The Romanian state must support, more than ever in the current context, the Romanian communities in Ukraine, said on Sunday the secretary general of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Paul Stanescu, who participated in the commemoration ceremonies of the historian Dimitrie Onciul in Chernivtsi and then in Straja commune, northeastern Suceava County.
"At the end of this week I was in Ukraine, in Chernivtsi and then in Straja commune for the commemoration of Dimitrie Onciul, who was a great Romanian historian, president of the Romanian Academy and a defender of the Romanian identity and nation. On Saturday, together with the Romanian community in Ukraine, I attended the memorial service in the Central Cemetery in Chernivtsi. Together with Gheorghe Carciu, secretary of state with the Department for Romanians Abroad, senator Ioan Stan, Prof. Juravle Mihai, mayor of Straja, and other distinguished guests, we were happy that we were able, despite the difficult conditions, to honour the memory of the great Romanian, as required by our Christian tradition," Stanescu said on Sunday, according to the PSD Facebook page.
The Social Democrat stressed Romania's obligation to be "ever closer" to the Romanian community in Ukraine.
"Today [Sunday - editor's note], after the Holy Mass and the second memorial service for Dimitrie Onciul, performed by Vicar Bishop of the Archdiocese of Suceava and Radauti Damaschin Dorneanul, in the presence of His Eminence Joseph Metropolitan of Western and Southern Europe, I was honoured to say a few words about a sacred duty we have. The resting places of our ancestors are monuments of Romanianism, part of our identity and must be protected and rehabilitated. Moreover, given the war and the difficult times that the Romanian communities in Ukraine are going through, we have an obligation to be close to them at all times, and the Romanian state must support them more than ever," added Paul Stanescu.AGERPRES