euro|topics - Adrian Robert Balan

04/12/2008

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Balan, Adrian Robert

3 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.

Gândul - Romania | 31/07/2007

The Antonescu cult in Romania

Despite an official ban, there are places in Romania where tribute is still paid to former Romanian dictator Ion Antonescu (1882-1946). Under the rule of this military dictator, who made a pact with Nazi Germany, hundreds of thousands of Romanian Jews were killed in the early 1940s. Robert Balan comments: "After the collapse of communism, many voices could be heard in Romania calling for the rehabilitation of Marshal Ion Antonescu. In the 1990s busts of Antonescu were set up in a number of Romanian cities, although he was responsible for the deportation of the Jews from the Bessarabia and Bukovian regions. In 2002 a total of 25 streets all over the country still bore his name. In the city of Targu Mures a street called 'Ion Antonescu Boulevard' leads to a Holocaust monument. The right-wing extremist Corneliu Vadim Tudor had a bust of Antonescu erected in the courtyard of a church in 2001... And this although since 2002 a law forbidding 'commemorative plaques to persons responsible for crimes against humanity' has been in force."

Gândul - Romania | 03/07/2007

Two monuments to Romania's first king?

Carol I von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, the first King of Romania, is still revered today. For this reason new monuments are to be erected in his honour. In 1948 the communist leadership had a statue of Carol I on horseback removed from central Bucharest. "Last year, the Minister of Culture announced that the monument, which is the subject of numerous myths, was buried somewhere in the country and ordered a search using metal detectors. The search was unproductive and the Minster decided to have a new statue built... Now the city of Bucharest has also commissioned a similar new monument. The commission for the protection of historical building's only requirement so far is that the two monuments stand at different locations. But does the capital, which already has a plethora of ugly statues, really need another statue of Carol I on horseback?" the newspaper asks, and has organised an online poll on the issue.

Romania Libera - Romania | 31/01/2007

Harassment at the Romanian-Hungarian border

Romania has joined the EU, but Hungarian border controllers are not making things easier for Romanian travellers wanting to enter the country. Reporters Adrian Robert Balan and Cornel Vilau secretly filmed their harassment by border controllers at several border crossing points. "Border crossing point Turnu: in the boot of the car we have bacon and sausages. At the border crossing point, the Hungarian officers check our documents and begin a meticulous inspection of the car. 'Tires and lights are okay but not the windscreen!' They point to a five centimetre-long scratch on the left-hand corner of the windscreen. We explain that the scratch isn't a problem and doesn't obstruct our view... On Thursday morning we return with a new car without any technical problems. A different set of officers is on duty. We go through the same scene as before... This time the policeman gets nervous when he sees the bacon and sausages: 'Turn back! You can't enter the country with food.'" Adrian Robert Balan and Cornel Vilau draw the following conclusion: "All our video footage clearly proves that Hungarian customs officers are abusing their rights."

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