The Association of Christian Democratic Lawyers (AJCD) asked acting President Mihai Ghimpu and Prime Minister Vlad Filat in a letter published today to speed up the reform of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, “in conformity with European standards”. Criticizing the “lack of progress” in this respect, the organization suggested that a critical move in this reform would be a law to give policemen the status of public functionaries. The lawyers propose Romania as a model, which “demilitarized” its police in 2000-2004 in fulfilling its EU pre-accession commitments. This “demilitarization”, the lawyers suggest, should occur not only with the structure of the Internal Affairs Ministry but also in “the mentality of the policemen”. In the context of the suggested reforms, the Association insists on the substitution of military grades in the police with professional ranks, which would make a lieutenant, for example, an inspector, or a major of police a deputy commissioner. Among other proposals is that the Minister of Internal Affairs should be a civilian. “The Association of Christian Democratic Lawyers stands ready to provide professional assistance to the current government by offering advice and delegating experts to participate directly in devising and implementing the reforms concerning the Ministry of Internal Affairs”, Radu Busila, an AJCD member, stated at a press conference today.