IntMin Vela says no state institutions threatened at street protests of August 10, 2018

Interior Minister Marcel Vela told B1 TV private broadcaster on Thursday that there was no threat to the state institutions at the street protests of August 10, 2018. 

"No," was the reply of Minister Vela when asked by journalists whether there was any "reasonable, no matter how small" threat to the state institutions from the demonstrators. 

The minister said that the declassification of the report on the protests of August 10 facilitates criminal investigation and public access to the data in the report. 

"There is a question of criminal investigation in progress - the criminal probe conducted by the Department for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) can use the report, but it cannot be made public in the indictment, and during the court trial, had it been classified, you, the journalists and all Romanians, the victims of August 10 could not have known the details of this report. Therefore, the declassification itself, as a process, as a procedure, facilitates the criminal investigation, but it essentially facilitates public access to the data in this report," said Vela. 

He added that he did what Carmen Dan and Mihai Fifor had to do. 

"I promised that I would declassify this report. In the government programme there is a measure of declassification, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban promised to declassify it, I did nothing special, I just made every effort to receive these opinions (...). I gave an order, I set up a board, the board analysed, I asked the institutions concerned to approve the declassification, and I received the last opinion this morning [Thursday] at 08:30hrs. After 09:00hrs, it was declassified, and I sent it to DIICOT at 11:00hrs, and I announced the Romanians that the report was declassified. I did what Mr Fifor and Mrs Carmen Dan should have done. So, I succeeded, for a very simple reason, I think: they are now in the Opposition and the Romanian Parliament has voted in a new government, with capable ministers, with a prime minister who keeps his promises," said Vela. 

He explained that he cannot give details from the report, but that there will be many surprises. 

"Let us wait for its publication by DIICOT and in the criminal case you will have access to all the details, but what I can tell you is that you there will be many surprises," said Vela. 

About the administrative inquiries conducted by the ministry in the same matter, Vela said he will conduct an inquiry after the second round of the presidential election. 

"The administrative investigations within the ministry are subject to a six-month statute of limitations. I will do an analysis immediately after the second round of the presidential election of the administrative investigations, who blocked them or who did not start them; who did not take measures when they found there were reprehensible facts, incorrect facts, not to say criminal, of some employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs," said Vela.