Our organisation learned with alarm that AUR has submitted to Parliament a bill that would make the expression of patriotism mandatory, and which, moreover, has already passed tacitly through the upper house of the Romanian Parliament. The parliamentary initiative in question would not only prescribe the mandatory celebration of Romanian Flag Day, but would also oblige central and local officials present at the event to kiss the Romanian tricolour in protocol order. Those who refuse to do so, or stay away, would be fined between 5,000 and 10,000 lei.
The bill goes even further: radio and television broadcasters would be required to dedicate at least 30 minutes of airtime to Flag Day, and failure to do so could be punished with fines of between 10,000 and 20,000 lei. In Bucharest and in every county seat, a public space called “Piața Tricolorului” would be created, with a 30-metre flagpole, while ceremonies would be made compulsory in schools, military units, as well as embassies and consulates, among others. The bill would also prescribe the placement of the flag inside churches and its blessing as part of a religious ceremony, which raises serious questions from the point of view of church autonomy and freedom of religion as well. If we want to call the nature of the bill by its name, all of this is distinctly reminiscent of Legionary ideology.
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