Bucharest needs a Communism Museum

Romania's conservative ruling party PDL announced in mid-July its plans to open a Communist Museum in Bucharest. Critics denounce the idea as party tactics and point to the lack of bipartisan consensus. In the left-liberal daily Dilema Veche philosopher Andrei Pleșu argues in favour of the museum, although there is a similar one in the northern Romanian village of Sighet: "The idea that tourists would have better access to such a museum in the centre of Bucharest seems not to count. The criticism sometimes sounds like bitter revolutionary talk: we still live under communism, we are still governed by communists and the present cannot be displayed in a museum, the argument goes. ... But one of the key functions of this museum is its potential to become a place for open, balanced debate. Where ideology, vain strutting and pride are kept out as much as possible. The Communism Museum should serve all those who really want to understand - and not political cronyism."

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