In the political-diplomatic context of the preparations for the
Belgrade Follow-up Meeting to the... more In the political-diplomatic context of the preparations for the Belgrade Follow-up Meeting to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe and of Charter 77 in Czechoslovakia, inspired by the former, the initiative by the Romanian writer Paul Goma to start a human rights movement in Romania, at the beginning of 1977, was seen as an open declaration of war by the communist regime. All those who joined the Goma Movement were subject to repression. The writer would be in danger of losing his life because of the attempts to assassinate him by the secret police. A sudden death was preferable to a public trial, which would have seriously damaged the image of the regime in Bucharest, especially since in 1977 provisions dealing with political crimes had been removed from the Criminal Code. Released from prison under pressure from the West, the dissident writer, banned in Romania, continued to be one of the leading critical voices against the Ceaușescu regime while in exile. When he was forced to leave the country in November 1977, the writer was warned by the Securitate general Nicolae Pleșiță that the long arm of the secret police would reach him no matter where he was. In the 1980s, at the behest of the party leaders, the secret police were still working out ways to silence him. Just as he survived the first assassination attempt (in the Rahova prison in Bucharest, April 1977), Paul Goma would survive two more attempts, in 1981 and 1982, planned by the Securitate, under direct orders from Ceaușescu, the first attempt being carried out by the international terrorist Carlos the Jackal, the second one by the Securitate officer Matei Haiducu, based in Paris.
The year 1977, nicknamed human rights, meant for Romania the exit from the deafening silence of c... more The year 1977, nicknamed human rights, meant for Romania the exit from the deafening silence of conformity. The writer Paul Goma was the only one who publicly expressed solidarity with Charter 77 from Czechoslovakia, initiating a Human Rights Movement. The intellectuals, with two exceptions, did not join. The present study tries to explain why romanian intellectuals did not show solidarity with the human rights movement, in a year in which almost all the countries in the Soviet block were moving in this direction.
Scriitori români de expresie străină. Écrivains roumains d’expression étrangère. Romanian Authors Writing in Foreign Tongues
L’écrivain roumain Paul Goma (1935-2020), né en Bessarabie, dans la Grande Roumanie, et réfugié d... more L’écrivain roumain Paul Goma (1935-2020), né en Bessarabie, dans la Grande Roumanie, et réfugié de guerre à l’âge de 8 ans et demi dans une Roumanie réduite, a eu un parcours biographique et littéraire particulier. Sa nature, toujours en contradiction avec les autorités, l’a mis déjà au lycée en conflit avec la Securitate (principale institution répressive du régime communiste), puis pendant ses études, où il sera même fait prisonnier politique. L’apparition du roman Ostinato en Occident, en 1971, conduit à une rupture irréconciliable avec le régime communiste, qui culmine en 1977 avec l’organisation du Mouvement pour les droits de l’homme et l’asile politique en France.
In the political-diplomatic context of the preparations for the
Belgrade Follow-up Meeting to the... more In the political-diplomatic context of the preparations for the Belgrade Follow-up Meeting to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe and of Charter 77 in Czechoslovakia, inspired by the former, the initiative by the Romanian writer Paul Goma to start a human rights movement in Romania, at the beginning of 1977, was seen as an open declaration of war by the communist regime. All those who joined the Goma Movement were subject to repression. The writer would be in danger of losing his life because of the attempts to assassinate him by the secret police. A sudden death was preferable to a public trial, which would have seriously damaged the image of the regime in Bucharest, especially since in 1977 provisions dealing with political crimes had been removed from the Criminal Code. Released from prison under pressure from the West, the dissident writer, banned in Romania, continued to be one of the leading critical voices against the Ceaușescu regime while in exile. When he was forced to leave the country in November 1977, the writer was warned by the Securitate general Nicolae Pleșiță that the long arm of the secret police would reach him no matter where he was. In the 1980s, at the behest of the party leaders, the secret police were still working out ways to silence him. Just as he survived the first assassination attempt (in the Rahova prison in Bucharest, April 1977), Paul Goma would survive two more attempts, in 1981 and 1982, planned by the Securitate, under direct orders from Ceaușescu, the first attempt being carried out by the international terrorist Carlos the Jackal, the second one by the Securitate officer Matei Haiducu, based in Paris.
The year 1977, nicknamed human rights, meant for Romania the exit from the deafening silence of c... more The year 1977, nicknamed human rights, meant for Romania the exit from the deafening silence of conformity. The writer Paul Goma was the only one who publicly expressed solidarity with Charter 77 from Czechoslovakia, initiating a Human Rights Movement. The intellectuals, with two exceptions, did not join. The present study tries to explain why romanian intellectuals did not show solidarity with the human rights movement, in a year in which almost all the countries in the Soviet block were moving in this direction.
Scriitori români de expresie străină. Écrivains roumains d’expression étrangère. Romanian Authors Writing in Foreign Tongues
L’écrivain roumain Paul Goma (1935-2020), né en Bessarabie, dans la Grande Roumanie, et réfugié d... more L’écrivain roumain Paul Goma (1935-2020), né en Bessarabie, dans la Grande Roumanie, et réfugié de guerre à l’âge de 8 ans et demi dans une Roumanie réduite, a eu un parcours biographique et littéraire particulier. Sa nature, toujours en contradiction avec les autorités, l’a mis déjà au lycée en conflit avec la Securitate (principale institution répressive du régime communiste), puis pendant ses études, où il sera même fait prisonnier politique. L’apparition du roman Ostinato en Occident, en 1971, conduit à une rupture irréconciliable avec le régime communiste, qui culmine en 1977 avec l’organisation du Mouvement pour les droits de l’homme et l’asile politique en France.
Uploads
Belgrade Follow-up Meeting to the Conference on Security and
Cooperation in Europe and of Charter 77 in Czechoslovakia,
inspired by the former, the initiative by the Romanian writer
Paul Goma to start a human rights movement in Romania, at the
beginning of 1977, was seen as an open declaration of war by the
communist regime. All those who joined the Goma Movement
were subject to repression. The writer would be in danger of
losing his life because of the attempts to assassinate him by
the secret police. A sudden death was preferable to a public
trial, which would have seriously damaged the image of the
regime in Bucharest, especially since in 1977 provisions dealing
with political crimes had been removed from the Criminal
Code. Released from prison under pressure from the West, the
dissident writer, banned in Romania, continued to be one of
the leading critical voices against the Ceaușescu regime while
in exile. When he was forced to leave the country in November
1977, the writer was warned by the Securitate general Nicolae
Pleșiță that the long arm of the secret police would reach him no matter where he was. In the 1980s, at the behest of the
party leaders, the secret police were still working out ways to
silence him. Just as he survived the first assassination attempt
(in the Rahova prison in Bucharest, April 1977), Paul Goma
would survive two more attempts, in 1981 and 1982, planned
by the Securitate, under direct orders from Ceaușescu, the
first attempt being carried out by the international terrorist
Carlos the Jackal, the second one by the Securitate officer Matei
Haiducu, based in Paris.
Belgrade Follow-up Meeting to the Conference on Security and
Cooperation in Europe and of Charter 77 in Czechoslovakia,
inspired by the former, the initiative by the Romanian writer
Paul Goma to start a human rights movement in Romania, at the
beginning of 1977, was seen as an open declaration of war by the
communist regime. All those who joined the Goma Movement
were subject to repression. The writer would be in danger of
losing his life because of the attempts to assassinate him by
the secret police. A sudden death was preferable to a public
trial, which would have seriously damaged the image of the
regime in Bucharest, especially since in 1977 provisions dealing
with political crimes had been removed from the Criminal
Code. Released from prison under pressure from the West, the
dissident writer, banned in Romania, continued to be one of
the leading critical voices against the Ceaușescu regime while
in exile. When he was forced to leave the country in November
1977, the writer was warned by the Securitate general Nicolae
Pleșiță that the long arm of the secret police would reach him no matter where he was. In the 1980s, at the behest of the
party leaders, the secret police were still working out ways to
silence him. Just as he survived the first assassination attempt
(in the Rahova prison in Bucharest, April 1977), Paul Goma
would survive two more attempts, in 1981 and 1982, planned
by the Securitate, under direct orders from Ceaușescu, the
first attempt being carried out by the international terrorist
Carlos the Jackal, the second one by the Securitate officer Matei
Haiducu, based in Paris.