ROMANIA/FILE: Romania calls for communist-era secret files on priests to be declassified

Over six months ago, Romania's President Traian Basescu proudly cut the ribbon in front of the National Council For The Study Of Securitate Archives, a move that symbolically completed the process of opening millions of files compiled by the feared communist era Securitate secret police. The country's ruling centrists had pledged to transfer the files, amassed during decades of Nicolae Ceausescu's dictatorship, from secret service offices to an institute set up in 1999 to manage the archive. Historians believe the Securitate used half a million officers and millions of informers to spy on their fellow Romanians, creating an atmosphere of fear and insecurity. Basescu ordered the transfer to the Council for Studying the Securitate Archives (CNSAS) as a cathartic move for Romania which hopes to join the European Union in 2007. But in recent weeks, Romanian newspapers have been filled with headlines as those very files are investigated. There has been a frenzy of speculation about politicians and journalists who may have collaborated with the Securitate. Many newspapers have carried numerous allegations against top figures, including Basescu himself, Romania's most popular politician according to recent polls. Several politicians have quit their posts and a few journalists have admitted to having signed a collaboration agreement with the Securitate. CNSAS (Council for Studying the Securitate Archives) officials say more explosive revelations are ahead. And this week, it is the role of the Orthodox Church which has come under scrutiny. Basescu said on Monday (August 28) dossiers of priests should be declassified, allowing researchers to study the role played by the Church during communism. Historians say Romania's Orthodox Church, which nominally represents more than 80 percent of the country's population of 22 million, had a subservient relationship with the pre-1989 communist regime. The feared Securitate secret police often recruited priests to spy on worshippers and in return turned a blind eye to their packed churches. "I recommended that the files of high-ranking clergymen be declassified, files that were secret national security files," Basescu said. He said priests from all denominations would be subject to the research. Romania also has sizeable Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic communities. The Orthodox Church denies any links with the Securitate, which recruited hundreds of thousands of Romanians, creating an atmosphere of repression and fear, but historians say the vast majority of priests collaborated. Historian Stejarel Olaru said priests were very powerful and influential, making them amongst the most useful agents the communists could have had. "For many of them it will be painful. A lot of them will feel that their interests will be hurt. Many of them will feel it is an attack on their dignity and their prestige," Romanian culture and religion minister, Adrian Iorgulescu, told the media. Romania, one of the poorest former Soviet satellites, has lagged some of its neighbours in tackling the issue of secret police archives, an explosive subject throughout the region. In recent weeks, various independent groups have put pressure on the state institute which holds most of the Securitate files to speed up checks on politicians and other public figures. Other former communist countries have begun debating the issue of uncovering former agents among the clergy. In Poland, a plan to publish names of priests accused of spying for the communist-era secret police has drawn much controversy, with some saying it would discredit the Catholic Church and innocent priests.

ITN Source | September 1, 2006

Tags:. .recommended. .journalists. .agreement. .admitted. .era