Romanian President Traian Basescu condemned Romania's Communist regime as "illegitimate and criminal" in a speech delivered at a special Romanian Parliament session on December 18, 2006. His remarks garnered widespread attention.

President Basescu presented the Parliament with an officially commissioned report on Romania’s Communist-era, which condemned the regime of killing hundreds of thousands of citizens and ruined the lives of millions during its rule.

"Illegitimate and Criminal"

According to an Epoch Times report on December 19, President Traian Basescu stated, "For the Romanian citizens, Communism was a regime imposed by a political group self-entitled as a truth keeper, a totalitarian regime born through violence, and ended through violence. It was an oppressive regime that expropriated five centuries of modern history from Romania's people. It violated the law and forced citizens to live in lies and fear."

President Basescu presented the Parliament with an officially commissioned report on Romania’s Communist-era, which condemned the regime of killing hundreds of thousands of citizens and ruined the lives of millions during its rule.

"Extensive and thorough investigation and witness statements all point to the anti-patriotic nature of the Communist regime. In view of the above, one can conclude that the Communist regime, which ruled Romanian from 1945 to 1989, was illegitimate and criminal."

Listing twenty grounds to back his argument, he further stated, "As the Romanian head of state, I clearly and categorically condemn the Communist system in Romania, from its beginnings as a dictatorship during 1944-1947 and up to its fall, in 1989. Taking into account the facts presented in the Report, I declare with full responsibility: the Communist regime in Romania was illegitimate and criminal."

"Time to Heal"

President Basescu called upon Members of Parliament to support his condemnation and offer sympathy to the victims of the Communist regime, in accordance with the European Commission’s decision No. 1481 passed on January 25. The president expressed regret and compassion for the regime's victims on behalf of the Romanian state, apologizing to those who suffered, to their families and to all those who, in one way or another, saw their lives ruined by the dictatorship.

Basescu recommended several specific measures, including setting up a Romanian Communist Dictatorship Museum in Bucharest and establishing a similar permanent exhibit within the Parliament Palace. The President also proposed offering twelve annual grants to young researchers interested in investigating aspects of the Communist dictatorship and for related subjects to be taught in schools.

President Basescu said, "Prosperity is not possible in a society where people have no freedom." According to him, the worst evil done by Communism was to obliterate the meaning of freedom. Democratic systems, however, will not appear automatically. People need to awaken. People need to make it a reality."

Basescu said at the end of his speech that today’s denouncement was a natural reflection of Romania’s respect for democratic values as a democratic country, "What Communism thrust upon us, what we experienced, was an un-healable wound in Romanian history. It is now time for it to heal."

Support from Dignitaries

Former Cezch Republic President Vaclav Havel, Bulgaria's former President Jelio Jelev, Former Polish President and Nobel Peace laureate Lech Walesa, Former Romanian President Emil Constantinescu, and Romania's former King Mihai, Prince Radu, and Princess Margareta also attended the session on Monday to shore up support. Also present in the audience were politicial dissidents of the former Communist regime and several generations of anti-Communist fighters.

During the recess, President Basescu and several former Presidents of Eastern European countries received the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. They were delighted to see this book.

Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tacireanu sat next to the President during his speech to show support for the President’s condemnation of Communism.

The Prime Minister said, "It is utterly critical to keep away from Communism and denounce it." He cited the government's efforts to declassify secret police archives, which were a great source of fear during the Communist era, and set up an institute to investigate the crimes committed during the Communist period.

The denouncement was also welcomed by the President of the Democratic Party, Emil Boc, who praised Basescu as the first President to make real progress on this issue.

On December 10, 2006, International Human Rights Day, Ukrainian practitioners held activities to expose the Chinese Communist regime’s persecution of Falun Gong. Over the past seven years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has not only persecuted its own citizens – 100 million Falun Gong practitioners – with brutal and inhumane torture, but has also given orders through its Embassies to defame Falun Gong and win over other countries with financial interests so that these countries would keep silent over the issue of Falun Gong.

In order to help more people know the truth about the persecution, Ukrainian Falun Gong practitioners held activities in central Duonietsk on Human Rights Day. They talked with the local people about Falun Gong and the CCP human rights abuses, and also collected petition signatures for two Chinese practitioners in Ukraine who were seeking asylum and were at risk of being sent back to China to face imprisonment, torture and even death.

On International Human Rights Day, practitioners held activities in central Duonietsk to explain the facts about Falun Gong

This event attracted many journalists. Before the event, practitioners sent press releases to the Ukraine media. Some journalists turned up before the practitioners arrived.

After practitioners arrived, they set up the posters and banners quickly. Photographers were anxious to photograph the posters. The posters showed the difference between the way Falun Gong is treated in China and outside of China. In China, Falun Gong practitioners are persecuted and their organs are harvested while they are still alive to sell on the transplant market. Outside China, practitioners from different countries all over the world are enjoying the benefits of practicing Falun Gong. A sharp contrast was formed between the scene of many people doing exercises together in other countries and the persecution in China. Journalists from different media organizations interviewed the practitioners.

A journalist from newspaper Donbass was interested in this event, and she interviewed several practitioners. In her interview, she told practitioners that the Chinese Ambassador came to the city yesterday and a journalist asked him for his view on the practitioners’ upcoming activities. The Ambassador said that the practitioners are paid fifty US dollars each day for taking part in the event and the journalist wanted to know if this was true.

Hearing this, the practitioners told the journalist that the principles of Falun Gong are Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance, and that Falun Gong teaches people how to be good. Practitioners are volunteers. They have received many physical and spiritual benefits from practicing Falun Gong and they want to bring the persecution to an end from the bottom of their hearts. There is no making money from Falun Gong activities, and the practitioners will not even accept donations. Instead, they pay for everything with their own incomes. The Communist regime always lies to people, just as it has done throughout its history. After hearing this, the journalist thanked the practitioners and said that she would write a report of what she saw and heard on that day.

"As Christmas approached, Falun Gong practitioners in Augsburg, Germany, had a wish to give a special Christmas gift to the local people," said Mrs. Shao. "Our Christmas gift is different from other gifts. People in the world are always eager for beautiful things. In fact, it is a great blessing to come in contact with Falun Gong."

On December 16, 2006, it was very crowded in Augsburg. People went to town to stroll around the Christmas markets on the sunny weekend. When they passed by King Square, many people were attracted by the elegant music and peaceful exercise movements displayed by Falun Gong practitioners.

Mrs. Shao told this reporter that over the past six months, she and other practitioners have held an activity in that area every month to expose the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) human rights atrocities. Mrs. Shao mentioned that many people were happy to receive leaflets and asked practitioners for more materials including the book, the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party.

After learning about Falun Gong’s peaceful resistance to over seven years of persecution, as well as the practice’s popularity around the world and its principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance, people commended Falun Gong and expressed condemnation of the brutal persecution. Several people from India signed their names to the petition and were happy to see pictures on the exhibition board of Indians practicing Falun Gong.

"After I saw the leaflet reading ‘Live Organ Harvesting from Falun Gong Practitioners by the CCP’, I wanted to find out what Falun Gong is and why the CCP would suppress it." said an ethnic Chinese from Brazil, who signed the petition opposing the persecution. He said he has always been interested in traditional Chinese culture and plans to learn Falun Gong. "I cannot accept torture wherever it exists, because it is against human dignity. Now I have found out what Falun Gong is; however, I cannot understand why the CCP would exert such a brutal persecution against innocent, peaceful practitioners. The behavior of the CCP is impossible and unreasonable. Thus, I will use my signature on this petition to express my support for Falun Gong practitioners."