Romania has one more chapter to negotiate.
With itself: its own past.
Isn’t it strange that no substantial book has been written so far in Romania on the figure of its dreadful dictator, Ceausescu? Romanians have felt a strong need to bury him down in forgiveness. They have no idea whether Ceausescu had done anything good to his country; they don’t know much about his crimes either. Romanians only remember the embarrassing cult of his personality and the endless queues at food shops.
No major book has been written on the history and sociology of those 45 years of socialist era in Romania. What exactly happened in all this time? How many social classes were there? Who ruled the country? How exactly was the system working? Nobody has done a thorough and extensive study yet. History manuals don’t go beyond the knowledge level of the people on the street on this topic.
Before being elected, President Basescu promised he would ‘restore the dignity of Romanians.’ Indeed, the huge emigration from Romania for the past 15 years (it is estimated that over three million Romanians, mostly young people, live now in Western Europe) is a proof that the dignity and the sense of identity of this people have been seriously damaged.
A shibboleth of all anti-PSD politicians has been ‘to find the truth about the events in December 1989.’ In fact, the very name of the political alliance that supports Basescu is Justice and Truth (Dreptate si Adevar). In 1996, when Iliescu was put down for the first time in elections, his opponent Emil Constantinescu came with quite the same promise, that he would restore ‘the truth about the Romanian Revolution.’ After four years in power, Constantinescu failed pathetically to keep his promise.
The Romanian Revolution seems to have required the startup of an artificial chaos when young soldiers were sent to fight against each other, each side being told they were to fight ‘terrorists.’ A high number of casualties and much blood had to be produced in order for Ceausescu’s death sentence to be legitimate. Indeed, he was detained from 22nd to 25th December, while the population was being told that the army was fighting his followers. As he had to be reduced to silence, he was scapegoated.
Ceausescu was executed after a quick drama, and his real trial never took place. I claim that Romanians are today unable to come to terms with the corruption in the systems of politics, justice, and economy simply because they are unable to come to terms with their recent past and the figure of Ceausescu. It is an unfinished business.
Personally, I doubt that the currently ruling coalition will actually have the discernment and the guts to touch the root of the problem, especially since corruption is very likely to burden their shoulders as well.
(27th July, 2005)
