Free Republic

On Christmas day 20 years ago, Nicolae Ceausescu – long time dictator of Romania – was, along with his wife Elena, executed by firing squad just days after fleeing Bucharest, while his tyrannical regime unraveled before the eyes of a watching world.  His demise and the surrounding events are etched in the memory of those of us who watched it all unfold via various news reports. The look on the once strong-man’s face as a massive crowd began to boo during a speech on December 21st, was one of the defining moments of the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. ...

TIMISOARA, Romania – To the strains of strings playing Christmas carols, Romanians paid homage Wednesday to the fighters who took to the streets of this Transylvanian city 20 years ago, sparking the revolution that swept Eastern Europe's most repressive dictator from power. It was here that residents flocked to the defense of an ethnic Hungarian dissident pastor who was being threatened with forced relocation, leading to rapidly escalating confrontations with police. The next day, police, army and secret service units began firing at protesters, the start of six days of fighting that subsequently spilled over to Bucharest and led to...

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - Even his best friend betrayed him. Stelian Tanase found out when he asked to see the thick file that Romania's communist-era secret police had kept on him. The revelation nearly knocked the wind out of him: His closest pal was an informer who regularly told agents what Tanase was up to. "In a way, I haven't even recovered today," said Tanase, a novelist who was placed under surveillance and had his home bugged during the late dictator Nicolae Ceausescu's regime. "He was the one person on Earth I had the most faith in," he said. "And...

THE ANTI-HUMANS: The Reeducation Experiment of the Communists Between 1944-1945, Communism took over the Christian country of Romania. An experiment of terror was performed on the young generation, on students from the age of eighteen to twenty five. Among those students was a man who is alive today after surviving sixteen years in the anti-human communist prison system. His name is Father George Calciu. After His release from prison, he was exiled to America in 1984. Below follows part of an interview by Nun Nina from this year.(1998) Nun Nina: This may be more difficult for you to talk about...

Madonna Booed During Romanian Concert Over Gypsy Remark August 28, 2009 7:13 a.m. EST Anne Lu - Celebrity News Service News Writer Bucharest, Romania (CNS) - Madonna's stance on equality was not warmly received in Romania. The pop superstar was booed during a concert after she mentioned discrimination of gypsies and homosexuals in the country. She told the "Sticky and Sweet" concert crowd in Bucharest, "I've never been to Romania before and I am happy to be here." "But I found out that there is a lot of discrimination against gypsies in Eastern Europe and that makes me very sad,...

Who was the real Count Dracula?Romania was the destination for this year's vacation. We really had a wonderful time. The people are very friendly and there's much to see in this beautiful country. It's truly a great place to go if you're looking for something that's affordable and different from the usual resort and beach destination (they have those too). I knew if we were going to Romania, we couldn't miss a trip to see Dracula's Castle. Brasov, 15 miles (24km) from Bran CastleIrish author Bram Stoker put Transylvania on the literary map in 1897 with his fictional novel Dracula....

An Open Letter to the Obama Administration from Central and Eastern Europe 2009-07-15 by Valdas Adamkus, Martin Butora, Emil Constantinescu, Pavol Demes, Lubos Dobrovsky, Matyas Eorsi, Istvan Gyarmati, Vaclav Havel, Rastislav Kacer, Sandra Kalniete, Karel Schwarzenberg, Michal Kovac, Ivan Krastev, Alexander Kwasniewski, Mart Laar, Kadri Liik, Janos Martonyi. Janusz Onyszkiewicz, Adam Rotfeld, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, Alexandr Vondra, Lech Walesa. We have written this letter because, as Central and Eastern European (CEE) intellectuals and former policymakers, we care deeply about the future of the transatlantic relationship as well as the future quality of relations between the United States and the countries of...

Col. Ion Manci (right), senior national representative, Romania, presents the Honor Emblem of the Romanian Land Forces to Lt. Col. Brian Pierce, Forward Operating Base Delta garrison commander, during a ceremony at the Romanian contingent headquarters, June 16. Manci also presented the award to Maj. Jennifer Finch, 41st Fires Brigade military intelligence officer-in-charge. Photo by Sgt. Allison Churchill, Multi-National Division – South. FOB DELTA — The Romanian contingent here recently signaled the end of their Army's operations in Wasit province with a ceremony at their headquarters building. The ceremony gave both the Romanians and U.S. Soldiers the opportunity to show...

Not for commercial use. Solely to be used for the educational purposes of research and open discussion. Arrest of Kenyan Exposes Massive Global Arms Trade The East African Africa News February 25, 2002 Monday Kenya L AST WEEKEND'S arrest of Kenyan-born Sanjivan Ruprah, who is alleged to be a part of a major arms smuggling operation to Africa, has brought into the open the extent of the multi-million dollar illegal business. The whereabouts of Bout remain unknown. Some media reports say he is in Moscow, while others say he is in the Congo or the United Arab Emirates. An international ...

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq, June 9, 2009 – Military operations in Iraq formally ended for Romanian forces June 4, as one of America's coalition allies prepared to ship out some of its remaining troops with an end-of-mission ceremony held by Romania’s 26th Infantry “Red Scorpions” Battalion. Lt. Col. Gabriel Toma, commander of the Romanian army’s 26th Infantry Battalion, conducts an inspection of troops with Romanian President Traian Basescu during an end-of-mission ceremony June 4, 2009, at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Mark Miranda  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Romanian flag was...

Romanian archaeologists has discovered, in southeastern county of Caras-Severin, a complex structure estimated to be 2,000 years old belonging to the Roman culture, local media reported on Thursday. The archaeological discovery has a special importance because it was built very early, probably in the autumn of 101 during the first Dacian-Roman War of 101-102, before the actual Roman conquest of Dacia, the Carpathian-Danube region, modern day Romania. The discovery will bring the village of Zavoi in Caras-Severin County to the attention of history researchers and archaeologists from around the world following the digging up of the ruins of a Roman...

110 brides and brides-to-be march to promote family values in Bucharest (NECN/APTV) - Dozens of women sporting full bridal regalia took part in a parade in Bucharest on Sunday, to promote the institution of marriage in Romanian society. Organizers of the "Bride Parade" said they intend to promote marriage as a way of maintaining traditional family values in this Orthodox country. The atmosphere was celebratory as dozens of women dressed in various white dresses, veils and tiaras marched to the sounds of trumpeters playing wedding songs. One woman called the event "unique" and one that "emphasizes the importance of the...

Fox news just had a cute story about a brides'parade in Rumania. The purpose of the parade seems to be a promotion of marriage and family values. Wouldn't this be a cute and fun way to promote marriage in our communities?

The Romanian Greek-Catholic Community is facing with a cultural and religious wipe-out: the Greek-Catholic churches are systematically destroyed by the Orthodox Church representatives, whose actions are supported and accepted by the Romanian authorities, the Romanian Greek-Catholic Association accuses in a letter addressed to Hillary Clinton, the US state secretary. Romanian Greek-Catholic Association, Inc. is a non-for-profit association registered in the United States of America, aiming to support the Greek-Catholic communities. Head of the association priest Cristian Terhes argues that "the citizens are harassed and threatened because they declare themselves Greek-Catholic; the rights and freedoms of the Greek-Catholics are systematically infringed,...

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq , April 28, 2009 – Romanian soldiers are helping train Iraqi commandos on Camp Ur, near Contingency Operating Base Adder in Iraq. Soldiers assigned to the 26th Romanian Infantry Battalion teach Shotokan karate to Iraqi troops during hand-to-hand combat training, as part of commando training on Camp Ur near Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq, April 26, 2009. (Photo courtesy of Multinational Division South)  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Soldiers of the 26th Romanian Infantry Battalion mentored Iraqi soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 39th Iraqi Army Brigade, through the first four weeks of tactical,...

Moldova has rejected a new ambassador proposed by Romania, an official said Friday, in another sign of deteriorating relations between the neighboring countries. Earlier this month, Moldova accused Romania of supporting violent anti-communist demonstrations by thousands of people who stormed Moldova's Parliament and presidential offices to protest an election that had returned the Communist Party to power. Romania rejected the accusation, but Moldova expelled Romania's ambassador.

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Surprising as it may seem, incest is not always a crime in Europe. Three European Union nations — France, Spain and Portugal — do not prosecute consenting adults for incest, and Romania is considering following suit.

Romanian Court is going to try the appeal filed by the Bulgarian national Petar Zikulov, who is charged with espionage, Sofia News Agency reports. Zikulov is currently detained for 29 days, the maximum period under Romanian law. Zikulov and Floricel Achim, a Romanian warrant officer, were arrested in Bucharest on March 2, on charges of espionage and treason. They have been accused of leaking military secrets to a third country that was not an EU and NATO member.

A blast occurred Monday at the Bucharest Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defence and Ecology Research Center of the Romanian Ministry of Defense, killing one officer who was working there, the ministry said.Major engineer Octavian – Viorel Mihai received first aid from the unit’s doctor and was immediately taken to the nearest hospital, to receive specialized medical attention, but he passed away.The officer was 37 years old and was working at the center since 2004. Part of his job involved working with powders and explosives. Another two slightly injured in NBC Research Center explosion A woman who was injured in the...

I was relaxing in my favorite armchair and watching golf when my daughter, Hannah, strode into the room. "Dad," she said, "we need to have a serious talk."   "Okay," I replied, turning to her.   She frowned. "You're going to have to turn the TV off."   "Oh." I tapped the remote control. This was serious.   Almost automatically, she began. "Dad, I don't really want to be an only child. I think we should adopt a baby brother."   Silence.   After picking my jaw up off the coffee table, I found my voice. "Where did this...