Interior Minister Carmen Dan did not tender her resignation from office and pointed out in a press conference on Thursday evening that ministers can only be withdrawn by the statutory forums of the ruling coalition.
“The Government is a political one, and ministers are nominated and validated in the statutory forums of the coalition parties, and it is also there where their withdrawal from the Government is approved,” Carmen Dan said.
Carmen Dan, Social Democratic Party (PSD) Senator, as been Interior Minister since January 2017, in the governments headed by PMs Sorin Grindeanu and Mihai Tudose.
Dan presented on Thursday evening “the proof” for the signed acceptance of Quaestor Catalin Ionita to take over the office as chief of the Romanian Police, if the Prime Minister would have decided to accept the proposal to remove Quaestor Despescu (the current chief of the Romanian Police) from office.
“Here, I have the proof of the acceptance expressed by Quaestor Catalin Ionita to take over the office as chief of the Romanian Police, if the PM would have decided to accept the proposal for the dismissal of Quaestor Despescu. This agreement reached the Prime Minister. Synthesising, we have, on the one hand, documents and, on the other hand, words. The agreement was signed by Quaestor Catalin Ionita on Tuesday, prior to the public announcement that I made regarding the proposal to dismiss the current chief of the Romanian Police,” Carmen Dan told a news conference at the Interior Ministry headquarters.
She mentioned she can understand the “double positioning under pressure” of Quaestor Catalin Ionita, but rejected the allegation according to which she would have lied to Prime Minister Mihai Tudose.
“I sent the control body to the IGPR”
Minister of Interior Carmen Dan on Thursday evening announced that she sent the minister’s control body to the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police (IGPR) for verifications related to the case of sexual aggression involving a police officer and, also, in order to make sure that the IGPR head, quaestor Bogdan Despescu, is going to submit an objective report to Prime Minister Tudose related to this matter.
“Today, I sent the control body to IGPR, to verify that all administrative procedures related to the reporting in the sexual aggression case and aspects related to the manner in which this file concerning the crime of sexual aggression of December 10 2016 in the 5th district of the Capital City and registered with the 18th police section was instrumented. I specify that, in this case, according to the event recording, the author was said to be the police office Stan Eugen working with the Bucharest Traffic Brigade. For I want to get sure that the report Mr Despescu will make for he Prime Minister will be an objective one, I decided to order this verification, as this is an institution directly involved in the events, which cannot, of course, verify itself,” said Carmen Dan, in a press statement at the MAI headquarters.
PM Tudose: When I announced I won’t dismiss Despescu, Ionita’s refusal to hold IGPR office made TV headlines
– Prime Minister Mihai Tudose posted on his social media page that, at the time when he announced, in the Gov’t sitting on Wednesday, that he doesn’t remove Quaestor Bogdan Despescu from office, all the television stations were saying that Quaestor Catalin Ionita doesn’t want to be the new head of the General Inspectorate of Romanian Police (IGPR), context in which he cannot understand Interior Minister Carmen Dan’s statement, according to which the PM’s announcement would have made Ionita to change his mind about the proposal to take over this office.
“Mrs Carmen Dan admits that, at 6:27 am, she was called by Mr Quaestor Ionita, who announced that he wants to speak to her. In that morning, he conveyed to her that he doesn’t want to be chief of the IGPR. The Government sitting took place at 13:30 pm. I announced then that I won’t appoint Mr Quaestor Ionita, that I don’t remove Mr Quaestor Despescu from office and that I expect a report from him [Quaestor Despescu]. At that time, all the television station showed in the headlines that Mr Questor Ionita doesn’t want to be the new chief of the IGPR. How can anybody say that my announcement from 13:30 could have made Mr Quaestor Ionita change his mind? You draw the conclusions,” Tudose wrote on Thursday on his Facebook page.
MAI: Catalin Ionita signed for becoming IGPR head; paper recorded at ministry and Gov’t
The document by which quaestor Catalin Ionita, the head of the General Anti-corruption Directorate, accepted to take over the position of general inspector, in rank of secretary of state, of the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police was signed on January 9, in the presence of a representative of the Human Resources Management General Directorate of the Ministry of Interior.
“In respect to the report by which quaestor Catalin Ionita, general manager of the General Anti-corruption Directorate said he accepted to take over as general inspector, in rank of secretary of state, of the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police, need to specify the following: the document presented in the public space is authentic and was signed on January 9 2018, in the presence of the representative of the Human Resources Management General Directorate of the Ministry of Interior,” informs a press release of the MAI on Friday remitted to AGERPRES.
According to this source, the report is part of the package of documents referring to the proposal to remove chief police quaestor Bogdan Despescu from his office as general inspector of the IGPR and appoint quaestor Catalin Ionita in this position for a six month period.
The paper was registered with the MAI and the Government register Office on January 9 2018.
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