Crowds Cheer Clinton in Romania Despite NATO Slight

Their nation’s bid to join the West’s military alliance was thwarted by the United States this week, but on Friday the citizens of this long-suffering capital turned out for a massive, pro-American party that brought normal business to a halt.

President Clinton, who insisted on excluding Romania from a select group of nearby countries invited to join NATO, offered an encouraging message to residents of Bucharest, a city of more than 2 million where horse-drawn carts remain part of the landscape. “Stay the course! Stay the course!” Clinton exclaimed to a crowd estimated in the tens of thousands. “The future is yours!”

Romanians responded with cheers, many shouting, “Clinton! Clinton!” as the president urged the nation to continue on the path of political and economic reforms it has adopted more slowly than some of its neighbors.

“Romania is making up for lost time, and the world is taking notice,” the president declared.

Yet even as Clinton’s pep talk sparked an emotional ovation, his whistle-stop visit through Romania underscored a schism between European officials, who had made a big issue of including Romania in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and attitudes apparent within the country itself.

Romania remains something of an enigma in the West, saddled with a history of brutal violence and widespread poverty, a place where the name of native-son Dracula--actually the 15th-century Vlad the Impaler--now appears on water bottles. Romania was “always alone, surrounded by enemies who wanted pieces of her,” wrote Robert D. Kaplan in his 1993 book “Balkan Ghosts.”

A cross-section of Romanians interviewed Friday made clear that many felt deeply honored by the visit of a U.S. president, the first such visit since Gerald Ford came here 22 years ago.

“We thought that if Clinton comes here, the world realizes we exist,” said Kathy Bodea, 18, a university student. “And we are a beautiful country.”

The boisterous, pro-American mood was apparent even before Clinton spoke in University Square, a deeply symbolic site of bloody clashes with police during the Communist dictatorship of the past.

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Friday’s crowd waited for Clinton in the sweltering afternoon sun, some dancing to Nashville-style music that echoed through the square.

As he approached the rostrum, Clinton bowed his head to acknowledge several stone crosses that mark where protesters were killed just days before dictator Nicolae Ceausescu’s execution in December 1989.

“I know that Romania would have liked to be among the first of Europe’s new democracies to join NATO,” Clinton said.

“I want that too--for Europe, America and you. And I say to you today: Stay the course, and Romania will cross that milestone.

“The door to NATO is open,” the president said. “It will stay open. And we will help you walk through it.”

Many here seemed more focused on the matter of jump-starting their economy than on joining the Western military alliance.

“My personal opinion is, we don’t have to be angry. From an economic point of view we are not ready to get into NATO, and I think most people recognize this,” said Vlad Tocae, 21, an entrepreneur who uses the Internet to promote art and other products.

Sitting at an outdoor cafe, electrician Constantin Dinescu, 31, said he was very disappointed about the NATO decision, because it touched on the deep yearning many Romanians feel to be included in the modern world.

“I hope much to go in NATO--because it does mean we’re in the world,” Dinescu said.