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Dokument #1117170
Freedom House (Autor)
Former President Ion Iliescu won a landslide victory in the December 10 presidential run-off against Vadim Corneliu Tudor of the Greater Romania Party (PRM). Iliescu, who was the first elected president, from 1990 to 1996, after the fall of Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989, defeated the far-right extremist leader with 66.83 percent of the vote.
Romanians’ frustration with their economic position and increasing political instability had created a lack of confidence and support for the Democratic Convention of Romania (CDR), the coalition government of President Emil Constantinescu and Prime Minister Mugur Isarescu. Iliescu and his Party of Social Democracy (PDSR) won another chance at the presidency in late 2000 as a result of the CDR’s failure to deliver on promises of reform, which included revamping the tax system, cutting public spending, and accelerating privatization.
In the November 2000 parliamentary elections, the PDSR won 65 of the 140 seats in the senate and 155 of the 327 seats in the chamber of deputies. The PRM gained 37 seats in the senate and 84 in the lower house; the National Liberal Party (PNL), 13 and 30; the Democratic Party (PD), 13 and 31; and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), 12 and 27. The CDR, now the CDR 2000, did not gain the five percent that is required to hold seats in parliament. Adrian Nastase has been appointed prime minister.
Romania became independent following the 1878 Berlin Congress. It gained territory after World War I, but lost some to the Soviet Union and Bulgaria in 1940. When Soviet troops entered the country in 1944, King Michael dismissed the pro-German regime and backed the Allies. In 1945, he was forced to accept a Communist-led coalition government. The autarkic economics and repressive governance of Communist strongman Nicolae Ceausescu devastated Romania during his rule from 1965 to 1989.
On December 25, 1989, Ceausescu was tried and executed following a popular uprising and palace coup by disgruntled Communists. A provisional government was formed under Iliescu, a high-ranking Communist and the leader of the National Salvation Front (NSF). The 1992 parliamentary elections saw the NSF split between neo-Communist and more reformist members. In November 1996, the reformer Emil Constantinescu of the CDR defeated Iliescu in the presidential elections. Political bickering and lack of unification within the coalition resulted in the dismissal of Prime Minister Victor Ciorbea in 1998 and Prime Minister Radu Vasile in 1999.
The start of 2000 saw a new government, formed under Isarescu, focused on implementing reforms and improving the economic and social situation in the country. The intended reforms were overshadowed throughout the year by political squabbling, environmental disasters, and scandals, which included the collapse of the National Investment Fund (FNI), where thousands of Romanians lost their life savings. Investors of FNI blamed the government for their losses, and as a result, many voted against the CDR in the parliamentary and presidential elections. President-elect Ion Iliescu was also implicated in two political scandals. In April he was accused of having developed a spy network with Russia during his last presidential term, and in May he was implicated in a money laundering scandal with a French-Romanian businessman.
By December 2000, inflation was at 40 percent with unemployment reaching 11 percent. The World Bank issued a report which stated that 40 percent of Romanians live below the poverty line. Iliescu promises to continue negotiations with NATO and the European Union (EU) and push ahead with privatization and economic reforms while alleviating widespread poverty and eliminating corruption.
In March, Romania began accession talks with the EU and agreed on a medium-term development strategy. Romania has set 2007 as a possible date for EU membership. By the close of the year, the EU had not lifted the visa restrictions for Romania, as Romania has yet to strengthen its border controls or issue passports that cannot be forged. Romania continues to rank last among the 12 countries vying for EU membership; however, under a reform deal reached in December, Romania would get 15 votes in the decision-making Council of Ministers when it did finally join the organization.
The new government plans to resume talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in January 2001. The IMF withheld a third installment of a standby loan of $540 million as a result of Romania’s failure to reduce the state budget arrears and privatize the banking sector. In 2001, Romania will chair the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Romanians can change their government democratically under a multiparty system enshrined in a 1991 post-Communist constitution. The OSCE found that the 2000 presidential and parliamentary elections were “further evidence that democratic elections are firmly entrenched in Romania.” Voter turnout was at 57.5 percent, 20 percent lower than in the 1996 elections.
The 1991 constitution enshrines freedom of expression and the press, but it limits the boundaries of free expression by prohibiting “defamation of the country.” Under Law No. 40 of the 1996 Romanian penal code, journalists face up to two years’ imprisonment for libel and up to five years for disseminating false information that affects Romania’s international relations and national security. In October, the Romanian Audiovisual Council, the regulatory body for broadcast media, lifted its ban on the use of Hungarian symbols and the use of languages other than Romanian in electronic media.
Religious freedom is generally respected although newer religious organizations are impeded from registering with the state secretary of religions. Lack of registration in turn denies adherents their right to freely exercise their religious beliefs and prevents them from building places of worship, cemeteries, and so on.
The constitution provides for freedom of assembly, and the government respects this right. Workers have the right to form unions and strike. Economic reforms and political turmoil have affected the Romanian population as several sectors, such as lawyers, teachers, and truckers, have gone on strike and demanded higher salaries, less taxation, better working conditions, and job security. In September, a trade union leader was murdered in the city of Iasi while trying to prevent large-scale job cuts at a privatized factory.
The Romanian justice system is divided into four courts: the courts of first instance, the tribunals, the courts of appeals, and the supreme court of justice. All are independent of other government branches but subject to influence by the executive branch. Under the law, judges are appointed, promoted, and transferred by the 15-member Higher Council of the Judiciary, which is elected for four-year terms by the two chambers of parliament. To diminish the politicization of the process, a 1997 revision of the law called for the members of the Higher Council to be appointed by the justice minister, not by parliament.
The chamber of deputies voted in June to decriminalize homosexuality, although people can still be jailed for “abnormal sexual practices” in public. The legislation to change Article 200 of the 1996 Penal Code, which punishes displays of public homosexuality, still needs senate approval.
Corruption is endemic in the government bureaucracy, civil service, and business. Property rights are secure, though the ability of citizens to start businesses continues to be encumbered by red tape, corruption, and organized crime.
There are no restrictions on travel within the country, and citizens who want to change their place of residence do not face any official barriers. Women have equal rights with men, though violence against women, including rape, continues to be a serious problem. Living conditions for children in state-run orphanages are in a terrible state according to an EU report. In order to be in line with EU standards, Romania established the National Agency for the Protection of Children’s Rights, a short-term strategy to address the issues of child care institutions.
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