Romania has become the first former communist country to condemn its communist past. President Traian Basescu has presented to parliament a report analysing the country’s 45-year communist era. The key words in the assessment were ‘illegitimate’ and ‘criminal’.
But the report provoked strong criticism: opposition leaders say it was hastily-written, one-sided and a ‘lame attempt’ to clean up Romania’s past as it prepares for EU membership.
The report covers the communist era from 1944. It includes analysis of the regime of President Nicolae Ceaucescu. He was executed on Christmas Day 1989, immediately after a military kangaroo court found him guilty of a number of charges including genocide.
It also deals with the Securitate, the biggest state police organisation of any Soviet country in proportion to population.
The regime ended suddenly after violent demonstrations, during which the Securitate fired machine guns at protestors.
Critics of the report say it’s merely a ‘witchhunt’ that generalises 45 years of history.