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1994-05-02
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<text>
<title>
Romania: Human Rights Watch
</title>
<article>
<hdr>
Human Rights Watch World Report 1992
Helsinki Watch: Romania
</hdr>
<body>
<p>Human Rights Developments
</p>
<p> In 1991, Romania continued to struggle with the legacy of
its totalitarian past. Violent incidents persisted, especially
against Romania's large ethnic minorities, although the
violence received less attention in the Western press than in
1990, creating the misleading impression that the human rights
situation was improving. In fact, significant ongoing human
rights violations have been compounded by continuing political
and economic instability, which has put in jeopardy the human
rights gains made since the revolution.
</p>
<p> The Romanian police in 1991 responded with excessive force
and violence to demonstrators and appeared to target journalists
in particular. On January 11, during a large demonstration in
the center of Bucharest, ten journalists covering the
demonstration were beaten by the police. The next day, nine
journalists standing in front of the National Theater and
apparently separate from the demonstrators were seriously beaten
by the police after they showed their press identification
cards. Andre Iliescu, a journalist for Agence France-Presse, was
hospitalized for injuries he sustained at the hands of the
police. Four journalists were beaten by the police on January
13 under similar circumstances. On February 4, Minister of
Interior Doru Viorel Ursu acknowledged that excessive force had
been used by the police during the demonstrations. Five
individuals responsible for the violence were removed from the
police force. However, no officer was prosecuted for this
excessive use of force.
</p>
<p> In general, members of groups critical of the Romanian
government continue to be the targets of threats and
intimidation. During 1991, Helsinki Watch obtained numerous
reports from journalists and opposition activists who had
received threatening telephone calls and letters. Individuals
working directly with Helsinki Watch received threatening calls
referring to specific Helsinki Watch projects in Romania.
Helsinki Watch's correspondence to Romania was tampered with on
several occasions during the year. Many other Romanians
reported that their mail was opened regularly. Some believe, but
cannot prove, that their telephones are tapped. Virgil
Magureanu, director of the Romanian Information Service (RIS),
acknowledged to Parliament in late 1990 that unidentified
parties were continuing to wiretap telephones and open
correspondence. Helsinki Watch has received no information that
any individual has been investigated and prosecuted for illegal
surveillance.
</p>
<p> Intimidation occasionally became violent, as several well-
known members of the opposition discovered. For example, on
January 3, Banu Radulescu, editor-in-chief of the independent
journal Memoria, was attacked by two men who hit him in the
mouth and kicked him after he fell to the ground. Although he
dropped his bag, neither assailant tried to steal it. Ten days
before the attack, Radulescu had received two threatening
telephone calls following a newspaper announcement that the
first issue of Memoria would appear shortly. The attack occurred
after that issue was released.
</p>
<p> Similarly, Petru Cretia, a professor and a member of the
Group for Social Dialogue, was attacked on the street on
February 12 by unidentified men after receiving several
threatening telephone calls to his house. The circumstances of
the attack were similar to the Radulescu case. There was no
attempt to steal Cretia's belongings.
</p>
<p> It is difficult to determine which groups or individuals are
behind efforts to intimidate the Romanian opposition. Such
attacks and threats are by their nature difficult to document
and prove. However, most opposition leaders believe the
intimidation is the work of former Securitate members who may
have ties to individuals within the reorganized security police,
the Romanian Information Service.
</p>
<p> Substantial evidence has emerged that former Securitate
agents participated in violent events during 1990 and 1991. For
example, some Romanians reported that they were able to identify
former Securitate officers among the miners rampaging through
Bucharest in June 1990, an incident which is described below.
However, the Romanian government continues to ignore calls for
a public investigation into the role played by the Securitate
in Romanian society.
</p>
<p> In May 1991, journalists discovered several thousand
partially shredded Securitate documents that had been buried
near the town of Berevoiesti in mid-1990. The Romanian
Information Service admitted that its officers had buried the
files but claimed that this was done without the knowledge of
RIS head Magureanu. Western and Romanian journalists reported
that the files contain information on the Securitate's
surveillance of the opposition after the 1989 revolution. State
prosecutors announced in late May that they had begun an
investigation into the burial, but no indictment has resulted.
</p>
<p> The violent events in Bucharest of June 1990 continued to
reverberate in 1991. President Ion Iliescu responded to violent
anti-government demonstrations on June 13, 1990, by appealing
for assistance, which led to a violent rampage by miners on June
14 and 15. Thousands of miners terrorized opposition groups and
newspapers, attacked opposition party headquarters and members,
assaulted Gypsies, and committed random acts of violence
against other innocent citizens.
</p>
<p> The trials of those arrested for the June 1990
anti-government violence continued into the spring of 1991. From
the outset, there were irregularities in the handling of these
cases. In many circumstances, arrest warrants were not issued
until a week after individuals were detained, and detainees were
denied their right to immediate access to counsel. What is more,
many of those arrested were seized by miners, rather than
legitimate police forces. The evidence of criminal conduct was
often weak.
</p>
<p> By contrast, no miner was tried for the violent rampage
through Bucharest. Nor was any soldier or police officer
prosecuted for joining in the violence. No investigation was
conducted into the role of former and current security police
in the June events.
</p>
<p> The majority of defendants charged in connection with the
anti-government riots were either acquitted or given suspended
sentences. (On January 28, 1991, six defendants were acquitted
and five given suspended sentences in the "File 2" trial. On
April 15, thirteen defendants were acquitted, eleven were given
suspended sentences, three were sentenced to "mandatory work"
for periods ranging from two years to two years and eight
months, and one who had a previous record was given a prison
sentence.) Nevertheless, the trials have had a chilling effect
on opposition activity, especially for those who lack
international stature. Although no formal restrictions were
placed on the former detainees' activities, the authorities
advised all of them on their release not to attend opposition
demonstrations or political meetings. Several have complained
that uniformed police continue to visit their families and their
neighbors. Many lost their employment and are having difficulty
finding new jobs, possibly because of discrimination by
pro-government factory directors against those involved in the
anti-government demonstrations.
</p>
<p> In mid-January 1991, the parliamentary commission
established to investigate the June 1990 violence issued
majority and minority findings. Although the commission left
many important questions unanswered, one conclusion is
inescapable: the Romanian government, including President
Iliescu, must accept responsibility for the violence by the
miners. The majority report presents unrefuted evidence that
prior to the events the government considered the use of
extralegal force, and neither President Iliescu nor former Pr