Motto: "Before becoming history and even before taking place, a lot of major events are prepared in laboratories" The last top position survivor of the Communist nomenclature is taking a step back. We don't know whether he will withdraw from public life or not. Unlike the elephants, the red rhinoceros maintain position till the last minute. This is the reason why I believe Iliescu is going to struggle to take over PSD (the Social - Democrat Party) and for his status as Opposition leader. Let us look at the ups and downs of the 15 years dominated by this charming leader, by this adept of the totalitarian state. Ion Iliescu worked for Moscow. But I don't know till when. Maybe he is working for Moscow even today. He certainly seized power against a context created and conducted by Moscow. According to the decision reached by the leaders of the Communist Party in Moscow which ZIUA has recently published (the document was taken from the archive of the Soviet Union Communist Party by Bukovski), Moscow took all the necessary measures in due time so that Romanian would still be under control after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Iliescu had powerful support and guidance when he seized power, against the background popular revolt supposed to turn into a revolution. Iliescu calmed down revolutionary enthusiasm and shortly after he became the first and actually the last head of state to sign friendship treaty with USSR, even before the fall of the empire. How much does Romania owe to this man, who has been ruling the country for so long? How will history reflect Iliescu? There are evil and positive coups d'etat. Had there not been 1,000 victims, the coup in December 1989 would have been 100% positive. But when innocent people die so that somebody can consolidate power, then history and chronicles need to open parentheses. Iliescu is the character who seriously jeopardized the integrity and security of the Romanian State. When he called for the Russians in December 1989. When he wanted to found a new secret service - SRI (the Romanian Secret Service) -and plotted the serious incidents in Targu Mures, when the Magyar community and the Romanian one had violent, bloody fight. When he ordered Miron Cozma to take action and turn the coal miners in Valea Jiului into a mass to be manipulated, into a human community that came to Bucharest for confrontation with another human community. They jeopardized the state of law and harmed fundamental rights and freedom. When he appealed to Miron Cozma one more time to overthrow a legitimate government by unconstitutional means, in September 1991. It was the Executive led by Petre Roman, a government that had started reforms. And finally during Constantinescu's regime, when he used all possible means to oppose to the efforts taken by the entire civilized world in order to sack the last communist dinosaur in Europe, that is Slobodan Miloshevic. At least for one of these five reasons this great character can be sued. Let us end parentheses now. Ion Iliescu founded a party with successive names and has tried to get adapted to changes and turn it into a European party. Today PSD is a party known to be member of the Socialist International. It would be absurd for me now to draw the line and simply demonize Ion Iliescu. This personality of Romanian history has made lots of mistakes, he is guilty of severe deeds, which he admits and regrets or not. But he has also played a positive part. It is true that Romania's failures are related to the person who has been dominating Romanian politics for 15 years now. But it is also true that to a certain extent Romania's achievements are related to him as well. Iliescu has had a remarkable capacity to mould and he has done it. Ion Iliescu and his numerous admirers have been cautious enough to leave behind numerous works that would send them to the most shinning lines of posterity. There are few press articles and history books that amend such an image. As far as I am concerned, I am convinced that Ion Iliescu will be shown in history books just as he really is. Mean contemporaries would call him a changing Bolshevik. I would call him the man of dramatic transition, caught between communist darkness dominated by KGB and the spring of a democracy we have the right to dream about and we deserve. Since it is December and since it is never too late to frame history in correct patterns, ZIUA is going to provide you with documents and statements about those dramatic times that brought the freedom and hope we now have.

Sorin ROSCA STANESCU