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Ceausescu Bars Democratic Reform : Romania: Three thousand of the faithful applaud. Many Western ambassadors boycott party congress.

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From Associated Press

To the applause of the faithful, President Nicolae Ceausescu today rejected the democratic reforms sweeping most of the rest of the East Bloc in a five-hour speech to a congress of the ruling Communist Party.

“The ruling out of the capitalist system . . . is the leading requirement for the creation of a just society,” the orthodox leader told more than 3,000 delegates packing downtown Palace Hall.

Many Western ambassadors boycotted the gathering to protest human rights violations under Ceausescu.

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The Romanian leader has also become increasingly isolated in the East Bloc as one-party rule unravels in one Warsaw Pact country after another under the pressure of popular unrest. Only Albania also remains staunchly Marxist.

Ceausescu showed no sign today of changing course.

He urged the 3.8 million party members--about 15% of Romania’s population--to maintain the principles of “scientific socialism,” instituted in 1965, the year he took over.

Delegates, in a clearly rehearsed show of affection, rose frequently to clap and chant “Romania--communism” and “Ceausescu--heroism.”

They were silenced after about 30 seconds by a peremptory wave from Ceausescu, who peered out from a huge dais decorated with the hammer and sickle.

Organizers had said 115 delegations from 82 countries were expected, but all NATO countries except Turkey stayed away. Reform-minded Communist or Socialist parties from Hungary, Italy and Finland also refused to attend in protest over the country’s poor human rights record.

Ceausescu has encouraged the creation of a personality cult unmatched anywhere in the Soviet Bloc.

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Delegates leaped to their feet every few minutes today during the speech. They clapped rhythmically and chanted other slogans such as “Ceausescu and the people,” or “Ceausescu--the Romanian Communist Party.”

Ceausescu’s wife, Elena, and their son, Nicu, both of whom are ranking party officials along with several of their relatives, gazed impassively from the stage.

The main entrance was draped with a banner proclaiming: “Long Live the Romanian Communist Party headed by its Secretary-General, Comrade Nicolae Ceausescu.”

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