Romania: Information on if the Securitate demonstrated interest in the activities of ethnic Macedonians during or after the fall of the Ceausescu regime
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 December 1995 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ROM22619.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Romania: Information on if the Securitate demonstrated interest in the activities of ethnic Macedonians during or after the fall of the Ceausescu regime, 1 December 1995, ROM22619.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6abb210.html [accessed 4 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
For general information on the Securitate and its successor agency, the Romanian Intelligence Service (RIS), which replaced the Securitate in March 1990, please refer to the DIRB Question and Answer Series papers entitled Romania: Security Forces and the Romanian Intelligence Services (June 1992) and Romania: Selected Issues (April 1994). Both of these documents are available at your Regional Documentation Centre.
The following information was provided during a 14 December 1995 telephone interview with a senior lecturer in Romanian Studies at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at the University of London.
To the best of the source's knowledge, the Securitate did not demonstrate a particular interest in ethnic Macedonians during or immediately after the fall of the Ceaucescu regime. The senior lecturer indicated that the Securitate's successor, the Romanian Intelligence Service (RIS), has not demonstrated any particular interest in the activities of ethnic Macedonians.
According to the research analyst on Romania at the Open Media Research Institute (OMRI) in Prague, who authored an article in the 19 August 1994 issue of RFE/RL Research Report entitled "Ethnic Tension Runs High in Romania", the Securitate and its successor, the RIS, have not demonstrated any particular interest in the activities of ethnic Macedonians (14 Dec. 1995). Ethnic Macedonians constitute a very small community, the researcher stated, adding that the Securitate likely would not have had an interest in this community.
Both sources mentioned that individuals from the ethnic Macedonian community were members of the Iron Guard between the two World Wars. The Iron Guard was an ultra-nationalist and fascist group that disappeared after the Second World War. When the Communists took power under Ceaucescu, the newly established Securitate might have been interested in these individuals because of their membership in the Iron Guard, but not for their Macedonian ethnic identity.
For general information on ethnic tensions in Romania, please consult the attached article from RFE/RL Research Report.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
The Open Media Research Institute (OMRI), Prague. 14 December 1995. Telephone interview with a research analyst on Romania.
Senior Lecturer in Romanian Studies, School of Slavonic and East European Studies at the University of London. 14 December 1995. Telephone interview.
Attachment
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Research Institute. 19 August 1994. Vol. 3, No. 32. Michael Shafir. "Ethnic Tensions Runs High in Romania," pp. 24-32.
