Mass protests in Romania

The Governments emergency decree on amending the criminal codes has been repealed, but this does not seem to ease tensions in Romania.

Roxana Vasile, 06.02.2017, 13:40

Protests have
continued in Romania against an emergency decree amending the Criminal Code and
the Criminal Procedure Code, adopted on January 31st by the
coalition government led by the Social Democrats. Under the pressure of massive
street protests, the government repealed the emergency decree on Sunday, but
rallies continued in spite of this, for the 6th consecutive day.
Hundreds of thousands of people took part in demonstrations across the country.
Most of them gathered in front of the government offices in the Victory Square.

The emergency
decree repealed, they were now demanding the resignation of the government
headed by Sorin Grindeanu over what they described as the devious manner in
which the government passed the decree, late at night and without consulting
with the Superior Council of Magistracy. Here’s what the people say:

Who can trust
these people anymore? We can’t. They have compromised themselves.

We’ve only just
had elections and they’ve already made fools of us and our vote. This is why
we’re protesting.

People took to the streets in other
Romanian cities as well, with the highest numbers being reported in Cluj Napoca
and Sibiu, in the centre, in Timisoara, in the west, and in Iasi, in the
northeast. Romanians living abroad also took to the streets in cities like
Sofia, Brussels, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Rome and Madrid. Radio Romania’s correspondent talked to some
of the protesters in Hungary’s capital Budapest, most of them young people:

I’m here because I won’t believe it
until I see it. Even if they published the repeal of the emergency decree in
the Official Journal, that doesn’t rule out the possibility of them still
taking steps to have it their way.

Repealing the
decree is not enough anymore, and just like the rest of the world who now
understands what’s going on, I want the government to be changed.

The government
also has its own supporters who want the result of the December 11th
election to be respected and the Government installed a month ago to be left to
do its job, based on the programme presented during the election campaign.
Also, the government supporters are unhappy with the manner in which the
rightist head of state Klaus Iohannis, constrained by the election’s outcome to
work together with the government, has mediated between the state institutions
in the decree matter. So on Sunday, several thousand people gathered in front
of the presidential headquarters to show their support for the Grindeanu
government and to ask for President Iohannis to step down.

I want him to
respect my vote, to respect all Romanians, be a president for all Romanians and
love his country the way I do, with all my heart.

We are here to
defend our democratic vote from December 11. Protesters in the Victory Square
should go home because the decree has been repealed and if they don’t, we won’t
leave either.

I’m here to show
my disapproval of Iohannis, who is paid to serve the national interest and not
petty, personal, party interests or God knows what other hidden interests.

Prime Minister
Sorin Grindeanu has announced he does not intend to resign under pressure from
protesters in the street:

This is all part
of the democratic game and we must go back to these notions as soon as
possible. The government can only fall following a vote of no-confidence in
Parliament, because the alternative of my submitting my resignation is not
possible.

Prime Minister
Grindeanu asked the Justice Ministry to initiate urgent public debates with
parliamentary parties and civil society on the content of the emergency decree
adopted recently and repealed soon after. The government says these debates are
very important in order to harmonise the Criminal Code and the Criminal
procedure Code with the Constitutional Court’s rulings and with the European
directives. The draft law resulted after these public debates should then be
submitted to Parliament for debate. In the meantime, Parliament is preparing to
debate and vote on a no-confidence motion entitled The Grindeanu Government -
The government of national defiance. Don’t legalise theft in Romania and
tabled by the National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union, in opposition.