Ruling coalition asked to urgently pass initiative to ban communist symbols in Romania

    Executive Chairman of the Institute for the Investigation of the Crimes of Communism and the Memory of the Romanian Exile (IICCMER) Florin-Daniel Sandru issued a public letter to the political parties making up the ruling coalition requesting the urgent passage of a legislative initiative that would ban the symbols of the communist totalitarian regime and the cult of the people who supported it."Given the recent event where IICCMER presented the results of the survey on nostalgia for communism and in view of the previous debates and analyses, we consider it imperative to start firm legislative measures to counter this dangerous trend. The data presented, as well as the opinions expressed by specialists, clearly highlight the need for the urgent passage of a law that would ban the symbols of the communist totalitarian regime and the cult of the people who supported it. History does not repeat itself identically, but it can be reactivated and manipulated, especially in a vulnerable present. In a democratic society, memory is not only a duty, but an essential tool for strengthening democratic values and preventing the resurgence of extremism," Sandru wrote on Wednesday in an IICCMER's social media.According to him, "given that extremism and the false rewriting of the past are becoming more and more frequent, the lack of such legislation can lead to the reactivation of totalitarian symbols and ideologies, with consequences that are difficult to control on social stability and national cohesion.""In order to prevent such situation, it is mandatory for Parliament to pass the law without delay, providing us with a clear framework for the official rejection of any form of glorification of the communist regime. We consider memory as a form of justice, and then our commitment to defending this memory inevitably becomes an act of moral responsibility. At a time when the fundamental values of democracy are increasingly put to the test by a wave of extremism and dangerous rewriting of the past, passing such a law becomes not only a necessity, but an urgent priority."Sandru says that he wants to sound the alarm that the postponement of this decision can have serious consequences for the Romanian society, including the risk of legitimising, even involuntarily, totalitarian ideas and undermining the efforts to consolidate the authentic democratic culture."It is time to act responsibly and courageously to protect the fundamental values of our nation. At the same time, these values require us to respect the memory of all the victims of authoritarian regimes in Romania's history. (...) What we want is to stop the propagation in the public space of the legitimising symbols for a regime that produced suffering and distorted the understanding of the truth, with consequences until today. Therefore, we respectfully ask all the representatives of the political parties that form the governing coalition to initiate, responsibly and quickly, the necessary steps for Parliament to pass without delay this essential law for the future of our democracy. We are committed to providing the expertise of IICCMER specialists in this endeavour," says Sandru.Over 48% of Romanians believe that life was better under the communist regime, according to an INSCOP poll commissioned by the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile (IICCMER).Data were collected between June 25 and July 3, using the CATI method (telephone interviews). The sample size was 1,505 people, aged 18 years and over. The maximum permissible error of the data is +/-2.53% at a 95% confidence level.According to the poll, 48.4% of Romanians believe that life was better under the communist regime, while 34.7% believe that life was worse during that period.As many as 55.8% of those surveyed consider that the communist regime was rather a good thing for Romania, while 34.5% adopt a contrary opinion. 68.2% say that they have enough information to make an opinion about the communist period. For 29.7% the answer was "probably not" or "definitely not.Respondents believe that before 1989 food was healthier (85.1%), there was less freedom (80.9%), people helped each other more (80%), there was more public safety (75.1%), more was produced than today (68.5%), the state took more care of citizens (66.4%), there was less corruption (65.1%), state bodies were more efficient (58.7%), access to education was easier (49.9%), access to healthcare services was easier (48.6%), people lived better (48.4%), more values were promoted than at present (48.2%).As many as 77.2% of the surveyed believe that before 1989 Romania was a richer country than it is today, and 73.2% say that it was more respected abroad. At the same time, 52.8% believe that during the communist regime there was less industry-generated pollution.As many as 59.2% of the surveyed say that the communist regime was responsible for abuses and crimes, while 23.7% believe the opposite.Also, as many as 66.2% say that late communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was a good leader, while 24.1% consider that he was a bad leader.