Nine Romanian NGOs took stand on Wednesday against what they call "the re-activation of diversionary strategies aimed at compromising measures to reveal the deeds of the former Communist secret police", the dreaded Securitate.

Their intervention came as members of an institution studying the Securitate archives voted in favor of a surprising new head on Tuesday, prompting accusations of treason and political interventionism against a party of the governing coalition.

The institution, known as the CNSAS, voted Corneliu Turianu as its new head, instead of reputed anti-Communist Constantin Ticu Dumitrescu. The government supported Dumitrescu for the job, but a member of the governing alliance, the Democratic Party, made a last minute intervention and proposed Turianu for the vote yesterday.

The nine leading NGOs said events yesterday are affecting the already thin credibility the CNSAS has after it has repeatedly failed to obtain essential information on dictator Nicolae Ceausescu’s secret police operations from Securitate’s heir, the Romanian Intelligence Service.

CNSAS employees launched street protests in support of Constantin Ticu Dumitrescu on Wednesday, while Dumitrescu himself said he wanted to ask for clarifications from President Traian Basescu – seen as a key player in Corneliu Turianu’s nomination for the top job – before he decides whether to resign from the CNSAS.