Bust of Adrian Paunescu causes controversy
(Image source) Controversy indeed. A bronze bust of Adrian Paunescu sculpted by Ion Deac Bistriţa and Dragoş Neagoe was unveiled in Gradina Icoanei on Saturday at an event held by Nicolae Ontanu, mayor of sector 2. It has caused quite a stir - and, IMHO, rightly so.
(Image source: Liviu Ioan Stoiciu) For those now aged 45-60 who were present at those gatherings and remember them fondly (there are many), I understand this great desire to feel all that again - time numbs pain and sharpens happy memories on a general scale, we all know that. The guru-worship feels great, for at last there's something to cling to once again in a quagmire that today is the ruling government (whether it be PDL, USL or whoever - they are all the same) and political class.
For those who didn't live this period, however, it cannot be understood nor revisited. Not by stories à vive voix, articles and not even by youtube. The magic of the pied piper does not work by procuration. You had to be there to feel the bewitching effect of a modern-day Mefistopheles. The fanatical hero-worship of a mediocre poet and servant to Ceausescu (so successful that even Ceausescu himself got worried and stopped the flacari using the disaster at Ploiesti as the perfect scapegoat) hangs on the association of a glint of what freedom was to an abused society - and how that glint made them feel.
the more disappointing the present is, the more one tends to yearn for the past and Romania seems to be suffering from a very dangerous form of amnaesia. I do not understand this lack of memory pertaining to one of the main propagandists of the 70s and 80s who had no reservations whatsoever. Perhaps, as has been mentioned often, he gave gifts and showed kind gestures, but that was NOT the full picture. Apart from that, Paunescu continued to react violently to anyone critical of Ceausescu up until his death - one interview in November 2010 saw the poor television presenter (Turcescu) hardly able to get a word in against a tirade of 'yes, I loved Ceausescu!' and 'Ceausescu was greater than Basescu!' affirmations and diatribes.
This brings me to Paunescu's Mea Culpa episode back in '92 which sparked a (very) brief moment of sympathy within me. Paunescu poured ash on his head and performed Mea Culpa - but with two sentences: 'Sunt un porc. Sunt porcul dumneavoastra de Craciun liber.' Those two sentences were not an apology. The words I'm sorry do not feature. Before anyone says, 'you aren't Romanian. You can't understand what 'porcul' means to a Romanian,' well, I do understand very well. It was explained fully. And I stick to my original view: It was not an apology. Therefore, this form of 'mea culpa' could only have been for his own elevation and gain. Without an apology, 'mea culpa' does not work. It effectively cancels itself out.
It is strange, for when I lived in Bucharest and friends were suggesting poets and authors I should read to better understand the Romanian soul, I was advised Eminescu, Nichita Stanescu, Blaga, Bacovia, Cosbuc and a hoard of other wonderful, marvellous word-smiths. Never did anyone advise me to read Adrian Paunescu. Up until his death I had never heard of him. I was always quite proud of my knowledge of Romanian writers and literature as a foreigner....
Why a statue now and why him...? And who commissioned it anyway? Why not let the light shine for others who really do deserve it? There are so many marvellous, wonderful writers, poets, composers, artists who would have fit the bill so much better and without the controversy - far more talented and without baggage... Why this all-encompassing desire to make this man an icon who does not deserve to be. As a poet, he will be immortalised in his books forever. Isn't that enough? As a man he does not deserve the honour. HERE is an excellent article dating from November 2010 in Romania Libera which gives a few good insights as to why Adrian Paunescu suddenly made such a come-back.
At least, this is my opinion. I expect it will upset some and niggle many in which case I apologise for knocking down other people's sandcastles. But a man who wrote 'Sa traiti, Maria Voastra' at the end of a letter to the Ceausescus and created poems to them in praise and honour that I have since read in disbelief... no, I cannot think otherwise.
And as Liviu Mihaiu wrote on his FB page: "Not for the martyrs in the prisons, the partisans in the mountains, or for Elisabeta Rizea, but for a propagandist who was a vehicle of the regime??? FOR SHAME!!!"
Adrian Paunescu was indeed a genius - but only in his manipulating capacity. He was not a patriot in any way as far as I can see. Perhaps he loved his country in his own somewhat twisted manner, but to aid a dictator in his efforts to brainwash an entire generation is NOT an act of patriotism by any stretches of the imagination. A bust in his memory? To me, it is indeed an 'irresponsible gesture' and an insult to every victim who died at the hands of the regime.
Update 30th May: Please watch THIS video from Metropotam.ro on the unveiling ceremony in Gradina Icoanei on Saturday. The protester (a Mr Marinescu, I think?) was extremely courageous, standing his ground when NO ONE else moved a muscle to support him. Officials tried to move him on, even the police attempted to get rid of him. Eventually, journalists from TVR and other networks thrust microphones at him to capture his protest speech. And how right he was. People died in the 1989 revolution. Their memories are spat upon by the very presence of such a statue. RUSINE!
Following that, we see the unveling (RUSINE, too - thrice-fold) and then a group of youngsters who clearly have NO idea who Paunescu really was nor what he did. The fact they are in red doesn't help much, in my opinion. Ignorance. Naivety. Utterly misguided. None of which anyone corrects.
The video makes one sick to the stomach. Sick for the amnesia, the ignorance, the warped history, an honour paid to a communist propagandist. And one man, just ONE, with the balls to say how appalling, how foul, the act of honouring him is. Where was everyone else? Those that disagree so vehemently? Should I ever meet Mr Marinescu, I'll buy the man a very large drink. "Don't you feel concerned jeopardising your freedom?" someone asked him - a journalist I think? Is that democracy? When freedom is jeopardised for expressing an opinion that concerns honouring a man who doesn't deserve it? Indeed, RUSINE!
Scarba iti fac politicenii de astazi...
Commentaires sur Bust of Adrian Paunescu causes controversy
- As always, a great post, Sarah.
I am now aged 45-60 and was present at one gathering. However, I have no desire to feel that again. I have been a music lover since I was born, and was always up-to-date with all the good music (Long live Radio Free Europe and Cornel Chiriac's "Metronom"!). But that one night at Cenaclul Flacara left me such a bad taste! I hated the manipulation and simply couldn't understand how so many young people accepted to be played like puppets on a string.
The music played during these shows was good (not all of it, but still), and indeed it gave you a feeling of freedom. But then the master puppeteer was starting to do his tricks and some of us could not stand that.
To Marina: Yes, of course there are elections for sector mayors too on June 10. And have no fear, General Ontanu will most certainly be reelected in sector 2... there is no serious counter-candidate here.
Sarah, would you mind correcting the minor mistake you made in Joan Baez's name please? - Yo are right - you are not rightSarah dear, you are right: he was not a patriot in any way. And you are not right: he did not love his country, he did not love none but himself. He wrote a few decent poems and a lot of garbage-poems. He is guilty of deceiving crowds of young people, offering them illusions. He was a malefic person and that bust is a shame. An insult to the decent people and to the young people who have lost their life in 1989.
- Another Opinion :)With all do respect for Your Comments,
as many of you may know much better than me who Paunescu was (although sometimes I wonder if we know who we really are),
I would like to say just this:
I do not know if he was a patriot or not; nor if he was a good poet or not.(I do like some of his poems though)
Or even if he deserves a Bust in such a beautiful park near Scoala Centrala.
But what I know is that:
* As "those now aged 45-60" the "illusion" created by him in Cenaclu Flacara was a positive thing ...for Me, a teen than.
An illusion where I could discover another world, music,solidarity and gave wings to my dreams.
An illusion where I could feel I am part of a group (so necessary at that age) and not afraid of all the restrictions we had.
An illusion that made thousands of young people wish for a better life.
* I do and did not feel brainwashed (others were doing it) and from my point of view he may have been a Man with a big Ego flattered by the ephemeral importance of his role of those times...but...."fisherman catching sardines in a huge and inescapable net"...is a bit too much and I believe it is somebody who did not lived those times.
I agree we need to learn from our history and not repeat the things were bad for us but not to throw ashes when the truth is so relative,
but take position, keep the energy for the ones who are alive and Still manipulating people.
And I know that all of YOU are taking positions, some so far away from this Country. - To AuraDear Aura
Thank you for your comment, but, please tell me, what is your opinion about the bust in Icoanei? That is the subject of the post, really. Tell us what you think. Now you know what happened, know who he was and the purpose of the flacara - you don't have to excuse yourself for enjoying it. You were young, a teenager, when you went to those rallies - the music was great and as you said, "I could discover another world, music,solidarity and gave wings to my dreams." .
Do you feel, in any retrospection, as an adult now, that you were duped by this wizard, Paunescu? The mirage he created? The 'illusion'? And if so, how do you feel about the statue in that case?
Your opinion is so very important - you were there, it was part of your youth. Your voice counts. Don't feel that you must apologise (as I understood your comment to be) for having good memories - that is the whole point of what he aimed to do.
What about the video I added at the end of the post above? You have a daughter who is the age of the kids in red reciting and singing in honour and admiration of this man. What goes through your mind?
I am still foxed by the secrecy of this latest 'work'. Who paid for it? commissioned it? Ontanu? For a vote? Pathetic. - Videoul recent adaugat:Sunt socata sa vad atita lasitate la conationalii mei. Dintre toti cei prezenti la ceremonie, DOAR UN SINGUR OM a protestat la initiative primarului din acel sector. Paunescu NU merita sa aiba nici bust nici garda de onoare; a fost, cum a spus el insusi un PORC care a dus de nas zeci de mii de tineri si care s-au lasat indusi in eroare intr-un regim tern, cu prea putine libertati de exprimare. Si eu am fost la un cenaclu Flacara, impreuna cu un var mai mare si am fost pe moment entuziasmata. Noroc cu tata care mi-a deschis ochii si mi-a explicat ca Paunescu este un exaltat si un om care a gasit calea sa intre pe sub pielea conducerii de atunci, preaslavindu-l pe Ceausescu. N-a folosit cuvantul "manipulare" dar asta a facut Paunescu toti anii cat a fost in gratiile partidului si de pe urma caruia s-a imbogatit. Si astazi multumesc tatalui meu pentru cit de clarvazator a fost.
- This really got me....I'm flabbergasted... and the church is involved in this mascarade???
There were thousands of priests arrested under Ceausescu who were persecuted and rarely got out alive. Has the church forgotten? Do they care so little for their own? My father was in jail with at least three priests. Don't people know what Paunescu did? Are people so stupid, so ignorant of the past?
I admire the man who had the courage to protest. Why didn't the media give it more importance?
I'm so disgusted, I cannot comment further. Have to go and calm down first. - 'Va izbucni acum un război în interiorul USL, între PNL și PSD, în condițiile în care Ion Iliescu l-a adorat pe Adrian Păunescu? Sunteți siguri că nu va fi acoperit sau demolat, cum au pățit busturile lui Ion Antonescu?'
http://www.liviuioanstoiciu.ro/2012/05/institutul-de-investigare-a-crimelor-comunismului-dezaproba-dezvelirea-unui-bust-al-lui-adrian-paunescu-afise-lipite-cu-fata-la-perete-ambuteiajele-alienarii/ - Sickening, indeed, to see just one man protesting against such a shameful event. A bust for the "poet of the court", for one of the authors of the personality cult, one who always praised the dictator and manipulated a whole generation of young people... and we can still see the results, most of the crowd gathered at the unveiling are my age, they are the "bluejeans generation" of the 80s, the ones brainwashed by Paunescu.
Sarah, the group of youngsters wearing red shirts are members of Ontanu's electoral team, you can see the word Ontanu on their shirts.
Aura, you say that Cenaclul Flacara was a positive thing for you and for many others, because "you could discover another world, music, solidarity and it gave wings to your dreams"... Yes, there were many who thought like you (we can see them in the video now still praising the manipulator), but at what cost? It also brainwashed you, it also induced a false feeling of patriotism. And then there were others (like me) who chose to discover "another world, music, solidarity and wings for our dreams" by secretly listening every day to programs aired by Radio Free Europe and VOA. You chose your way, we chose ours... - Oh, and by the way, what's next? A bust of the other shameful figure, the mentally disturbed V.C. Tudor?
Is this what those teenagers died in December 1989? Is this what all the crowd chasing Adrian "the Pig" Paunescu (who finally found refuge inside the US Embassy) wished for? A bust for the shame of the nation?
What a disgrace! - Greu de crezut astaImi pare rau dar asa ceva nu se va intampla niciodata in orasul nostru, desi, daca vreti, Basarabia e mai aproape de Moldova decat de Muntenia. Mi-l amintesc bine pe acest manipulator al tinerilor si scirba mi-a fost de el toata viata. Trebuia lasat in pace si nu apreciat cu un bust. Sunt asa multi cei care si-au dat viata in luptele dela Timisoara si Bucuresti.. ei ce memorial au? Sper ca se va gasi careva sa-i toarne ceva vopsea rosie pe pieptul lui de lingau al erei ceausiste.
- Not my cuppa tea"Păunescu continued to react violently to anyone critical of Ceausescu up until his death - one interview in November 2010 saw the poor television presenter (Turcescu) hardly able to get a word in against a tirade of 'yes, I loved Ceausescu!' and 'Ceausescu was greater than Basescu!' affirmations and diatribes."
I remember having seen Păunescu in a TV show he was running, once, where Bessarabian poets Grigore Vieru and Leonida Lari had been invited, not too long after 1990. To have the two of them (major personalities in the Rep. of Moldova) in a TV studio IN Romania was an event in itself, and laden with emotion. I had been used to watch the Moldovan TV channel before 89 (as all of us used to who lived in eastern Romania) and of course, knew very well who they were and partook in all those years of mute pressure, where it was never allowed to go Moldova, nor for the Moldavians to visit here. So it was a "treat" to finally hear the two of them talk and also give us a glimpse of their view of the U.S.S.R. They made a great impression on me on Păunescu's show, as they showed dignity and a lot of verticality and courage.
Why do I mention this example?...
Păunescu did not seem to quite follow them during that show. At some point in the show, Adrian Năstase called and gave what appeared to be a lukewarm, muddy view of communism, trying to suppress what had been said before. When the two Moldovans reacted... oh boy, there was this mighty, rooster-like speech by Păunescu, in defence of this mighty, pure, intangible Năstase. It made me sick.
Clearly Păunescu had not the slightest idea of the actual calibre of the people he had before him (the act of genuine dissidence being clearly something alien to him, which he could never hope to fathom -- either that, or he was very coward). In any event, both him and A.N. would - and will - never reach the heels of the two mentioned above. They were - and are - miles... below.
So I am very sorry for the young Bessarabians who let themselves be charmed by his personality (Păunescu being Bessarabia-born himself, so I can kind of understand the local pride). I have been told that one needs to be a good Christian. Fine, but what he left behind is a fact and I think hypocrisy forms a big part of it. If we are to be good Christians, then what we leave behind should also be a topic for reflection.
There were some true good literary and musical creations that came out of the "Flacăra" movement, indeed. Other than that, I don't care for what is described by many as some kind of "opiate" of the masses, with its false sense of community and what not. Not my cup of tea and the sort of comments such as "oh, do we really know who we are" doesn't hold water. We could say that about Hitler, too. - used, fooled, violatedAfter all these years, Aura, why don't you feel a revolt? Angry for the price you paid? Used. Fooled. Violated.
I do not and can not understand why you are not angry, why you do not condemn that horrible statue - and in such a beautiful park. Maybe it is fine perhaps in Chisinau but not here in Bucharest. And certainly not for a man guilty of crimes like Paunescu - as says above, illusion, hypnotising, entraping. The phrase "a fisherman catching sardines in a huge and inescapable net" is well chosen. Perfect. It was that no more and no less. - To SarahDear Sarah,
I really meant when I put as title “another opinion” and Thank You for understanding that..
I do not apologies in my comment "for having good memories" and I am surprised that between my lines it not seen the "message”:
An appeal to "constructive" criticism.
Probably my English vocabulary is not rich enough to express myself.
My opinion about the Bust?
If I would be as disgusted as you all about the event I would go and DO something about it.
The idea of Cristina from Iasi to poor red paint could be great to show the civic disapproval. Would it?
Or get in touch with that gentleman (Marinescu?)who had the courage to take a position. Form an association against the decision to put bust of Paunescu or why not to defend all the great writers who suffered from communism?
That would be GREAT! Who wants to do it?
If one of you has the energy to do it I would promise I would be the first applying.
I will stop here, not before answering Ileana:
"Why don't you feel revolt?"
Because I am not You and because I CHOOSE MY WAY (as Rocky's Dad says) and because I know that "our mind (perception, atitudine, emotions) conducts our biology and comportment." And I choose not to fill “used, fooled, violated” as I choose not to become one. - Good idea!Good point, Aura - for sure, I haven't read anything about having it removed in terms of petitions, etc, although many people are very indignant - at least bung it somewhere a bit less obvious. Behind a bush in some other locality, for example, or close to the edge of a mountain....
Believe me when I say I would DEARLY love to meet Mr Marinescu. Truly. And if there's a petition to sign, a rally or whatever, count me in too - let me know if you hear of one, pleeeeease.
I'm pretty certain though that the graffitti-ists won't be too long in showing up and the red paint Ileana mentions won't be far behind. I also have solid faith in the power of the maidanezi who will surely use it as a meeting place for 'giving piss a chance'...
One thing is for sure - even those who have good memories of the flacara for whatever their reasons (and my post isn't about that - it concerns the shame concerning this very limited mediocre poet and propaganda vehicle to Ceausescu being honoured by today's Ro society) consider the bust to be inappropriate - at least, no one has commented here to say the contrary...
Go for it, stray dogs of Bucharest living in the Icoanei area, and do your worst... What an insult to the victims of 1989 - and all victims of the regime as a whole... What an unbelievable insult...
