December 8, 2024
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 08.12.2024, 13:56
Church. The Romanian Orthodox Church issued a statement urging parish churches, monasteries and church goers not to get involved or take part in actions that are contrary to the law and social peace. The statement refers to information circulating on the social media groups of representatives of certain political parties according to which the former are to go to churches today to try to mobilise church goers to hold protests against the Constitutional Court and other state institutions. The Romanian Orthodox Church warns that such instigation can have negative consequences both for the clergy and believers and recalls that the Church promotes prayer and inner peace for the good of society. The reaction comes after Calin Georgescu, who ran for president on an extremist and sovereignist platform and who is at the heart of a scandal linked to Russia’s meddling in the elections, urged people to go the polling stations today, despite the fact that elections have been cancelled by the Constitutional Court. The members of the sovereignist Alliance for the Union of Romanians, which is also contesting the cancellation of the elections, have also been urged by their party to go to the site of the polling stations to light candles. The Constitutional Court on Friday ruled to annul the presidential elections and resume the entire election process, saying it had been tampered with. Judges also said that the fair and transparent nature of the election campaign was affected and election funding rules were disregarded.
Investigation. Seven persons are under investigation as part of a criminal case opened in Romania after over 100 people attended last week the commemoration of the leader of the former Corneliu Zelea Codreanu Legionnaire Movement, where they displayed fascist and legionnaire symbols, which is against the law. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the persons under investigation used legionnaire flags and symbols and then shared their videos of the event on TikTok. The justice ministry also announced an investigation into five persons in connection to death threats to supporters of former presidential candidate Elena Lasconi. Another case refers to the funding of the presidential election campaign, with searches being conducted in Braşov, in the centre, targeting Bogdan Peşchir, the holder of a TikTok account suspected by prosecutors of corrupting voters, money laundering and IT fraud. Documents declassified by the Supreme Council of National Defence indicate that he contributed to financing Călin Georgescu’s election campaign.
Syria. The Syrian army announced the end of the Assad regime. News agencies report that Syrian president Bashar al-Assad left Damascus for an unknown destination, while rebel forces entered the capital following a lightning offensive that began in the north of the country. The rebel leader said the former prime minister will supervise public institutions until the hand-over of power. The UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen called on all Syrians to prioritise dialogue, unity and respect for international humanitarian legislation and for human rights in the reconstruction of their society, adding that he is ready to support the Syrian people on their journey to a stable and inclusive future. The Romanian foreign ministry advised its citizens to leave Syria immediately, on any available safe route, as the situation escalated. The ministry underlines that at the moment, there are no direct flights to Romania and suggest the land routes to Beirut, Lebanon, via the Masnaa border crossing. Romanian citizens are also advised to inform the embassy of their presence in the region and their location, so that they can be contacted in the event of an emergency.
Book fair. Today is the last day of the Gaudeamus Book Fair, organised by Radio Romania in Bucharest between December 4 and 8. Visitors can still buy new book releases at discount prices and attend book launches and debates. On Saturday, almost 200 events were scheduled, including book launches, meetings with writers, debates and book illustration workshops. The honorary president of this year’s edition was writer Mircea Cărtărescu, one of the best-known and most appreciated contemporary Romanian writers and the recipient of many national and international awards.
