The Stolen Revolution

The scene is Universitatii Square in Bucharest, Romania on stage is president elect Traian Basescu. Traian broke the old tradition of long speeches by goverment officials and instead he jumps up on stage shouting "Happy New Year Bucharest" and takes a large swig from the Champagne bottle.

So why am I bringing up Traian, well I have, one could say, a special relationship with Romania after visits to the country. The people living there has always stricken me as duality personified, they are very religious but at the same time they have what one could say a pragmatic outlook on life. It is legio in Romania that you have to pay to get a job, or have connections.

Back to Romania, most of us (at least those of my age) remembers the revolution in 1989 that ended with the summarical execution of one of the worst dictators of the old Eastern Bloc, there were not too many tears shed when a firing squad shot the already dead body of Nicolae Ceacescu and his wife Elena. Many thought that this revolution, the bloodiest of all revolutions to throw off the curse of communism was a revolution of the people, but was it really?
Later it has been revealed that the revolution was nothing more than a "civil war" between factions of the Securitate, a crypto coup that paved the way for 15 more years of near communist control, a goverment controlled by an apparatchik as brutal as the preceeding. Led by an ailing president Ion Iliescu the last remnant has finally been cast aside with the election of the 54 year old former captain Traian Basescu. In the wake of this Romanians now refer to the 1989 revolution as the "Stolen revolution".

Basescu now has a hardship in front of him to turn Romania around in time for the EU membership that looms in 2007. Looking at the country now they would fail every test of admission, but still hope is there, and Romania has for the first time since World War II it's first non-communist goverment.
They need our support, I wish Traian good luck in the future and I hope to see Romania in the EU by 2007.


Faptele grãiesc mai apãsat decât vorbele.
Mr Silence Dogood