For three consecutive days, protesters in Bucharest and other big
\ncities in Romania criticized what they see as corruption and incompetence on the
\npart of the leftist governments that have run the country since the 2016
\nelections, as well as the controversial changes operated on the justice laws
\nand the Criminal Code. The participants in the rallies demanded the resignation
\nof the Cabinet headed by Viorica Dancila and early elections.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
On Saturday and Sunday, there were no notable incidents during the
\nprotests. On Friday however, the massive rally organised in Bucharest by
\nRomanian expats and joined by many locals, ended dramatically, in a manner likened
\nto the miners’ riots that marred the early years of Romania’s post-communist
\nhistory. Incited by hooligans that had nothing to do with the protest of
\ndiaspora members, riot police resorted to tough actions to disperse the crowds,
\nincluding tear gas and water cannons. As a result, nearly 500 people received
\nmedical treatment, and 70 were hospitalised, including 11 gendarmes. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
It was a legitimate, defensive intervention, Gendarme Service
\nofficials have stated, backed by the Interior Minister Carmen Dan, according to
\nwhom the strong measures were justified by the provocations coming from
\nhooligans. She also added that the response of President Klaus Iohannis, who
\nspoke of police brutality, was premature, and that the Prosecutor General’s
\nOffice is the authority in charge with clarifying the events and with
\nidentifying the individuals and entities that caused the violence.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The President called on the Interior Minister to take responsibility
\nfor how the situation was handled during the protests, and to come up with a
\ndetailed report on how and on whose orders the gendarmes acted. The head of
\nstate firmly condemned violence, regardless of where it comes from, and
\nrequested that those responsible should be punished. Klaus Iohannis believes
\nriot police should take a defensive, rather than offensive attitude, should
\nprotect public institutions, constitutional order and, above all, the citizens
\nof the country.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The most controversial politician in today’s Romania, the Speaker of
\nthe Chamber of Deputies and president of the Social Democratic Party Liviu
\nDragnea, promised Romanians that he would not allow anybody to dissolve democracy,
\nto suspend individual rights and freedoms, to change the outcome of democratic
\nelections and to topple the regime through violence. He labelled President
\nIohannis’ criticism regarding the riot police as irresponsible and an act of
\nundermining the authority of the state. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, herself a target of the protesters’ sarcasm,
\ncondemned the violence, which she said was caused by well organised groups. The
\nSocial Democratic Party urged public authorities to establish to what extent
\nthe clashes were prompted by some opposition parties and politicians. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
On the other side, the head of the National Liberal Party Ludovic
\nOrban spoke of a premeditated action, whereas Save Romania Union, also in
\nopposition, says the gendarmes used force abusively against citizens and
\nharassed the protesters, instead of extracting the troublemakers from the
\ncrowd. Camera footage, photos taken by journalists and protesters, as well as
\ntestimonies from participants, indicate that the response of riot police was
\nout of proportion. More than 30 people applied for forensic medical reports and
\nfiled complaints against gendarmes for abusive conduct and false arrest.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Romania saw large-scale anti-governmental protests over the weekend<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":78515,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[22456,29437,29346],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-78514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-diaspora","tag-protest","tag-social-democratic-party"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n