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President Klaus Iohannis: I wish the Romanians Happy National Day wherever they are, health and optimism!
President Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday that just as in all the important moments that are honoured on National Day, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic requires the involvement of all, pointing out that "united, in solidarity and determined" we will get through this difficult period well.
"Dear Romanians, today, as in all the important moments we honour on National Day, we need the involvement of each of us. Our goal must be to support efforts to overcome this challenging period and to engage in a new commitment to the future. It will not be easy, but I am sure that together, with energy and responsibility, we will be able to approach, every day, a return to normal times. Throughout Romania, we have seen heartwarming stories about people joining forces to help others, about people who volunteer, about people who continuously donate to hospitals in difficulty. That is the union of Romanians in 2020!" Iohannis told a Romania's National Day ceremony held in Bucharest.
He underscored that "united, in solidarity and determined, we will get through this difficult period well." "And when this pandemic is overcome, we will meet again. We will be together and say that united we have won and that, whatever we have to face further, together we will win!"
The President also said that "together and in solidarity with its European partners, Romania sees in this period of crisis a moment to restart its energies for growth and prosperity, for balance and peace". "Now is the time to formulate responsible and realistic strategies, to repair where the damage is deep, to develop ambitious and long-term projects where we have been suffering for decades," Iohannis added.
The head of state underlined that, on Sunday, December 6, Romanians will have the opportunity again to make their voice heard, by voting to elect a new Parliament.
"It is that moment when we can build a Romania whose future is more than a promise, more palpable than a dream and closer than the horizon of our hopes. A Parliament with honest, more hardworking, better people. I find very appropriate the words of Iuliu Maniu, one of the architects of the[December 1, 1918] Union, who said that full freedom and equal sharing the state power of the citizens is the only solid basis for the development of a state. It depends on the actions of each of for the younger generations to live in peace, prosperity and stability, "Iohannis said.
He pointed out that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, National Day was marked differently than usual.
"Dear Romanians, in this square, which has witnessed so many holidays, today we are much less than usual. The cadence of the military, the joy in the eyes of children, lifted up in the arms of emotional parents or grandparents, are images we are missing and want to see again as soon as possible. In this context in which we find ourselves now, watched over as in previous years by the Arc de Triomphe, the symbol of the sacrifice and hope of the Romanian nation, I wish the Romanians Happy National Day wherever they are, health and optimism! Never in the past decades have we welcomed December 1 with such concern and heartbreak. The health crisis that has changed the life of the planet, the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected us, compels us to mark National Day differently than usual," said Iohannis.
He also said that the history of Romania, like that of Europe, does not resemble a "triumphal march and has never been a bright succession of happy events," but it has been affected by numerous crises and difficult stages, which have often threatened the lives of the people, the freedom of the people, the identity of the human communities and the existence of the state.
"The Revolution of 1848, the Union of the Romanian Principalities, the War of Independence, the Greater Union of 1918, the Romanian Revolution of December 1989, NATO integration and accession to the European Union are the milestones of today's democratic Romania. None of these achievements occurred on its own, and the generations that made them always believed, with full conviction, that the Romania they dreamed of is a project achievable through work, solidarity and sacrifice. 102 years ago, in Alba Iulia, the union between Transylvania and Romania was decided (...) The Arch of Triumph next to which we are now, tells us that victory comes when ideals are high and are pursued diligently; it attests that heroes have fallen in line of duty for all the citizens of this country to know a current, contemporary Path of Victory, a future of Europe, of security, achievement and prosperity. We are obliged to preserve, as the most precious assets, the freedom, unity and independence won at the cost of the lives of so many generations of forerunners, and to properly honour the heroes who have restored the Romanian nation to pride and honour," Iohannis said in his National Day address.
President Klaus Iohannis laid a wreath. A moment of silence was held in the memory of the Romanian heroes who fell on the battlefields and of the victims of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and 21 cannon shots were fired.
The National Day of Romania ceremony organised in the Arch of Triumph Square was not open to the public and took place in a restricted format. Among those who attended the ceremony were Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, members of the government, and interim Chairman of the Senate Robert Cazanciuc.