Romania's New President Talks Tough

ROMANIA'S newly reelected president, Ion Iliescu, proposed a six-month crackdown Oct. 13, with emergency measures against crime, violence, and corruption.

It was Mr. Iliescu's first policy statement since Romanians reelected him Oct. 11 with 60 percent of the vote.

"During the election campaign people also told me they were worried about rising violence and crime," Iliescu told a news conference. "Maybe we should set up a period of six months of exceptional measures to crack down on crime and violence, on actions that threaten public order and peace," he said.

He proposed a parallel crackdown on graft to "remove dishonest and corrupt people from office."

Iliescu, a former top Communist official, began to search for a premier and a formula to build a coalition government from the disparate parties in Romania's new parliament.