After telling a colleague from the UDMR that “you don't know what it means to be Romanian”, a former PSD minister admits: “A slip” / He is the subject of a complaint to the CNCD
During Wednesday's hearings in the Foreign Policy Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, deputy and former PSD minister Adrian Câciu told the chairman of the meeting, deputy Hajdu Gabor, that “he is from the UDMR” and “you don't understand what it means to be Romanian”. Contacted by HotNews on Friday, Câciu says that he regrets the slip-up and that he later had a discussion with his colleague from UDMR.
The meeting in which the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Oana Țoiu, was heard in Parliament about the situation of repatriations of Romanian citizens from the areas affected by the US-Israel attack in Iran lasted three hours and was marked by a state of permanent scandal.
“You're from the UDMR, you don't understand what it means to be Romanian, sir! Don't get mad at me! I don't even want to speak on the microphone,” said Adrian Câciu, former PSD minister, during the hearings.
“Mr. President, do you know the Romanian language, do you understand what I'm telling you?” Adrian Solomon, also from the PSD, continued.
Also during Wednesday's meeting, Adrian Câciu also referred to the beard of USR deputy Iulian Lorincz.
“What's with that untrimmed beard? Mr. Lorincz, are you telling us about your education? Did you ever go to the barber? Did you cut your nails to come talk to us?”, said Adrian Câciu.
Complaint to the CNCD on behalf of Adrian Câciu
On Thursday evening, USR deputy Iulian Lorincz announced that he had submitted a complaint to the National Council for Combating Discrimination (CNCD) for PSD deputy Adrian Câciu's remarks to Hajdu Gabor. In his message, Lorincz calls Căciu an “extremist”.
“I strongly condemn any xenophobic, racist or discriminatory message. No matter who says it and no matter who it is directed against. Romania is a country also built by minorities. It is a country where millions of citizens live in the Diaspora and demand respect in other states. We cannot demand respect for Romanians in Europe if we tolerate xenophobia at home”, wrote Iulian Lorincz.
“There must be tough debate in Parliament. But there is a line that must not be crossed: the line of hatred. Respect for people, for minorities and for the rule of law is not optional. It is the foundation of a democratic society,” Lorincz wrote.
Adrian Câciu's reaction: “I shouldn't have gotten angry”
HotNews contacted Adrian Câciu on Friday to ask him how he now sees Wednesday's episode, two days away from that moment.
“Obviously, it was a slip-up that I regret. Anyone can notify the CNCD and we will see at the CNCD what the result of this situation is,” declared Câciu.
The former PSD minister says that after Wednesday's meeting he spoke with his colleague from UDMR, Hajdu Gabor.
“I spoke with Mr. Hajdu Gabor after the meeting, which the press did not see. There are certain issues that were perhaps erroneously taken up by the press. For example, I did not say that he had no right to speak on the microphone, I said that I no longer want to speak on the microphone. But I regret the slip. I mean, regardless of how what I said was understood, I should not have gotten angry,” said Adrian Câciu.
“I express my regret for that slip”
The PSD deputy did not want to comment on the fact that Iulian Lorincz calls him an extremist: “I don't give a reply to Mr. Lorincz.”
“In the end the one who should feel injured was Mr. Hajdu. Mr. Lorincz made a referral, the CNCD will rule. Once again, I express my regret for that slip. I am not honored by such a slip,” he said.
About the remarks he made about the USR deputy's beard, Adrian Câciu said that “I don't go into all the remarks that not only I, but also the others made. Once again, it was not okay to have such a slip-up”.
