E 1028 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks May 12, 1995

The cell has never been heated, and I have

been continuously starved. Mircea Sengur

has not allowed anybody to help me. Not

even the Red Cross has been allowed to visit.

I will resist as long as God will keep me

alive.—Ilie Ilascu, September 25, 1994.

APPEAL

To the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, European Commission on

Human Rights, the Committee on Relations With European Non-Member Countries

The present Appeal is a document adopted

at a protest meeting, held on January 20,

1995 in Chisinau (Moldova), which was attended by over 400 people representing 29

educational, research and cultural institutions.

We, the participants to the meeting, fully

support the efforts directed at obtaining Republic of Moldova’s membership in the Council of Europe, since, to our strong belief, this

prestigious international body can give some

additional guarantees to the irreversibility

of democratic changes that occurred in our

society during the last years.

It’s precisely the concern for the fate of

democratic gains of 1989–90 that made the

people gather at this meeting.

The issue under discussion might seem

pretty insignificant to anyone but those who

know how skillfully and hypocritically it

had been manipulated by the totalitarian regime. It deals with the term ‘‘Moldovan language’’—a term invented by Stalin for the

sake of building a ‘‘Berlin wall’’ between it

and Rumanian language, and culture in general (for this purpose ‘‘Moldovan language’’

was even given the Russian alphabet). That

proved to be one of the most powerful instruments of uprooting the ethnic identity of the

Rumanian population of Bessarabia and of

depriving it of its cultural values. The most

progressive and honest scientists from both

the Republic of Moldova and Russia could

never accepted this falsehood.

That is why the issues of language and its

alphabet have become pivots in the general

democratic demands of 1989. As a result, the

Academy of Sciences officially recognized—

and the first democratic Parliament confirmed—that there is only one literary Eastern Romance language—Rumanian,

Moldovan being just one of its sub-dialects

(spoken also in Rumanian Moldova). In the

general bliss of those years it seemed that

there is no way back to the old political manipulations.

In this context one can understand the

frustration related to the return of the false

term ‘‘Moldovan language’’, a term the actual majority party succeeded to introduce

in the Constitution (Article 13.1). By the

way, the Academy, when consulted by the

Parliament on the issue, reaffirmed its previous opinion and was thus ignored by the

latter.

Things wouldn’t be so dramatic, if people

didn’t know what the implications of this

‘‘minor’’ untruth would be to the study of

history, literature, etc., but most of all to

the MORALITY of the whole society. This

would mean another spiritual isolation, i.e.

our further distancing from the ideals of European integration.

Even more troublesome is the direct pressure on behalf of the Government upon the

teaching staff of the educational institutions

not to use the term Rumanian language.

Threats are already being heard towards

those specialists who do not accept the linguistic and historical untruth. Teachers feel

humiliated by the fact that, after they have

enjoyed the freedom of telling the truth,

they are forced to perpetuate old propagandistic lies and find it immoral.

We, the participants to the meeting, protest against the above mentioned facts,

qualifying them as violations of our human

and professional rights. These are also violations of the students’ right to education in

their native literary language (and not just a

sub-dialect of it), on the basis of scientific

truth.

We also express our protest against the inaccessibility of state radio and TV (the only

ones in Moldova) not only to the opposition

parties, but also to the researchers, teachers,

university professors that have different

opinions from those stated officially.

We appeal to the high authority of the

Council of Europe for support in the hope

that it will not disregard these cases of encroachment on our professional liberty and

human dignity.

Anticipating the membership of the Republic of Moldova in the Council of Europe, we

are eager to work towards the democratization of our society and towards achieving the

noble goals of this European forum.

With our highest consideration,

Timofei Melnic, Chief of the Department

of Rumanian Literature, State University, Chairman of the Meeting.

Address: str. Miron Costin 15/2, ap. 125,

Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, Tel. (3732) 32–

25–22.

Ion Vicol, Researcher, State University

HONORING SAMUEL BEA, JR.

of Moldova, Secretary of the Meeting.

f

HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

OF NEW YORK

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Friday, May 12, 1995

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, a long-time community leader and activist, Samuel Bea, Jr., is

retiring as district manager of Community

Board No. 12 in the Bronx after serving 18

years in the post.

Sam’s commitment to the residents of the

Northeast Bronx cannot be matched. He

brought to the position of district manager exceptional management skills and knowledge of

people and issues which were the key to his

many successes in trying to improve the quality of life for his constituents.

His past experience includes serving as director of Community Services, Westchester

Community Opportunity Program, Inc., executive director, Mount Vernon Community Action

Group, project administrator, Harlem Hospital

Comprehensive Alcoholism Program, deputy

executive, associate director, OJT director,

Urban League of Westchester, manpower coordinator, Yonkers, NY, and director, Neighborhood Youth Corps, Greensburg, NY.

Everything that Sam Bea has done in his

professional life has been devoted toward

helping people. And though he retirees from

being district manager, I am sure his commitment to helping people will continue.

I join with Sam’s family, friends, and colleagues in wishing him the best in the years

ahead and thank him for all he has done.

DANVILLE ROTARY HONORED ON

75TH ANNIVERSARY

HON. PAUL E. KANJORKSI OF PENNSYLVANIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Friday, May 12, 1995

Mr. KANJORSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today

to pay tribute to the Rotary Club of Danville,

PA which is celebrating the 75th anniversary

of its founding. I am pleased to have been invited to participate in the anniversary dinner

on May 13 and to have this opportunity to

bring the history of the club to the attention of

my colleagues.

Founded in 1905, by Paul Harris in Chicago,

the Rotary has been an institution in America

ever since. The first Rotary meeting consisted

of Paul Harris and three other businessmen.

Out of that meeting came the idea to form a

men’s club representing local business and

the professions. Weekly meetings were held,

in turn, at each member’s place of business.

This is how the organization came to be called

Rotary.

The purpose as defined by its founder was

to undertake civic functions of value to the

community. Mr. Harris was successful in his

endeavor. Now known as Rotary International,

the organization has grown to more than

25,000 clubs, in 172 countries, with membership well over a million and a quarter. In 1988,

Rotary opened its membership to women.

Fifteen years after Paul Harris founded Rotary, the Danville Rotary Club was organized

and given its charter, No. 651. This club has

served the community with dedication ever

since. The club boasts three District Governors from its ranks from 1938 to 1993. The

club joined with Bloomsburg and Berwick to

found the Columbia-Montour Boy Scout Council in 1924. Boy Scout Camp Lavigne was

named in honor of Jack Lavigne, a charter

member of the Danville Rotary.

Over the years, the club has sponsored a

children’s clinic, the student exchange program, Cub Pack 36, Crop Walk, Danville Community Center, Thomas Beaver Library, Edith

Buckley Brown A.L.S. Foundation at Geisinger

Medical Center, to name just a few of the

club’s beneficiaries. ‘‘Service Above Self’’, the

motto of Rotary International, is the tradition of

the Danville Club.

Mr. Speaker, I am extremely proud of the

strong and active influence of the Danville Rotary throughout my District. I am especially

pleased to join with the Danville community in

congratulating Danville Rotary on its 75th anniversary. We thank you for your dedication to

your community, and for helping make Rotary

synonymous with service.

TRIBUTE TO NANCY HUDSON AND

NANCY KNOBLE

f

HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Friday, May 12, 1995

Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to

honor two brave and very dedicated women,

Nancy Hudson and Nancy Knoble, who are

deserving of special congressional recognition

for their efforts to call international attention to

the battle against breast cancer. They are very