The Romanian Minister of Defense, Angel Tîlvăr, publicly apologizes for the congratulatory letter sent in January to retired Major General Ioan-Radu Theodoru on his 101st birthday, suspected in a treason case.
„The Minister of National Defense, Angel Tîlvăr, apologizes on behalf of the ministry and expresses regret for such an error, reiterating the firm policy of the MoD to categorically distance itself from any attitudes within the spectrum of xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and hate incitement,” reads a statement from the MoD on Thursday.
Additionally, Tîlvăr requested an urgent review of the working procedures of the Directorate for Personnel Quality of Life in this field, so that such errors are no longer possible.
At the same time, the Secretary of State for Relations with Parliament and Personnel Quality of Life proposed to the minister the dismissal of the head of the Directorate for Personnel Quality of Life for the faulty performance of duties related to preventing such a situation.
The MoD states that it consistently honors and respects World War II veterans. The letter in question is part of a campaign carried out by the Directorate for Personnel Quality of Life, a specialized structure of the MoD that manages relationships with war veterans.
The campaign includes various actions in support of war veterans, such as sending packages on holidays, inviting them to various military ceremonies and home visits, especially on their birthdays, on which occasion they also receive a congratulatory letter from the Minister of National Defense. At this moment, there are approximately 500 war veterans still alive.
The Ministry of Defense also actively and systematically implements programs and measures to prevent, combat, and sanction radicalization and hate speech, as well as any forms of denial and distortion of the Holocaust, anti-Semitic and xenophobic manifestations, and all forms of intolerance, as specified by the MoD.
"Therefore, considering the public attitudes with an anti-Semitic and xenophobic character systematically promoted by Mr. Major General (Ret.) Theodoru, such a congratulatory message should not have been proposed for signing and sending to the recipient by the structure managing the veterans' issues," the source cited further indicates.
The Minister of Defense reiterated the same ideas on his Facebook page, expressing apologies on behalf of the MoD and regret for the "error" of sending the respective congratulatory letter.
"I reiterate the firm policy of the MoD to categorically distance itself from any attitudes within the spectrum of xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and hate incitement, such as those blatantly manifested by the war veteran in question. I have requested the urgent correction of the working procedures of the Directorate for Personnel Quality of Life in this field so that such errors are no longer possible. In parallel, at the proposal of the Secretary of State for Relations with Parliament and Personnel Quality of Life, I will sign the dismissal of the head of the Directorate for Personnel Quality of Life for the faulty performance of duties related to preventing such a situation," wrote Angel Tîlvăr on the social network.
Retired General Radu Theodoru, aged 101, is the target of a DIICOT investigation, along with five other defendants, in a treason case.
The six individuals are accused by DIICOT prosecutors of treason and forming a group with the purpose of "diminishing the sovereignty and independence of the Romanian state by undermining its political and defense capabilities."
The group members made contact with foreign agents in Romania and Russia and took steps to negotiate with external politico-military factors regarding Romania's withdrawal from NATO, the removal of the constitutional order, the dissolution of political parties, the installation of a new government, the removal of all state employees, the adoption of a new constitution, the change of the country's name, flag, and anthem, the investigators claim.
In January, two of the defendants traveled to Moscow, where they made contact with individuals willing to support the organization's efforts to take over state power in Romania.
The Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) stated that those two Russian diplomats declared personae non gratae by Romanian authorities conducted intelligence gathering activities in strategic interest areas and supported the unconstitutional actions of the group.