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| The Enemy Within: |
| The present situation inside the Romanian intelligence establishment shows to what extent the legacy of the Securitate, one of the most brutal instruments of repression in the former communist bloc, continues to cast a shadow over Romania's quest for democracy and European integration. In light of this dubious legacy, reassuring statements such as those uttered recently by Taracila or Magureanu on the profile and the role of the Romanian intelligence community, may sound hollow as long as the facts seem to contradict them. For the time being, together with Iliescu, Magureanu is in fact the only leading figure of the December 1989 revolt to have retained his position within the post-communist power structure. Some analysts regard Magureanu as the gray eminence of Romania's political scene and warn against underestimating his influence in the country's politics. Thus, as long as the Romanian secret service continues to function without a clear legal basis of budgetary allotment, and the fate of Romania's policy is decided behind closed doors, the enemy within will destroy Romania's fragile path to democracy and to a new destiny. | |
