PSD's Corlatean: Constitution's revision on family, necessary for Romanian society, yet against European trend

The steps referring to the revision of the fundamental law regarding the family are 'a necessary gesture for the long-term health of the Romanian society', and yet they go 'against the European trend', the Social-Democrat Senator Titus Corlatean asserted on Thursday.

'We have come to a moment that makes the difference at the referendum for the revision of the Constitution.(...) All Romanians must understand that what we are doing in Romania, we are struggling with our limited powers, goes against the European trend. Whether we like it or not, it is a reality. The fact that in central and East-European countries there are exceptions, thank God, positive situations where referendums of this kind were conducted and resulted in a positive outcome, is a good example, but these are exceptional situations,' Corlatean told the international conference 'Referendum for marriage. National and international perspectives' organized by the Coalition for Family.

He added that this is a necessary gesture that 'goes against the trend.'

'We must be aware that what we are doing today is a necessary gesture for the health on the long term of the Romanian society, for our children's future, but goes against the trend. Hence, a series of very tough political opposition, starting with the President of Romania and his people in Parliament, not all of them from the opposition. These are people I do respect and with whom I've been together in the same cause to promote this topic. Not to mention the seen or unseen segments, the stances of the embassies and ambassadors who can either call the opposition parties, or ask for an audience to the ruling coalition's parties to tell us what we should do, what we should not do. This is the reality we live as I speak,' Corlatean stressed.

The PSD Senator went further to say that President Iohannis has no constitutional right to be against the organization of the referendum.

'So, the stakes we have are very serious stakes, they are the stakes of democracy. To stage a referendum at the request of 3 million citizens are at stake as far as the observance of the democratic and constitutional rules are concerned and he, the President of Romania, alongside all the others in keeping with him, has no constitutional right to oppose the organization of the referendum which is a democratic exercise demanded by the 3 million citizens. If only 5 people ask for something one must pay attention. (...) There also exists a more profound stake that that has to do with our liberties. Do we have the right to believe in anything? Or is it only the others, a minority, who have the right to believe in their things, only the others who have the right to impose the adoption of a brand new set of values, in quotes, to the majority?! (...) We, the ones who believe in God, know that the stakes are of a spiritual nature, too,' Titus Corlatean concluded.AGERPRES(RO - author: Alina Novaceanu, editor: Mihai Simionescu; EN - author: Maria Voican, editor: Simona Iacob)