The new Minister of Justice, M. Valeriu Pop, has made it clear in his explanations of his new Bill for the amendment of the 1924 Nationality Law, that he is aiming at the introduction of the blood principle, by emphasising repeatedly the need of persons who are Roumanians by blood (Romani de Sange) being given citizenship rights, the Democratic papers here write. Instead of the principle of equality of all before the law, they say, we are to have citizenship on the race principle.
The revision of the Peace Treaties has been started in Bucharest, not in Geneva, the “Dimineatza” writes. Valeriu Pop, who was for a long time a member of the Cuzist Party, has not repudiated his old leader. The State may take any measures it finds necessary in order to prevent an invasion of aliens, and to punish an abuse of the citizenship laws. But we cannot permit restrictions to be imposed against people who are citizens de jure of our country. The Peace Treaties have laid it down which former citizens of Austria, Hungary and Russia have by right and without any formalities become
Roumanian citizens. But in speaking of his new Bill, Valeriu Pop has repeatedly emphasised that it affects only those who are Roumanians by blood. What Article of the Roumanian Constitution or of the Peace Treaties makes a distinction between Roumanians by blood, and Roumanians by some other sort of fluid? The Roumanian Constitution declares that all Roumanians are equal before the law.
As for the right given in the new bill to any Roumanian citizen to raise objection to anyone being included in the lists of citizens, the “Dimineatza” proceeds, it simply means that Roumanian citizens of the new Provinces, even those who have been citizens for a long time, may be deprived of their citizenship. This new modification of the Nationality Law seems designed as a political move to get out of the obligations of the Constitution and the Peace Treaties.
The right given in this new Bill to any Roumanian to object to anyone being included in the lists of citizens is nothing less than an invitation to the denunciation of Roumanian citizens with a view to depriving them of their citizenship and betrays a definite political tendency which is not to the credit of the Minister of Justice, the “Adeverul” writes.
The official Government organ, “Neamul Romanese”, complains that the criticism of the “Dimineatza” and the “Adeverul” is that of propaganda organs supplying material to persons abroad for use against Roumania.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
