Accept No Substitutes: How To Help The Romanians Have Free And Fair Elections

In the face of mounting evidence that the Romanian elections scheduled to be held on 20 May 1990 may not be conducted in a genuine democratic fashion, the Center for Security Policy called upon the Bush Administration to take steps designed to improve the prospects for free and fair balloting.

In an analysis released today entitled Romania: Will the Communist Successors to Ceausescu Permit Truly Free and Fair Elections?, the Center called attention to a communist tradition of deception and subterfuge which has been elevated by the Romanian party to an art form. This practice — epitomized by Ceausescu’s practice of proclaiming foreign policy stances at variance with those of the USSR while actively collaborating with Moscow on a variety of fronts (notably technology theft and espionage) — appears to be operative under the successor, National Salvation Front regime of Ion Iliescu.

"On May 7th, the State Department finally called attention to months of systematic intimidation and violence being used by the Romanian regime and on May 10 withdrew the U.S. Ambassador. These actions are to be commended but stopped short of the logical next step — announcing a program to try to prevent such practices from corrupting the crucial, upcoming election," said Frank J. Gaffney, the Center’s director.

Dr. Constantine Menges, a senior associate at the Center, added, "We propose a series of specific steps that should immediately be taken by the U.S. and other concerned, democratic governments. These include a call for a postponement of the election by 60-90 days, an independent assessment of alleged coercive behavior by the Front government and a tying of Western economic assistance to the correction of any such practices and the holding of a genuinely free and fair election."

Menges noted, "A rigged election of this type would set a dangerous and negative precedent for the coming elections in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and Poland. What is more, Western acquiescence in such practices could encourage hardline communist elements in Eastern Europe and elsewhere now out of favor to utilize these techniques to regain power."

The Iliescu regime appears to be assiduously trying to sabotage any chance of a honestly contested election through, among other techniques, the following: applying the government’s resources to its own partisan ends; transporting sympathizers to disrupt opposition rallies through intimidation and the use of physical violence; halting transmission by "Free Romanian Television" of other than pro-government information; and, simply reorganizing the secret police force, the dreaded Securitate.

Copies of this paper may be obtained by contacting the Center.