REMEMBRANCE IN TIME - Index of

308
Remembrance in Time
In order to prepare the elections, Ana Pauker mentioned during the meeting of the
Central Committee of July 12, 1946: `The Ministry of Interior has a big responsibility in
these elections. We can stop reactionary people talking, but the police force has to be the
one to put them in their place whenever they do not do what they have to so that the legal
form shall be fulfilled 13 . On July 13, the Ministry of Interior set up the action plan to be
followed by the General Division of the Police for the preparation of the elections. Item 1
of the document stipulated: `Verification of the entire police unit regarding their
professional capacity and political sympathy. Those who do not meet the criteria will be
proposed for dismissal by July 31, 1946 14 .
At the meeting of the Central Committee of P.C.R. held on July 26, 1946, Vasile
Luca proposed new strategies of working with `the enemy`: „You do not know what the
enemy does. Some are happy that the enemy does not act openly when he in fact works
out of sight, from person to person. We have to know what he whispers in people’s ear,
we have to infiltrate our people among his people. This is why we have to know our
enemy, his methods of work and catchwords; we have to know all he does 15 .
On July 13, 1946, under the constant pressure of the P.C.R. and the Soviet officials,
the King ended in signing the Election Law and the Law on the organization of the
Chamber of Deputies. The Senate was abolished in order to facilitate the control of the
Legislative by the government. The protests of the opposition parties against the breach
of the 1923 Constitution were not a success, being rejected. The 1946 Electoral Law was
a new breach of the democratic rights.
One of its provisions forbade the right to vote and to run for elections to the following
people: ordinary criminals, people guilty of the country’s disaster, fascist leaders in
Northern Transylvania, fired people and ministers under Antonescu’s regime 16 .
The Central Electoral Commission appointed by the Ministry of Justice on July 23,
1946 played a decorative role, because the official results were established in advance by
the government and the P.C.R. leaders.
The electoral lists were produced in a hurry without distributing any evidence of
registration. Citizens were `bombed` every day with propaganda staff. An additional radio
station named Romania Libera (Free Romania) started broadcasting on September 3, in
favour of the BPD. Opposition was never given access to the radio. The press
subordinated to the communist party played a key role in the election campaign and
significantly contributed to the denigration of the political opposition. At the plenary
session of the Central Committee of the P.C.R. held on October 9-10, Iosif Chişinevschi
pointed out the following: „Scânteia became a powerful central body. It deeply
popularized our platform. We regularly find in Scânteia the B.P.D logo - the sun. Now
the entire press has to do the same.” 17 . The meetings of the governmental coalitions
succeeded in a free way while censorship was strict and more increasingly directed
towards opposition only.
13
ANIC, fond CC al PCR – Cancelarie, dosar nr. 40/1946, ff. 19-20.
14
Cartea Albă a SecurităŃii, doc. Nr. 107, vol. 1, Bucureşti, SRI, 1994.
15
ANIC, fond CC al PCR – Cancelarie, dosar nr. 41/1946, f. 42.
16
Scânteia, 15 iulie 1946, p. 1.
17
ANIC, fond CC al PCR – Cancelarie, dosar nr. 51/1946, f. 26.