Far-right and pro-Russian former presidential candidate and leading figure of the \u201csovereignist\u201d bloc, C\u0103lin Georgescu, demanded the dismissal of the current defense minister and the Romanian military commanders who oversaw the mobilization of reservists for exercises.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Georgescu, who was present at the District 1 Court in Bucharest on October 21, said the mobilization was a \u201ccircus\u201d seen by the United States and \u201cour enemies, who saw our inability to organize militarily at a national level.\u201d The disorderly mobilization process must lead to dismissals, he said, according to Agerpres<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe that the minister of National Defense and all the military commanders of this action must be dismissed immediately. And the judiciary must clarify this act, which I consider to be high treason. Incompetence has negative strategic effects,\u201d Georgescu said.\u00a0<\/p>\n In response, Romanian defense minister Ionu\u021b Mo\u0219teanu stated that \u201cRomania does not need lessons in patriotism from those under the subordination of the Kremlin.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI hear today that a man sent to trial for complicity in an attempt to act against constitutional order, for fascist propaganda in the public space, is demanding my resignation, mine and that of the military commanders. This is the same man who said that \u2018Romania\u2019s chance is in Russian wisdom\u2019 and that the [NATO] anti-missile shield at Deveselu is a point of shame in terms of diplomacy, […] who praises a dictator responsible for tens of thousands of deaths now demands \u2018honor\u2019 from the Romanian Army. The man who justifies Russia\u2019s aggression dares to speak about treason,\u201d Mo\u0219teanu said in a post on Facebook.\u00a0<\/p>\n The minister went on, saying that \u201cno matter how much some would like us to be isolated and alone, we choose to be part of a free world.\u201d He also argued that Romania\u2019s recent investments in defense bother those who side with Russia\u2019s interests.\u00a0<\/p>\n Georgescu was sent to trial<\/a>\u00a0this summer by the General Prosecutor\u2019s Office, being accused of promoting the cult of persons guilty of committing genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, as well as publicly promoting fascist, legionary, racist, or xenophobic ideas, concepts, or doctrines, in a continuous form. He is also investigated for complicity in an attempted coup<\/a>.<\/p>\n