ROMANIAN PRESIDENT CLEARED OF SUSPICION OF DISCRIMINATING AGAINST ARMENIANS
Romanian news agency Rompres
Oct 15 2007
Romania
["President Basescu Cleared of Accusation of Discrimination Against
Ethnic Armenians" – Rompres headline]
Bucharest, Oct 15 (Rompres) – The Council for the Combat of
Discrimination (CNCD) decided on Monday by a vote of six to one that
President Traian Basescu did not discriminate against the Armenian
community when, upon leaving hospital, he said about doctor Mircea
Ghemigian that he finally sees a ‘competent Armenian.’
After analysing the submitted evidence, the CNCD Directing Board
decided that the notified deeds do not cumulatively meet the elements
of discrimination. ‘We considered that the statements of the President
were political statements made in a particular context, in a political
battle, and the College feels that attempts were made lately to attract
it in certain political debates, but the College is not competent for
that, which does not mean that we agree or do not publicly condemn any
statement made in a political debate that could have discriminatory
elements,’ said CNCD president Csaba Ferenc Asztalos. He added that
CNCD is not the ‘guardian of public personalities’ in political
squabbles and that they need to adopt an ethical code of their own.