Tuesday, December 20th

27 years since Timişoara became Romania’s first Communism-free city

A solemn gathering on Tuesday of Romania’s National Foundation of the Revolution in December 1989 will mark 27 years since the western city of Timişoara became the first Communism-free town in the country. When fighting spread through the city, some of the people were shot dead and their bodies were removed to a location near the country’s capital Bucharest before being secretly cremated. The act of carrying ashes and unloading them into a pit at Popeşti Leordeni was described as one of the most odious in the history of the Revoltion. Attempts have been made to venerate the ashes of the deceased. Relatives of the cremated have tried many times to built a church at Popeşti Leordeni with no signs of success. However, they currently left for the capital Bucharest where they were expected to attend a mass followed by a wreath-laying cermony at different Revolution memorials.

Joint session of Romania’s new Parliament

A joint session of Romania’s newly elected Parliament is expected on Tuesday when The Senate and the House of Deputies will elect their committees designed to validate the mandates. The new MPs should sign responsibility statements concerning their potential co-operation with the former Securitate service and submit their CVs, if required. The committees are then expected to separately validate the mandates during a joint session on Wednesday. Also on Wednesday, the MPs will take their oath at a swearing ceremony at the Parliament Palace in the capital Bucharest.

A Romanian physician expects his appeal ruling

An appeal court in the Romanian capital Bucharest is expectd to unveil its ruling concerning an appeal put forward by Gheorghe Burnei, a physician accused of alleged bribery and unauthorised experiments on children. Mr. Burnei wants his house arrest conviction being removed while prosecutors claimed he should be put under preventive arrest. The General Prosecutor’s Office received some 20 complaints against Mr. Burnei lately after another 50 such complaints were already under investigation. First complaints against Gheorge Burnei were filed in September and his case is related to 17 corruption-related crimes.

No Romanians among victims of Berlin terror attack

There were no Romanians among the victims of the terror attack in Berlin which left at least 12 people dead and more than 40 wounded on Monday. In a statement of Romania’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, officials pointed out that no requests of consular assistance were currently registered and the Romanian embassy in Germany was closely watching events. Police are treating the incident at Berlin’s Breitscheidplatz on Monday night as a “presumed terrorist attack”, saying they are working on the assumption that a truck was “intentionally” driven into a Christmas market.
Alexandru Danga/adanga