Update: Romanian Academy members send out call to “sovereignty and national unity”
Eighty-four members of the Romanian Academy have signed a call to the Romanian people and the state institutions, where they argue “strongly in favor of the national identity, sovereignty and unity,” Hotnews.ro reports. The message comes as some voiced the theory that the anti-corruption protests of the past week could affect Romania's territorial integrity.
Update: The press office of the Romanian Academy issued a statement on February 10th saying the call does not reflect the institutions’ official position and that the initiative was a personal one of those signing it.
PSD senator Adrian Tutuianu, the president of the parliamentary commission for the oversight of the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), compared the Romanian protests to the Kiev Maidan, which lead to the territorial division of the country and argued that scenarios of a “hybrid war” should be analyzed, Hotnews.ro wrote.
Among the academy members signing the call are surgeon Irinel Popescu, the dean of the Cluj Babeș-Bolyai University Ioan Aurel Pop, chemist Marius Andruh, writer Nicolae Breban, literary critic Eugen Simion, soprano Mariana Nicolesco, novelist and playwright Dumitru Radu Popescu, and historian Dan Berindei.
“Particularly concerned with the recurrent attempts of “regionalizing” Romania and of creating ethnic-based autonomous enclaves, against the Romanian Constitution and the European integration tendencies, totally unproductive economically, socially and from the point of view of the quality of life in these area, we stand firmly against such actions and are strongly in favor of the national identity, sovereignty and national unity, we ask the competent institutions of the Romanian state, at all levels, to oversee and act to prevent, counteract, and when the law is broken, to punish all diversions and aggressions to the identity, sovereignty and national identity of Romania and to the stability of the rule of law,” the call says, as quoted by Hotnews.ro.
Another Romanian Academy honorary member, 100-year old philosopher Mihai Sora, has taken part in the last week's protests. Sora, who updates a Facebook page liked by some 56,000 people, is not on the list of those signing the call.
The Romanian-language text of the call can be read here.
A list of members of the Romanian Academy can be read here.
Divided Romania: Pro and anti-Government protests continue in Bucharest, other cities
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