ROMANIA: AMBASSADOR'S SPEECH, BRITISH CRITICISM OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BUCHAREST 001298

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE DEPT FOR EUR/NCE - AARON JENSEN
NSC FOR ADAM STERLING

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/23/2017
TAGS: PGOV KCOR KJUS PREL RO
SUBJECT: ROMANIA: AMBASSADOR'S SPEECH, BRITISH CRITICISM OF
PENAL CODE AMENDMENTS ELICITS SUPPORT AND SOME BRICKBATS

REF: A) BUCHAREST 1267 B) BUCHAREST 1230 C) BUCHAREST

1213 D) BUCHAREST 1198 E)BUCHAREST 1179

Classified By: DCM Mark Taplin for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Although President Basescu announced on
November 20 that he is returning a package of controversial
amendments to the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code
to Parliament, only a simple majority of parliamentarians is
needed to enact the amendments into law over his veto,
notwithstanding the objections of top Romanian law
enforcement officials, watchdog NGOs, and many Romanian media
commentators. The Ambassador's November 15 speech expressing
strong concern about the proposed amendments and their
potential to negatively impact on justice reform and the
fight against corruption in Romania continues to resonate, as
does a subsequent public statement of support from the UK
Embassy. Most of the reaction has been very positive, both
in public and in private. However, some politicians--most
notably parliamentary Speaker Bogdan Olteanu and Minister of
Justice Chiuariu -- have continued to voice criticism.
Olteanu's intemperate remarks about the Ambassador's
political appointment as U.S. envoy to Romania -- especially
his assertion that it would have been considered "corrupt"
here -- has been roundly panned, including even from within
Liberal ranks. Yet despite the fact that the serious
weaknesses in the proposed amendments are now a topic of open
debate, with even their proponents acknowledging that they
are seriously flawed, it remains to be seen how many of the
dodgy provisions will be altered or withdrawn, especially
since many influential political figures who are under
criminal investigation stand to gain virtual immunity from
prosecution should the amendments become law. End Summary.


2. (SBU) President Basescu on November 20 vetoed parliament's
amendments to the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code.
He commented that if the amendments become law, the criminal
prosecutions of a long list of "corrupt" individuals --
including Dinu Patriciu, Ovidiu Tender, Adrian Nastase,
former ministers Codrut Seres and Traian Remes, and even
current Justice Minsiter Tudor Chiuariu -- would be stopped
in their tracks. The law now returns to parliament, which
has the final say; only a simple majority is needed to
override the president's veto.


3. (C) Basescu's veto follows a November 15 speech by the
Ambassador expressing concern over the negative effects of
the penal code changes on Romania's ability to combat
corruption, trafficking, and other complex crimes. The
Ambassador's speech also expressed concern over the
non-transparent way the amendments were passed without any
consultation with legal experts or civil society, as well as
concern regarding the sanctioning of journalists who
broadcast images of corruption (ref C). President of the
Chamber of Deputies Bogdan Olteanu (PNL) immediately launched
an ad hominem attack on the Ambassador, alleging that
corruption and patronage played a role in the Ambassador's
own appointment and that the Ambassador exceeded his
diplomatic mandate by speaking "unofficially" and publicly
against actions of the Romanian Parliament. However, after
the UK Embassy issued a press release that evening strongly
backing USG concerns, leading PNL strategist Crin Antonescu
publicly rebuked Olteanu's "excessive" and "nervous" remarks
as not being the official view of the Liberal Party. At a
subsequent meeting with Polcouns at PNL Headquarters, PNL
Vice President Dan Motreanu echoed Antonescu, noting that
Olteanu was not a member of the party's senior executive
leadership and that his views were his own. Motreanu also
took pains to underscore the PNL's continued desire for a
"good relationship" with the Embassy.


4. (C) Overall, the political class divided along predictable
lines. Pro-Basescu Liberal Democratic Party President
Theodore Stolojan demanded Olteanu's resignation, calling his
attack on the U.S. unprecedented since the Ceausescu era.
Democratic Party General Secretary Vasile Blaga criticized
Olteanu for playing a nationalist card in order to cover up
disobedience to foreign commitments. Social Democratic Vice
President Victor Ponta (who had just returned from a
voluntary visitor program including briefings with the US
Department of Justice) affirmed that his PSD party would not
support the amendments as they were the actions of "certain
individuals," not of the whole parliament. Fellow party
member Vasile Puscas criticized Olteanu's understanding of
diplomacy, underlining the strategic partnership Romania has

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with the USG. PSD President Geoana also took aim at Olteanu,
noting the damage that errant "schoolkids" including Olteanu
and FM Cioroianu had wreaked on Romania's foreign policy.
Geoana urged Olteanu to apologize, stating it was
unacceptable for the third-ranking Romanian state official to
launch an "infantile" attack against a high official of a
friendly state. Democratic Party President Emil Boc called
for Olteanu's resignation and expressed agreement with the
Ambassador's comments on the amendments.


5. (C) On the other hand, some of the old post-Communist
guard lined up against the Ambassador's comments, arguing
that they constituted "interference" in Romania's internal
affairs. (Few tried to defend Olteanu's personal attack
against the Ambassador, however.) For instance, the
Conservative Party's Sergiu Andon, who heads the Chamber of
Deputies legal committee, along with Greater Romania Party
Vice President Lucian Bolcas, defended the amendments which
they helped quietly shepherd through the Parliament.
Deputies Ioan Timis (PNL) and Eugen Nicolicea (PSD),who
introduced the amendment to criminalize the broadcasting of
investigative audio/visual evidence, demanded that the
Ambassador be declared "persona non grata" and called on the
persons who "misinformed" him to be punished with high
treason and 15-25 years in prison. The PSD's Former PM
Adrian Nastase, former President Ion Iliescu, and Senate
Speaker Nicolae Vacarouiu also criticized USG "interference,"
with Iliescu comparing it to Soviet practices. Yet most
press articles greeted these critiques--especially the
Iliescu comment--with derision. Prime Minister (and PNL
President) Calin Popescu Tariceanu walked the tightrope by
acknowledging publicly that he believed the law was "bad" but
insisting that it did not give any foreign diplomat the right
to make such statements. (Note: Tariceanu followed up his
comments, however, with an effusive, handwritten note to the
Ambassador on the occasion of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
His chief of staff told us that it was intended to reassure
the Ambassador that he still had an open door with the PM.)


6. (C) Meanwhile, Justice Minister Tudor Chiuariu, who is
rumored to have employed the resources of the Ministry of
Justice to actually draft the complex amendments, said that
the Ambassador's comments were "way out of place." Chiuariu,
who is himself under investigation by Romanian prosecutors,
also lashed out at the resident Reuters correspondent in
Bucharest, who reported that the Minister had gone so far as
to criticize the European Commission in an interview on
November 20 for hampering Romania's efforts to fight
corruption by not allowing the prosecuting powers of three
separate institutions to be concentrated into a single
structure. However, Chiuariu later stated that he "did not
intend" to make such a statement regarding changes in the
prosecutorial administration, and indeed, the Liberal
Government has spent much time over the past weeks denying
that any such plan existed. European Commission Spokesman
Mark Grey immediately responded that the National
Anticorruption Directorate has demonstrated its effectiveness
and that no changes to anticorruption institutions should be
made.


7. (C) Comment: As we anticipated, the Ambassador's speech
touched a nerve, and the issue continues to resonate in the
press. Most Romanians with whom we have spoken -- whether in
public or in private words of support to the Ambassador and
other Embassy staff -- appreciate the fact that, once again,
the U.S. government has stood up to express its support for
reform in the Romanian justice system, and for continued
progress in fighting official corruption. President Basescu
personally telephoned the Ambassador to say that he was "100
percent" in support of the speech. Other EU embassies and
the European Commission have told us that they shared our
concerns and the Swedes, Austrians, Danes, Canadians, Dutch
and Belgians are working behind the scenes to persuade key
Romanian officials that the amendments would be viewed
negatively by other partners of Romania's. We also expect
prominent European political figures and commentators who
follow developments in Romania to speak out as well, now that
the floodgates are open. On November 22, German Bundestag
Foreign Affairs Committee President Gunther Krichbaum
criticized the delays in Romania's judicial reforms, adding
that in Germany, Olteanu's ad hominem attacks on the
Ambassador would have led to his resignation. While some of
the amendments in the end might still be enacted, we are
hopeful that the timely joint intervention on the part of the
Ambassador and by our British colleagues will help forstall

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some of the more damaging proposed changes from becoming the
law of the land, and shielding corrupt politicians and other
criminals from prosecution. End Comment.
TAUBMAN