Former president Traian Basescu claims Romania would make a big mistake if it were to give in and to accept refugees on its territory, “people it knows nothing about,” claiming that “when you’re head of state sometimes you have to have a stone instead of a heart.”
“I am not a soulless person, I see how tormented they are, but when you’re a head of state sometimes you have to have a stone instead of a heart. We have to maintain our own procedure. We have no reason to artificially receive 1,700 or 7,800 citizens we know nothing about. We are entering in the area of major security issues for the European Union and we have the obligation to destroy the transport means across the sea before they leave the ports, when they have no people onboard,” Traian Basescu stated on Friday evening on Digi24.
“Intelligence services can’t guarantee that some immigrants are not financed by the Islamic State”
Traian Basescu also referred to the refugee crisis, stating that two European institutions have collapsed in this case – the Dublin Agreement and the Schengen Area.
“When we reached the situation in which we notice that European institutions collapsed, European institutions have collapsed, you understand, this is what is going on now, there are two institutions that collapsed: the Dublin Agreement and the Schengen Area. The politicians are tempted to hide the collapse of the institutions under humanitarianism. But I, as a European citizen, want to know why the institutions did not work. The Dublin Agreement, which forces member states, when persons enter their territory illegally, to send them to the point from which they entered the European Union, this Dublin Agreement no longer works. The security of the Schengen Area – well, Romania was not good and the Schengen Area is turning out to be a strainer, anyone enters whenever and however it wants,” Traian Basescu stated.
Traian Basescu stated that the wave of refugees represents the second biggest-risk after the Second World War and that “there is no intelligence service in the world that could guarantee that a percentage of the thousands of people that are coming from Africa, Iraq and the Middle East are not financed by the Islamic State.”
Former president Traian Basescu stated on B1TV on Friday evening that what is happening with the refugee wave represents “a security issue for the European Union and Romania,” reaffirming that Bucharest should not accept refugees.
“We are facing the second risk magnitude-wise since the Second World War. I believe the security problems are extremely severe and the ease with which European politicians are reacting seems to me condemnable as long as no solutions are taken for this wave to be stopped,” Basescu said.
The former president also stated that intelligence services cannot guarantee there are no people financed by the Islamic State among the refugees.
“A terrorist attack can take place in Romania at any moment. And I am telling you one thing. There is no intelligence service in Europe or in the world, and I include the American intelligence services here, that could guarantee that a percentage of the thousands, tens of thousands of people coming from Africa, the Middle East, Afghanistan and Iraq are not financed to do so by the Islamic State itself. (…) What statesmen and decision makers lose sight of is the fact that the Islamic State controls the production of oil refineries in Libya and Iraq, controls terrorist flows from the Middle East and Africa. It’s no joking matter. They can finance the introduction of an organized network within the European Union. And I do not forget, recall the Islamic State’s declaration: the Caliphate will include the Balkans and Romania. So there are information concerning the risks,” Basescu said.
Basescu stated that he hopes the leaders of the Arab community in Romania will remain “reserved.” “I hope the Arab minority that received citizenship in the last 25 years would remain reserved. I understand their reaction, that they would like more to come. Romania has been extremely cautious and has managed to maintain a balance,” he added.
Likewise, the former head of state also claimed that Romania is not prepared “for a hike in security risks.”
“Romania is not prepared for a hike in security risks. Romania hasn’t refused refugees so far. We have five centres. We have accommodation room for 1,500. We have 300-400 refugees. I also understand the solidarity slogan that many state launch, even Ms. Merkel with whome I have a very good relation and sympathy. I did not see her when Romania said it has secure borders. Why wouldn’t I be in Schengen?” he stated, adding that so far the measures needed to combat the causes of this phenomenon have not been presented, being obvious that the migratory wave is on the rise, so nobody can guarantee to the Romanian state will not be asked to take in 30,000 refugees next year, after taking 7,000 this year.
This is not the first criticism that Traian Basescu has brought in what concerns European institutions. Since the worsening of the refugee crisis the former head of state made several public statements through which he accused EU’s “recklessness” and stated that Romania should not accept refugees because it lacks the capacity to integrate them and because “it is not prepared for a hike in security risks.”
