Bucharest debate over removal of Adrian Păunescu bust

The Institute for Research of Crimes of Communism and the Memory of the Romanian Exile (IICCMER) has formally asked Bucharest authorities to take down the bust of poet Adrian Păunescu that stands in Parcul Grădina Icoanei, Sector 2. The institute argues that honoring a figure who led the communist‑era magazine Flacăra and founded the state‑sanctioned Cenaclul Flacăra, both used to promote Nicolae Ceaușescu’s personality cult, is incompatible with respect for the victims of the former dictatorship. IICCMER notes that the request revives a campaign first launched in 2012 and stresses that it does not challenge Păunescu’s literary work, but questions the public recognition of his political role.

In response, Adrian Păunescu’s daughter, Ana‑Maria Păunescu, publicly criticized the removal request on social media, defending her father’s cultural contributions and pointing out that many schools and streets in Romania bear his name. She asked, “De ce nu se pornește de la școli?” (Why not start with the schools?), arguing that the poet provided a space for artistic freedom during the communist period and should not be erased from public memory.