The Elie Wiesel Institute says that it has no involvement in the draft decision and the result of the vote cast by the local council of the district 2 of the Capital City regarding the initiation of procedures for the removal of the bust of Mircea Vulcanescu, Agerpres informs.
"We learn with astonishment from the media that today, December 28, 2022, some persons who participated in the meeting of the local council of the district 2 of the Capital City accused the Elie Wiesel Institute of 'seeking to rewrite the Romanian history and demolish the cult of martyr heroes' of the Romanian nation. Therefore, we make the following clarifications: The Elie Wiesel Institute is not involved in the draft decision and the result of the vote regarding the bust of Mircea Vulcanescu, a person convicted of war crimes. The result of the vote shows that part of the local elected representatives of PNL (National Liberal Party) and USR (Save Romania Union) voted in favour, while other councilors voted against the removal of the bust," reads the press release sent to AGERPRES.
The press release says that the government adopted the "National Strategy for the prevention and combating of anti-Semitism, xenophobia, radicalization and hate speech," but that this public policy "remains only on paper as long as the war criminals, the members of the Antonescu government, continue to be treated by the authorities as civic models."
The draft decision regarding the initiation of the procedures for the removal of the bust of Mircea Vulcanescu from the Sfantul Stefan Park was not approved by the local council of district 2 at its Wednesday's meeting.