The desperate case of Ilie Ilascu , the Romanian patriot who was sentenced to death for political reasons in the so-called Autonomous Dniester Republic, is known all over the world.
Ilie Ilascu is being held in prison since July 1992 and his health condition is steadily deteriorating.
Countless demonstrations took place and countless interventions were made on his behalf by important institutions and public persons.
To cite just a few:
1. Many street demonstrations took place in Romania, in front of the Russian Embassy in Bucharest, demanding freedom for Ilie Ilascu.
2. In 1993 and 1994, the World Union of Free Romanians, President Mr. Ion Ratiu, protested vehemently against the death sentence for Ilie Ilascu.
Similar vehement protests came from the World Association Pro Bessarabia and Bucovina, President Mr. Nicolas Lupan (France), and from the Union and League Association (USA), represented by Mr. Nicolae Dima.
3. A letter was sent to President Bill Clinton in June 1994, asking him to intervene on behalf of Ilie Ilascu.
4. In December 1994, The World Association Pro Bessarabia and Bucovina, President Nicolas Lupan, brought before the European Parliament in Strassbourg (France) a petition on behalf of Ilie Ilascu. This petition, signed by over 5,000 personalities, asks that the European Award of Human Rights be given to this Romanian patriot.
Mr. Nicolas Lupan, a veteran in the struggle for Bessarabia and Bucovina, those two Romanian provinces which were occupied by the USSR in virtue of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, has been involved from the very beginning on behalf of Ilie Ilascu.
5. In May 1995, Congressman Martin H. Hocke of Ohio presented to Congress the Ilie Ilascu case, entered in the Congressional Record of May 12, 1995.
6. In the same month Amnesty International asked that the file of the Political Detainees of Tiraspol, meaning Ilie Ilascu and his three coprisoners, be reopened.
7. In August 1995, The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe invited IIie Ilascu officially to visit this Commission and the US Congress.
Copies of the letter of invitation were sent to the Secretary of State, to the US Embassy in Chisinau (Moldova Republic), and to the Embassy of Moldova in Washington, D.C.
8. In September 1995, The Romanian Church of the Holy Cross in Washington, D.C. received Ilie Ilascu as an honorary member of that church.
9. In October 1995, The Romanian Union and League, USA, represented by Mr. Nicolae Dima, professor at James Madison University, Virginia, initiated a new campaign on behalf of
Ilie Ilascu. Mr. Nicolae Dima is also a veteran in the struggle for the reunification of the Romanian provinces of Bessarabia and Bucovina with Romania.
Following this campaign, the Avram Iancu society of New York and the Romanian-American Foundation of New Jersey invited several Romanian personalities from the Moldova Republic to visit the USA and plead Ilie Ilascu's case in Washington, D.C. and in New York.
10. In November 1995, a letter from the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe was addressed to Petru Luchinski, speaker of Parliament (currently President of the Moldova Republic) regarding the case of Ilie Ilascu.
11. In February 1996, another letter was sent to President Bill Clinton regarding this matter.
12. In January 1997, a letter was sent to the Secretary of State, Mrs. Madeleine Albright, on this topic.
Despite all these interventions, the so-called Autonomous Dniester Republic is disregarding the whole civilized world by keeping Ilie Ilascu in prison.
The case of Ilie Ilascu is not only the case of a man sentenced to death for his political views; it puts on trial the conscience of the whole world, and puts to the test the principle of human rights.
This case also puts to the test the Helsinki Final Act, which establishes a framework for basic human rights.
In view of the above considerations, we ask you again to intercede on behalf of Ilie Ilascu. You cannot let Ilie Ilascu die in prison.
Along with Ilie Ilascu there are three more Romanian patriots in jail for the same political reasons, sentenced to various prison terms. Their names are: Alexandru Lesco, Tudor Petrov-Popa , and Andrei Ivantoc .
Sincerely, yours
George Duma, Ph.D. Traian Golea
President President
Romanian American National Congress Romanian Association of South Florida
and and
Representative for California of the Research and Documents, R.A.N.C.
World Association Pro Bessarabia and Bucovina 901 NE 14th Ave., Apt. # 601
1730 3rd Ave., Apt. # 1202 Hallandale, FL 33009, U.S.A.
San Diego, CA . 92101, U.S.A.
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