Authorities continue to refuse installation of Liviu Rebreanu’s monument on the Alley of Classics

The authorities continue to refuse the installation of the monument of the writer Liviu Rebreanu on the Alley of Classics from Chisinau. For more then three years now the statue is kept in the building of the Writers Union of Moldova. The minister of Culture and Tourism, Artur Cozma declared on August 21 at a press conference that his opinion on this issue remains unchanged. The monument will not be installed because eloquent proofs regarding the artistic value of the piece were not presented. Also, the name of the author who created a copy after the work of the late Milita Petrascu, the follower of the architecture Constantin Brancusi, is not known. According to the minister, the confirmation of the artistic value of the work presented to the specialized commission of the ministry is a letter signed by a branch of Writers Union from Iasi, Romania. The head of the Writers Union of Moldova, Mihai Cimpoi, previously declared that the policy of the governing party in the field of culture is the main reason for the repeated refusal of installing the monument of Rebreanu. The Classics Alley from the „ Stefan cel Mare si Sfant” public park was opened in the 60s of the last century. Initially, only the monuments of the writers born in Moldova were placed here. Starting 1993, the monuments of Romanian writers have also been placed on the Alley. The monument of Liviu Rebreanu was planned to be installed on the Alley of Classics on August 31, 2003. Two years later, the Writers Union and the Journalists Union asked the minister of Culture, Artur Cozma, to approve the installation of the monument for a good collaboration with the persons of the culture area. The minister said back then that he will analyze the opportunity of making such a decision, but he will not be influenced by the conditions imposed by the members of the two unions.