On the death of former Romanian president Ion Iliescu
Romania's first post-communist president Ion Iliescu died on 5 August aged 95, and will be buried in a state funeral today. He was under investigation for committing crimes against humanity during the 1989 revolution until recently. The national press gives conflicting accounts of his historical role.
He doesn't merit a state funeral
G4Media ponders on whether Iliescu deserves to be buried with full honours:
“The sensible answer is: no. A politician who did so much damage to Romania does not deserve any honours. ... Ion Iliescu was never a national leader in the truest sense of the word, but a politician who resorted to violence to maintain his grip on power when he saw it slipping away. He has over a hundred people who died and thousands who were wounded in the revolution on his conscience, as well as several dead and hundreds of injured in the miners' riots. And because of him many Romanians decided to leave the country. He took control of the revolution and held Romania back for more than a decade.”
No better or worse than the people
For Libertatea Iliescu perfectly reflected Romanian society:
“Ion Iliescu also did good things. He played a role in preserving Romania's territorial integrity in the 1990s. His greatest achievement was accepting the country's Euro-Atlantic destiny. Democracy in Romania began de facto in 1996, when Iliescu's party accepted defeat in the elections and stepped down. That is a fact. However, his mistakes in leading the country were far more numerous. The most serious thing that can be said now about his death is that Iliescu was neither better nor worse than the people who elected him, adored him or hated him. Iliescu, with his broad and often fake smile, was also a mirror.”