What the newspapers say:
April 13, 2010
de C.B. HotNews.ro
Marţi, 13 aprilie 2010, 8:14 English | Press Review
"The Government will not sacrifice the country for social peace". Elsewhere in the news, Romania’s president accuses the bolshevization of his party. Last but not least, Romanian ex-diplomat Silviu Ionescu, who killed a person and injured other two in a hit-and-run accident in Singapore, was found to have been involved in another road accident in Greece in 2004, while he served as Romanian consul.
"The Government will not sacrifice the country for social peace", Romanian president Traian Basescu said, quoted by Evenimentul Zilei. In a talk show at his preferred TV channel B1 TV, Basescu stated Romanians need to get it that increasing the salaries and pensions would mean sacrificing the country. According to him, Romania was paying up wages with borrowed money. "We've got 4.9 million people working, out of which 1.9 millions are employed by the state". He claims only 1.1 millions were actually producing and had to support 22 million citizens.
The President argued he did not agree with the Government's policy to replace ministerial staff according to the ruling party. He used the occasion to say that PD-L's main opposing party, namely PSD, did just the same and imposed its people when in power.
Traian Basescu accuses the bolshevization of his party PD-L, Gandul reads. The statement was made after PD-L decided to elect its president and four vice-presidents using a listing system. "The President [of the party] is making sure his hang supports him", he declared for the same B1 TV. He indicates that this was an unfair competition and the authority of the listed people would be contested.
Romanian ex-diplomat Silviu Ionescu, who killed a person and injured other two in a hit-and-run accident in Singapore, was found to have been involved in another road accident in Greece in 2004, while he served as Romanian consul in Saloniki, Adevarul informs. As opposed to the accident in Singapore, Ionescu recognises the accident in Greece. He says there were no victims, but claims he was blackmailed by the Greek driver, who was not accepted for hospitalization because it wasn't the case. Still, Ionescu landed a file with the Saloniki Police.
Reporters have dug up controversial aspects of his activity as diplomat. Apparently he lent 28,000 euros to Elaboration LTD company Greek manager George Karastergios. The firm is known officially for recruiting for Singaporean companies, but it is also featured by one of the most important recruiting web portals in Romania and the Republic of Moldova.
According to Adevarul, the company is recruiting girls aged 18 to 30 who want to become escorts in the most fashionable karaoke clubs in Singapore. The girls were told it was "up to them" if they wanted to make 3,000 euros monthly and that "the night club's managers accept it if the staff want to accompany the clients, at the end of the working day".
Ionescu says the man was his friend. As for his business, the Romanian ex-diplomat said he knew his company was recruiting genitors from Indonesia and Philippines for Romania. Silvian Ionescu is currently the main subject of two penal investigations following the December 2009 hit-and-run accident in Singapore that killed a 30-year old man. Singaporean authorities decided he was behind the wheel and Asked Romania to arrest him for extradition. But Romanian authorities refused so far because there is no official extradition agreement with Singapore.
Romanian prosecutors are also investigating him for murder and leaving the accident scene, but they are waiting the final conclusions of the Singaporean investigation. The ex-diplomat risks 15 years in prison. Staff at the Romanian Embassy in Athens, who used to work with Silviu Ionescu, said he was an independent employee, who did not always follow orders, but was interested in things like "Miss Romania".
