The Anti-Discrimination Council, notified after George Simion's statements to Nicusor Dan / The term used by the AUR leader

The Save Romania Union announces the submission of an official complaint to the National Council for Combating Discrimination (CNCD), as a result of the statements made by AUR leader George Simion to President Nicusor Dan.

According to USR, the notification was made by Crina Steliana Ţugui (46 years old), USR member and person with locomotor disabilities, following a speech given by George Simion on April 23, in Mureş county.

And the statements, transmitted live on the party's official channels and picked up by several TV stations, had a public character and had a significant impact on public opinion, USR says. During his intervention, the AUR leader used the term “paraplegic” in an offensive and degrading way, exceeding the limits of a legitimate political criticism and affecting the dignity of people with disabilities, states the USR in a statement broadcast on Friday and quoted by Agerpres.

• “When George Simion chose to call Nicuşor Dan “paraplegic” in an insulting sense, he didn't just attack one person, he sent a painful message to an entire community: that our lives can be used as an insult.”
• “I am 46 years old, studied economics and have been using a wheelchair since 1999, following an accident. I filed this complaint with the National Council for Combating Discrimination not only for me, but for all those who have been reduced to a label used as an insult.”
• “Words like 'autistic', 'paraplegic' or 'disabled' are not rhetorical weapons and should not be used to humiliate. They describe realities of life, certain disabilities, not moral defects. We, people with disabilities, are fully human. We are not less valuable, we are not less capable of work, love or contribution. We need fewer barriers in society – physical and cultural barriers that often exclude us from public life. But these barriers do not make us less civilized, but those who raise them”.
• “Dignity is not negotiable. Language matters. And respect should not be an option, but an obligation,” said Crina Steliana Ţugui.

“Using disability as a tool of political attack is unacceptable”

The referral requests the ascertainment and sanctioning of the facts pursuant to Government Ordinance no. 137/2000 on the prevention and sanctioning of all forms of discrimination, respectively for direct discrimination and behavior that affects human dignity and creates a hostile, intimidating and degrading climate.

It is also requested to apply a contraventional sanction and oblige the complained party to publish a summary of the CNCD decision in the mass media.

USR emphasizes that the use of disability as a tool of political attack is unacceptable in a democratic society and contributes to the stigmatization and marginalization of vulnerable people. The party's representatives call for responsibility in public discourse and respect for the fundamental principles of human dignity.

George Simion called Nicușor Dan “paraplegic”.

This week, in a speech given in Târgu Mureș on the topic of the situation at the Azomureș compound, George Simion used offensive language towards the head of state, whom he called “paraplegic”. In his intervention, Simion criticized the decision of President Nicușor Dan to exclude AUR from the consultations organized on Wednesday in Cotroceni, Recorder reports.

Support did not react in any way. Simion's speech continued with political and personal attacks.

“Unfortunately, Romania is not governed at the moment. We have an individual placed in Cotroceni, a paraplegic, who, instead of worrying about the crisis in Azomureş, has a problem with the AUR and his only concern is that the AUR should not be called for consultations and that the AUR should not discuss with the other parties. I promise that I will deal with him tomorrow, in a public reaction”, said the AUR leader in this speech transmitted on social networks.

Paraplegia is the paralysis of the lower half of the body, including the legs, caused by spinal cord injuries or neurological conditions. Thousands of Romanian citizens have this disease.

The AUR leader also offended Nicușor Dan in the past, calling him “autistic” on several occasions, the Recorder mentions.

CNCD confirms that it has received notification. How Nicusor Dan reacted

The National Council for Combating Discrimination (CNCD) confirmed that it is investigating the leader of AUR, George Simion, as a result of a notification received on Friday, in which Simion is accused of using the term “paraplegic” in a pejorative sense, referring to the president Nicuşor Dan.

President Nicusor Dan also responded on this topic on Friday, being asked by journalists, upon returning from the EU summit, about the exchange of insults between PSD and PNL leaders, as well as about George Simion's recent statement to him.

“The declaration is below any level of dialogue”, commented the head of state.

“We, the politicians, represent certain categories of people after the vote. These categories of people speak through us and I think that these people are ashamed when they see that the representative they voted for uses these terms. Beyond that, as a general phenomenon, and it happens not only in Romania, you resort to insults and all kinds of questionable metaphors when you have no arguments. We must return to arguments”, Nicușor Dan said.