Ion Anton, a friend of President Nicolae Timofti, and a former coleague and villa neighbour in the city Borsec in Romania of Ion Păduraru, the General Secretary of the President’s Office, was decorated in October 2013 with the Order of the Republic, the State’s supreme distinction. The event caused indignation among Anton’s former colleagues and bosses from the Constitutional Court (CC), who are saying that he does not deserve the distinction because “he was a person that did not want to work. What was he doing during his working hours? Playing cards on the computer”, says Mircea Iuga, former constitutional judge and Ion Anton’s chief for six years.

Recently, President Nicolae Timofti decorated Dumitru Diacov, honorary chairman of PD, with the Order of the Republic, the State’s supreme distinction. This action raised many questions. The public opinion began to remember “the sins” of the former democratic leader that he acumulated during his lifetime: his communist past during the soviet period or the vote for Voronin in 2005, this being just a couple of them. However, the supreme distinction offered to Diacov is far from being the most scandalous or surprising.

Who is Ion Anton?

A few weeks ago, we were alerted by people  from the justice sector that they were outraged because on the 11th of October a resigned judge, Ion Anton, was decorated with the Order of the Republic. The distinction is “for  long and prodigious labor within public authorities, substantial contribution to the process of building and strengthening the rule of law and merit of justice “. People that worked with Anton in the past have a different opinion about him and his “contribution” to the process of building the rule of law.

In the last 15 years, Ion Anton was a judicial assistant at the Constitutional Court (CC), specifically from 1997 to February 2013, until  he retired. Previously, from 1996-1997 he was the Minister for the relations with the Parliament, and from 1990-1996 he was the First Deputy Minister of Justice in R. Moldova.  During  1984-1990 he was a member of  the SCJ and from 1974 – 1984  he was a judge and the president of the District Court in Camenca. Before this he graduated with a certificate of merit in the Faculty of Law at the State University in Chișinău.  Anton is now 65, born in Horodişte, district of Râşcani.

“Most of the time he was missing”

“I do not know how he worked during the time when I was not at CC. Ion Anton was an assistant to Judge  Valeria Şterbeţ. She personally drew all draft decisions without resorting to the trial assistant. So, during the two years I was at the Court, Anton did not draw one draft decision”, says Alexandru Tănase, CC President.

“As he was decorated, I suppose he did something before I came to CC, during his time with Mr. Iuga or Mrs. Șterbet. Since I was at the Court, Mr. Anton was missing most of the time. I do not know what he was doing, but he was not at work most of the time, although generally he was bringing certificates of health.  Once I asked for official information from the Border Police, where I found out that during his working hours or sick leave he was mostly in Romania.  Therefore, I verbally warned him a few times. But later, as the verbal discussions did not have any results, on October 23, 2012 he was sanctioned with a CC Plenum warning. After the sanction, he reviewed his behavior. On February 24, 2013, with the occasion of the CC anniversary, the Plenary Court revoked the sanction. On February 28, 2013, Ion Anton retired,” said Alexandru Tanase.

“He was playing cards on the computer”  

Ordinarily, when the next person is to be decorated, the presidential administration requires the opinion of the institution where the person worked last.  In Anton’s case it was different. “CC did not propose the decoration of Ion Anton. In 2013, CC Plenum adopted a single decision, proposing the president to decorate the former CC Judge Victor Pușcaș at the completion of his professional career and 70 years anniversary”, says the CC President.

“Ion Anton was a person that did not want to work, and I do not know why they kept him at CC for so long. During the six years he worked with me as an assistant, he did not do anything. And in general, during 23 years, he did not write a single judicial decision. What was he doing at work? Was he playing cards on the computer”, says Mircea Iuga, former Attorney General and former Constitutional Judge in charge of Ion Anton for six years. “From theCSJ, I heard he was not a stupid guy.  But at CC for six years he was mocked. When I would give him a task, he would do it patchily and would ask if you wanted do it yourself. I have known Timofti for over 40 years. He always talks about the law but always does the opposite. How can you give the Order of the Republic to a person that is ocassionally in justice?”, questions Iuga. .

“He was sanctioned”

With me, Ion Anton extended the activity that he had with Mr. Iuga. Back then, Mr. Iuga warned me that I will not have much help, and it was proven with time during the six years we worked together. It is hard for me to say how he received the Order of the Republic.  When I was at CC, it was Mr. Pușcaș and a few other names who could be proposed for decoration, not Anton. He was the one to leave CC. He was even sanctioned. He did not want to work”, remembers Valeria Şterbeţ, another constitutional judge who Ion Anton assisted.

Some people from CC say that Anton had the nerve to shout at Valeria Şterbeţ. “I did not want to open this topic and do not want to do it now. But if he as a man did this…”, says Şterbeţ. Yet, how did Ion Anton get the State supreme distinction? Who proposed him?

Timofti, Păduraru and Anton

The people we talked to, some informal, told us that the miracle of the State supreme distinction offered to Ion Anton lays in his good relationship with President Nicolae Timofti  and Ion Păduraru, General Secretary at R. Moldova Presidency, who is Ion Anton’s villa neighbour in the Romanian city of Borsec, Harghita district, Transilvania.    Initially, the information could not be confirmed because in the statement of income and property, Anton did not mention it, nd Ion Păduraru’s statement could not be accessed on the National Integrity Commission (NIC) website.

On a website promoting tourism offers in Romania, we found the Anton’s guesthouse in Borsec, presented as one of the most wanted places in Borsec, Harghita. “An ideal location for those willing to visit Ţinutul Secuiesc, a touristic zone. The place has 7 rooms for 14 people. The guesthouse awaits its dear guests and spoils them with facilities such as a kitchen, fax, pavilion, refrigerator in the room, garden, grill, internet, living, playground, parking and others.  The guesthouse is situated in the most beautiful area of Borsec, with a panoramic view of the city”, recommends the tourist websites.  On one of the sites, as a contact person, appears Ion Anton and his phone number with the code of R. Moldova for tourists from Romania or other countries in case the owner is in Chișinău.

A guesthouse worth millions in Romania

“Everyone knows about his villa. At the begining of summer, he was taking different holidays and was coming back at the end of the holiday season. I know that many of our colleagues were going there, especially those having health issues and needed to drink the water from there”, Valeria Șterbeț told us, Anton’s former colleague. Subsequently, the information about the former judge, Ion Anton, owning the guesthouse in Borsec has been confirmed by representatives from the local town hall. They told us it is a highly requested guesthouse. That it was built by Anton in 2006-2007 and if taking into consideration all the facilities it would now cost around 200 thousand euros (3,5 mln. lei). About the property of Păduraru family, town hall representatives could not offer us any information, saying they do not know anything about it.

We have contacted the representatives of Anton’s guesthouse, saying we would like to rent there. We have insisted to find out if they know about Ion Păduraru’s villa in the neighborhood. On the guesthouse’s phone Ion Anton answered himself, the former constitutional judge, recently decorated with the Order of the Republic.

“Păduraru is here, but he will be on his own”

ZdG:  We would like to spend our Cristmas holiday at your guesthouse!

I.A.: When exactly? How many families?

ZdG: On the 4th-5th of January. Is it possible? We are six families!

I.A.: We have only five rooms here. There are four other places but for summer. From the 4th, it is available.

ZdG: How much would it cost us for a night?

I.A.: Now it is more expensive, about 100 Romanian lei for a room, around 20 euros. Meals are not included..

ZdG: But we are more, do you have someone  in the neighbourhood who rents? We have choosen this guesthouse because the owner is from Moldova.

I.A.: Yes, I am.

ZdG: Are you Mr. Ion?

I.A. Yes, I am!

ZdG: We have choosen your place as someone we know, some judges who have been there.

I.A.: Yes, yes, yes. But they come more often in the summer…

ZdG: Do you have any neighbours there, also from R. Moldova, where we could stay? Someone was saying about Ion Păduraru.

I.A. Yes, he is here, but he will be on his own. He does not rent. But there is another place, also close to mine for the same price.

ZdG: Ok, thank you. I will get back.

I.A.: I have a phone number in Chișinău. After the 15th of December I will be there.

ZdG: Does it end with 15? Is it on the website?

I.A.: Yes, yes, yes, with 15. Goodbye. Good health.

Anton denies, Păduraru admits

After this dialogue, we contacted Anton again, saying that we are journalists. We asked what he thinks about his former colleagues opinion, and also about his relationship with Păduraru and Timofti: “Ask them, I do not have anything in common with any of them. Ask the ones who told you, from where do they get such information. I do not know if what they say is right or wrong. Do not spy. Păduraru is much younger, I don’t know him.  Timofti, I have met once, but it has nothing to do with this”, said Anton. “People say you are neighbours in Borsec with Mr. Păduraru!?” we asked. “I don’t know that”, he replied.

Even though Anton denied his relationship with Timofti and especially Păduraru, about whom he at first said is his neighbour and later that he does not know him, these facts are confirmed by Ion Păduraru, who claims that Anton deserves the Order of the Republic.  “Ion Anton, if I am not wrong, was designated judge on the same day as Nicolae Timofti. He was a judge at CSJ, Deputy Minister, First Deputy Minister, Minister…. What do you think, does it matter that we are neighbours, if he kicked out the communists from their headquarter in the Central Committee? He himself sealed all the doors. He Implemented the notary reform, made enquiry treaties of state guaranteed legal assistance between countries, after Moldova was created,” enumerates Păduraru of Anton’s merits.

“I can confirm I have a villa”

“Does Mrs. Șterbeț also think she deserves the Order? If she deserves it, why don’t others ? The decision is made by the president, and I do not comment about it. I can confirm I have a villa, built and declared. In Borsec, there are 30 others from Moldova in that neighbourhood.  That is all the affair. I have worked with Ion Anton. I was Deputy Minister, he was First Deputy Minister. He was proposed by the Minister of Justice.  Beside him another 227 deputies that voted for independence got the Order, but for a reason some of them do not deserve it now, as if it was easy to vote for independence and now, all are heroes”, remarks Păduraru.

“Next to me, Valentin Cunev, deputy in first Parliament, has his villa. What, doesn’t he deserve the Order? I do not know who owns Anton’s villa, I personally declared mine and I am good.  The fact that we are neighbours, is the fifth cart’s wheel”, also said Păduraru.  Unfortunately we could not verify if the General Secretary of Presidency declared his villa from Borsec, because on www.cni.md, the declaration on incomes and properties did not appear on the 26th of November, just the one on personal interests, where his properties were not indicated. Representatives of CNI told us that the declaration is missing due to technical issues, but they can offer it. For that we need an official letter, even though these are and must be public. As we have mentioned, in the declaration of Ion Anton for 2012, the villa from Borsec does not appear, only 1,5 ha of land in Drochia and a house in the same city.

“The President will not give arguments on his decision” 

“It is about the offer of an Order that is the prerogative of the president that he does not discuss and justify. Of course, there is an explanation in the Order text, but it is a typical one. The president does not justify himself in front of anyone for his decrees on the distinctions. He is not obligated to consult the parliamentary committee when he offers distinctions” claims Vlad Țurcanu, spokesman of President Timofti. “Mr. President knows a lot of the people he decorated, taking into consideration the president’s job seniority, but from here to an eventual connection is quite a big gap. Regardless to speculations that will be make, the president will not justify and will not argue his decision.  It is his intimate decision, if you want”, says Ţurcanu.

“I cannot comment on the declarations of the people you have cited, even though I would have few words on that. Not opinions but things I know, but I will not do that. What I can say is that the President can’t be moved by some trivial and superficial reasons as those raised by you or others. It is excluded. The president refers to merits he knows or he is reported about. I can not tell you who proposed Mr. Anton. It is internal information”, said Țurcanu.

642 Orders of the Republic

However, if we analise the list of people decorated with the Order of the Republic over time, we can say that Ion Anton is far from being the most undeserving holder of the Order of the Republic. According to the information offered by the president, until this hour, there are 642 holders of the Order of the Republic: 104 were decorated by Mircea Snegur, 59 by Petru Lucinschi, 74 by Vladimir Voronin, during the two mandates, 133 by Mihai Ghimpu, 24 by Marian Lupu and another 248 by the current head of state, Nicolae Timofti. To specify, in Timofti’s case, 227 supreme distinctions were offered at once, to the signatories of the Declaration of Independence.

In the list we find names who are more controversial than others, most of them decorated from the time of Voronin. The decoration in 2013 of  Ivan Bodiul, former First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party raised critics from other holders of the Order of the Republic, most of them writers, including  Grigore Vieru and Nicolae Dabija. They were saying that they even gave up the Order of the Republic. Not only the decoration of Bodiu is controversial. In the list we find other names, such as: Dumitru Pulbere, former president of CC, Miron Găgăuz, former head of railways, subsequently with criminal cases, Vladimir Molojen, ex-minister of Informational Development, Anatol Popuşoi, former director of Moldsilva, both of them havelegal issues these days, former communist deputies Ivan Calin and Vadim Mişin, and other persons, whose merits for R. Moldova can be easly doubted.

“Yes, unfortunately, everything lost its value”

“Pulbere was even worse than Anton. He never wrote anything, not even a line. The assistants and consultants did it for him. I worked six years with him. He was the kind of  person to whom you need to repeat four times for him to get it and write it down”, says Mircea Iuga, former constitutional judge. The big composer, Eugen Doga, got the Order of the Republic in 1997, the period of time when the distinctions used to value something, being received especially by persons from the cultural field, or did something notable in the domain they worked. “The Order of the Republic does not mean anything anymore, because I do not get one leu for it. I don’t know why I don’t get it. Maybe, because it does not mean anyting… I think what is happening is normal, because the ones who are decorating judges from their level. The Order is received by compromised people, judges that punished not guilty people. Yes, unfortunately. It has been devalued. And it is not about the Order of the Republic only, but other distinctions too, like the State Distinction. The man that betrays the country gets this prize. I won’t name him, it does not matter. Unfortunately, the ones on the surface are mentioned, but we know what is floating on water”, says Doga.

“Are you asking me about criteria? What criteria?”

Vasile Şoimaru, Deputy in the First Parliament, refused the Order of the Republic last year, saying he does not deserve it because he thinks it was an honour and a luck to sign the Declaration of Independence of R. Moldova. Previously in 1996, he refused the Civic Merit, and in 2011 – the Order of Honour.

“I think not even those who deserve it are holding the Order of the Republic, as there are so many dishonest among those who got it… Are you asking me about criteria? What criteria? It did not exist, does not exist, and I am afraid will not exist. This Order is a begining of electioneering, being used in all election campaigns. It is a mockery. It wasn’t Diacov who went to the Presidency to ask for this Order. There is a party called PD, led by some people. That is where the decisions are made. Especially that the Party is governing. When Ghimpu was in power, they were doing antechamber for weeks, some patriotic nationalists, unionists, any kind. They wouldn’t leave until they were getting the Order of the Republic. I can not say anything bad about Timofti. I enjoy his courage. He is the bravest and smartest president we have had. But those around him spoil him. They make the decisions”, says Şoimaru.

Victor MOŞNEAG