PRESIDENT BASESCU TO AMBASSADOR: "A BLACK DAY FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUCHAREST 000454

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/FO, EUR/NCE
NSC FOR ADAM STERLING

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/19/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL RO
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT BASESCU TO AMBASSADOR: "A BLACK DAY FOR
ROMANIAN DEMOCRACY"

REF: BUCHAREST 453

Classified By: Ambassador Nicholas Taubman for 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) In a telephone conversation after the parliamentary
suspension vote April 19, President Basescu told Ambassador
that he was "probably" not going to honor his pledge to
resign immediately if he were suspended. Basescu cited
current press speculation that the PSD, PNL, and other
anti-Basescu parties were planning to change the referendum
law to prevent suspended Presidents from running for
re-election as the reason. (note: Prime Minister Tariceanu
in press remarks declared that Basescu's resignation would be
a recognition of his personal mistakes, and said that he
hoped that Basescu understood that he no longer has the
"moral right" to run for President again.) Basescu said that
both PSD head Geoana and Prime Minister Tariceanu were in the
thrall of oligarchs and other "economic forces" who were
threatened by his reform agenda. Basescu added bitterly, "at
least Vadim Tudor and Dan Voiculescu were sincere..."


2. (C) Basescu said that crowds were already gathering in
University Square in Bucharest and in other cities including
Timisoara and Arad. He told the Ambassador that he wanted to
stress that he had not called for these demonstrations and
that they were entirely spontaneous. Basescu said that he
would shortly address the demonstrators and ask them to go
home peacefully.


3. (C) Basescu said that he remained convinced that he would
win the referendum and would regain his office within 30
days. Asked by the Ambassador what might ensue during the
30-day suspension period, Basescu predicted that the first
thing that acting President Vacaroiu will do will be to fire
the Prosecutor General and the head of the National
Anti-Corruption Agency (DNA). Prosecutors' activities had
created "discomfort" in many quarters, including with
oligarchs Dan Voiculescu and Dinu Patriciu, as well as with
PSD leaders Nastase and Iliescu. Basescu said that the
Iliescu "file" was more or less "finalized", and that Iliescu
was on the verge of being accused of crimes connected with
events that took place in 1990. (Note: Basescu did not
specify, but he may have been referring to the miners'
rampage in 1990.)


4. (C) Asked whether his opponents would actually agree to
holding a referendum within 30 days, Basescu replied,
"according to the constitution, yes, but these guys don't
respect the constitution...". He noted that the constitution
specified a parliamentary response to his call for a vote on
creating uninominal electoral districts within 30 days, but
over 60 days had elapsed with no answer.


5. (C) Basescu concluded the call by remarking that it was a
"black day" for Romanian democracy. He said that he had just
spoken with the President of the Constitutional Court, and
that he had told him that the constitution specified that a
President could only be suspended if he infringed upon the
constitution. Since the Court had already found that he had
not violated the constitution, what took place today was pure
politics. What this meant, said Basescu, was that from now
on, Parliament can remove an elected President at any time,
if the President loses his parliamentary majority. It meant
that there was no longer a "free President" since all future
Presidents will have to constantly negotiate with the
political parties in parliament in order to stay in office.


6. (C) Comment: President Basescu's decision to opt for the
30-day suspension option over resigning and calling for new
Presidential elections may turn out to be the wiser course of
action. The Constitutional Court has already rejected two
proposed laws that would have lowered the electoral threshold
for permanently removing a President through referendum, and
Prime Minister Tariceanu's comments about Basescu losing the
"moral right" to stand as a candidate also suggests that
Parliament would have thrown up new roadblocks to his
candidacy. His intention to tell demonstrators to go home
peacefully is also a good move, especially given concerns
that any attempt to mobilize a "people power" scenario right
now could escalate out of control or -- more likely -- be
hijacked by extremist elements attempting to discredit him.
End Comment.

TAUBMAN