MPs rejected Romanian public TV channel 2008 activity report. Dismissed manager accuses PM of political pressures

Romania’s Parliament rejected the Public Television (TVR) 2008 activity report on Tuesday, March 30, with 195 votes in favour of rejecting he report, 78 against and 3 abstentions. The Administration Council (CA) led by president – general manager Alexandru Sassu, is dismissed by law.

According to the Romanian law, SRTv CA is considered dismissed from the moment the activity report is rejected. It continues to hold its position temporary, until the designation of a new council, within 15 days. After the rejection of the report, the Social-democratic Party (PSD) requested keeping the current CA for 15 days, which would have allowed the present TVR leadership to take decisions. But the proposal received a negative vote.

Political environments have lately gossiped two options that the LibDems (PD-L) would have to replace Alexandru Sassu: Rodica Culcer and Robert Turcescu. On Tuesday, political satire weekly Academia Catavencu reds of a „new entry”: Ion Cristoiu. Contacted by HotNews.ro, ion Cristoiu said he has not received any such proposal, but if he is going to get it, „I will continue to support Robert Turcescu, for the young generation, as I have written in Revista 22”.

PSD intends to contest the voting procedure used in the case of the SRTv report at the Constitutional Court. Social-democrats claim that dismissing Sassu and his CA needs to rase the votes of most of the senators and deputies, namely 237 votes. Only 195 were cast today.

On the other hand, PD-L claims that PSD’s request has not got any grounds because the SRTv management dismissal has been achieved through a decision met by the parliament. According to the Constitution, the Constitutional Court judges cannot discuss the Parliament’s decisions and cannot rule on the constitutional aspect of the Parliament’s decisions.

In the beginning of the debates on the activity report, Alexandru Sassu talked about excluding politics from the institution, accusing PM Emil Boc for allegedly asking for a weekly programme with TVR. According to Sassu, this would transform TVR into „a governmental television channel”.

„Getting politics out does not entail changing the law or changing the people, the Administration Council; it means a change in mentality of those in power in the first place”, Sassu said. „Here is the paper, in which the PM asks me to be broadcast each Wednesday, when the rating is highest”, he added.