May 4, 2014 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 04.05.2014, 19:14
Ukrainian military forces have extended their offensive against separatists in several cities in eastern Ukraine, and the secretary of the Ukrainian Security Council, Andrei Parubi has warned that authorities will resort to force against secessionists in other regions as well. Moscow has denounced Kiev’s actions warning of their “catastrophic consequences” and has called on the West to condemn them. In another move, Ukraine’s interim prime minister Arseni Iateniuk has blamed the security forces for failing to put an end to violence in Odessa on Friday, when over 40 people died, and stated the General Prosecutor’s Office will conduct a full investigation. Most of the people who got killed were pro-Russian protesters, who died in a fire that broke out in the building they had seized. Also, the Ukrainian prime minister has accused the separatists of causing the violence and of orchestrating a war, together with Russia, aimed at breaking Ukraine’s independence. The Kremlin has accused Kiev of tolerating and encouraging the actions perpetrated by nationalist radicals, which led to bloodshed in Odessa.
Romanian president Traian Basescu said at a press conference on Sunday that there was no risk for Romania to be involved in a war, but the country might be seriously affected by the instability triggered by a potential civil war in Ukraine. The head of state recalled that, unfortunately, things are getting more complicated in the east and south of Ukraine and the situation as it is today very much resembles the beginning of a civil war. According to president Basescu, Romania has the capacity to receive refugees if need may be. Prime Minister Victor Ponta has announced that on Monday government officials in Bucharest will analyze the latest developments in neighboring Ukraine and their implications with regard to the security of both Romania and the Republic of Moldova. In another move, the Romanian Foreign Ministry has voiced solidarity with the Ukrainian people and authorities’ efforts to stabilize the situation. Also, authorities in Bucharest are monitoring the situation of the almost half a million ethnic Romanians in Ukraine.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague is expected to the Republic of Moldova on Monday, part of a regional tour that also includes Ukraine and Georgia. He will meet with representatives of the pro-Western administration in Chisinau, namely president Nicolae Timofti, Prime Minister Iurie Leanca and Foreign Minister Natalia Gherman. The agenda of talks includes the Republic of Moldova’s European integration efforts, bilateral relations and the situation in the region. Recently, the foreign ministers of Germany and France, Frank Walter Steinmeier and Laurent Fabius have also visited Chisinau. In the past month the Republic of Moldova has been visited by many US and European officials, against the background of the crisis in Ukraine and Moldova’s rapprochement to the EU.
Active Watch, an organization that fights for the promotion and protection of the freedom of expression will on Monday publish the report on the freedom of the press in Romania in 2013. On Saturday, which was World Press Freedom Day, journalist Mircea Toma told Radio Romania that media tycoons impose their own political agendas on the media institutions they run. The Romanian Press Club has also stressed that the media in Romania is subject to a double pressure, economic and political, and has condemned authorities’ lack of interest in supporting the press in a European, transparent and nondiscriminatory manner. With a press described as partially free, Romania ranks 84th in a classification of 197 drawn up by Freedom House for 2013. Similar positions with regard to the freedom of the press got Botswana and the Dominican Republic. The Republic of Moldova, Romania’s neighbor with a predominantly Romanian speaking population, ranks 112th, alongside Lebanon and Tunisia. In the same classification, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden stand as the countries with the highest level of freedom, with Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and North Korea at the opposite pole.
The UN has confirmed that the Palestinian Authority has officially joined five international conventions, as requested by president Mahmoud Abbas. The status of observer, obtained at the UN General Assembly of 2012 grants Palestinians the right to join UN institutions without being a member of the organization.
