so well from Sweden, as in: tie someone up, and then accuse him of being unable to move.
I will give Catalin Blaga the benefit of the doubt. It is possible that he has just innocently absorbed all this propaganda -- after all, all the media is controlled by the oligarchy too. But what he has written has to be exposed for what it is, nevertheless.
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