USR proposed in Tuesday evening’s government meeting that there should be no national mourning declared on the occasion of the death of former President Ion Iliescu, arguing respect for the victims of the 1989 Revolution and the miner’s strikes. „We take note of the Government’s decision,” transmitted Dominic Fritz, the leader of USR, who also announced that the party’s representatives will not attend the state funeral.
On his Facebook page, Dominic Fritz emphasized the complexity of Ion Iliescu’s legacy: „The death of Ion Iliescu is painful not because of his departure, but because it leaves us with so many open wounds.”
Fritz recalled the important role of the former president in strategically orienting Romania towards NATO and the European Union, but he drew attention to the suffering of those who paid with blood for freedom during the Revolution and the miner's strikes.
"We cannot remain silent - yes, not even today - about the suffering of those who paid with blood in the Revolution and the miner's strikes for the right to freedom and democracy. We cannot remain silent about the fact that he presided over a post-communist system whose tentacles still restrain us today. Many are still waiting for justice. And Ion Iliescu took with him answers to questions that still trouble society," Fritz further wrote.
He concluded that forgiveness "cannot come without justice and truth" and urged confronting and healing the wounds of the past in order to build a better future.
The Government has decided on the organization of state funerals in memory of former President Ion Iliescu, which will take place on August 6 and 7, 2025.
Additionally, the Government adopted, in an extraordinary meeting, a decision declaring August 7 as a national day of mourning, with the national flag flown at half-mast throughout the country.
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