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==External links==
==External links==
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{{Riots and civil disorder in Romania}}
{{Riots and civil disorder in Romania}}

Revision as of 19:59, 5 February 2017

2017 Romanian protests
File:22 January Romanian protest Piata Victoriei.jpg
Demonstrations in front of Victoria Palace, seat of the Romanian government, on 22 January 2017
Date18 January 2017–present
Location
Romania Many cities in Romania, including Bucharest, Constanta, Ploieşti, Timișoara, Craiova, Iași, Cluj-Napoca, Baia Mare, Bistrita, Galați, Suceava, Alba Iulia, Sibiu, Brașov, Oradea, Târgu Mureș, Bacău, Arad, Târgoviște, Reşiţa, Zalău, Râmnicu Vâlcea, Piatra Neamț, Deva, Dragasani, Blaj, Slatina, Caracal, Tulcea, Sighetu Marmatiei, Focsani, Mediaş, etc.
Netherlands Amsterdam
Hungary Budapest
United Kingdom London, Glasgow, Edinburgh
France Paris, Bordeaux
United States Washington DC
Denmark Copenhagen
Italy Milan, Rome,Turin
Spain Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia
Switzerland Zurich
Germany Hamburg
Belgium Brussels
Norway Haugesund
Austria Vienna
Czech Republic Prague
Goals
  • Withdrawal of the government decrees that pardon some crimes and modify criminal code provisions regarding abuse of power
  • Resignation of the government
  • Resignation of the President
  • New elections[citation needed]
Methods
StatusOngoing
Concessions
  • Prime-Minister Grindeanu announced that the government will withdraw the decrees that started the protests.
Number
January 18: 5,000
January 29: 90,000
February 1: 300,000
February 2: 220,000
February 3: 330,000
February 4: 330,000
February 5: 500,000
February 5: 1,200 [1]
Casualties
Injuries5 injured

In January 2017, days after the government of the Grindeanu Cabinet was sworn into office in Romania, massive protests took place throughout the country against ordinance bills that were proposed by the Romanian Ministry of Justice regarding the pardoning of certain committed crimes, and the amendment of the Penal Code of Romania (especially regarding the abuse of power).[2]

Despite the negative reactions from both the judicial institutions and the public, the newly sworn-in government secretly[3] approved an ordinance modifying the Penal Code and Penal Procedure Code during the night of 31 January.[4] Opponents raised accusations that the ordinance was intended for decriminalisation of government corruption, and to help hundreds of current and former politicians to escape ongoing criminal investigations and/or prison sentences.[5] Immediately after it was announced that the ordinance was passed, more than 25,000 people protested that night. The protests swelled the next day to over 300,000 people throughout the whole country, making the protests the largest since the fall of Communism.[6]

Background

Although the government of Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu repeatedly denied that there were government ordinance bills regarding the pardoning and amnesty of committed crimes, there were strong rumors in the media that the government intended to pass such bills on 18 January 2017, mere days after the government was sworn-in.[7] Since the government did not publish the government meeting's agenda for that day, the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, took it upon himself to attend and preside over the meeting, as envisioned by Art. 87 of the Constitution of Romania.[8] After a private meeting between the President, the Prime Minister and the justice minister, the government meeting was convened and presided by the President together with the Prime Minister.[8] Despite the Prime Minister's initial attempt to block the press' attendance and subsequent avoidance of the subject, the President announced to the media that there were in fact two bills regarding the pardoning of crimes and the amendment of the Penal Code of Romania.[9] He further announced that the Prime Minister assured him that these ordinances would not be passed without a transparent process, which included consulting with the relevant judicial institutions, as well as the public.[8]

Soon after the government meeting, the Ministry of Justice published the bills on its website and sent them to the relevant judicial institutions for consultations. The government's main stated reason for these bills was that prisons were overcrowded and in order to avoid paying a fine to the ECHR, such measures were needed to improve the conditions in prisons.[10]

The reaction was immediately negative. After analyzing the provisions in the bills, the judicial institutions (including the High Court of Cassation and Justice, the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Superior Council of the Magistracy and the National Anticorruption Directorate) issued negative opinions on the proposed bills, generally stating that the laws would not achieve its stated goals and would rather undermine both the criminal justice system and the fight against corruption.[11]

Civil society and certain media outlets also took a similar stance against the bills, and claimed that the government's reasoning for these bills was just to mask the ruling parties' real intent, that is to pardon convicted politicians and cease ongoing cases against accused politicians.[10]

Protests

January

January 18

Considering the public's reaction to the events on Wednesday, impromptu protests in a few cities were organised on social media against the proposed bills.[12]

Around 5,000 people protested throughout Romania, with nearly 4,000 protesters in Bucharest marching from University Square to the government's seat in Victory Square.[13]

January 22

Following a significant mobilisation on social media after the initial protest, over 30,000 people protested on 22 January in Bucharest.[14] President Klaus Iohannis participated in the event in order to show his solidarity with the protesters, and announced to reporters that "a gang of politicians who have problems with the law want to change the legislation and weaken the state of law, and this is inadmissible … Romanians are rightly indignant."[10] Liviu Dragnea, the leader of PSD, reacted by accusing Iohannis of leading a Mineriad and labelling the protests as the beginning of a coup.[2] The leader of USR, Nicusor Dan, and interim leader of PNL, Raluca Turcan, were also present at the protest in support of the protesters.

Over 5,000 people also participated at the protests in Cluj-Napoca, and another 4,000 protesters in Timisoara (together with the city's mayor).[15] [16] There were also notable protests in Sibiu, Iasi, Brasov, Bacau and Constanta, as well as solidarity meeting in Copenhagen, Paris, London and Haugesund (in Norway).[17]

January 29
Protesters in University Square, Bucharest, 29 January.

In what was described as "the largest protest after the Revolution",[18] tens of thousands of people took again to the streets in Romania's main cities. Over 50,000 people were attending the protest in Bucharest, while several tens of thousands of protesters were registered across the rest of the country. For instance, some 10,000 people took to the streets in Cluj-Napoca.[19] In total, over 90,000 people attended the protests, according to an estimate by Digi24 TV station.[18] In Bucharest, the crowd of protesters gathered in the center of the city, at University Square, and went on a peaceful march that included planned stops at the media watchdog CNA, the Ministry of Justice, the HQ of the Ombudsman and the government.[20] Solidarity marches took place in several countries abroad, with the largest reported in Bruxelles, Paris, London, Rome and Copenhagen.[21][22]

January 30

Widespread protests continued across the country with some clashes with police.

January 31

After the Grindeanu Cabinet approved the aforementioned emergency ordinances on Tuesday evening, thus turning them into laws, an impromptu protest took place at Piața Victoriei in front of Victoria Palace, the government seat. Although the government meeting's agenda only included the approval of the proposed 2017 Budget, the Cabinet secretly introduced and approved the ordinance bills during the meeting that evening. Once Florin Iordache, the justice minister, announced to the press that evening that they approved the bills, a protest started taking place a mere 30 minutes afterwards.[23] Within two hours, the protest swelled to 15,000 people despite the late hours and cold weather.[23] Due to small initial presence of the gendarmes, the Victoria Palace was completely surrounded by the protesters and the main entrances blocked (although the people inside managed to leave through other entrances).[23] The protest only subsided by 2am.[23] Unlike the previous protests, the people participating were visibly more riled up considering the lack of transparency and the lack of consideration of the Romanian society's reactions by the government and PSD. As a result, the protesters were calling for the government's resignation.[23]

Thousands of people also came out to protest in other cities throughout Romania against the ordinances adopted by the government: Cluj-Napoca (5000), Timișoara (1500), Sibiu (2000), Brașov (1500), Iași (500), Ploiești (100) and Constanța (100).[24]

February

February 1

As a result of the government refusing to repeal the ordinances, the protests continued from the day before with 230,000 to 300,000 people participating throughout the country.[25] So far, these were the largest protests in Romania since the fall of Communism. The calls for the repeal of the ordinances, as well as for the resignation of the government, continued.[25] Around 150,000 people peacefully protested in Bucharest.[6] However, later on during the night, the protest was hijacked by hooligans from CS Dinamo București who attacked the Gendarmerie, as well as protesters trying to stop them, resulting in five injuries.[26] The Gendarmerie were successful in containing the hooligans to one section of Piata Victoriei, thus peaceful protesters were not forced to leave. There have been so far unfounded accusations that the hooligans were sent by the owner of FC Dinamo București, Ionuț Negoiță, and his brother, Robert Negoiță, both of whom are PSD members, and who would benefit from the ordinances, due to their criminal cases.[27]

The rest of the protests throughout the country were started and ended peacefully, with the participation being as follows: Cluj-Napoca: 35,000, Timișoara: 20,000, Sibiu: 20,000, Iași: 10,000, Brașov: 8,000, Târgu-Mureş: 6,000, Constanța: 5,000, Bacău: 6,000, Alba Iulia: 5,000, Craiova: 4,000, Galați: 3,500, Arad: 2,500, Mediaş: 2,000, and Brăila: 1,000.[6]

There were also protests in cities through Europe with large Romanian communities, mostly in London, Paris, Munich, Brussels, Dublin, Turin, Copenhagen and Stockholm.[28]

February 2

Over 200,000 people protested on Thursday, with 80,000 in Bucharest.[29]

February 3

Over 300,000 people continued protest on Friday, with 150,000 in Bucharest.[30]

February 4

Over 320,000 people continued protest on Saturday, with 170,000 in Bucharest.[31][32]

February 5

Grindeanu Cabinet adopted a new ordinance bill towards repealing the original bill, while over 500,000 people protested on Sunday, 250,000 of which in Bucharest.[33]

Reactions

Klaus Iohannis

After the receiving the negative opinions by the judicial institutions regarding the government ordinance bills, Klaus Iohannis stated on 20 January that the presidency requested the government to withdraw the government proposals.[34]

Following the protests on 22 January, Klaus Iohannis announced that he would call for a referendum in order for the public opinion to have a say on these controversial issues.[35] He rebutted Dragnea's claims of a coup by declaring that PSD was attempting a coup d'état against the rule of law in the country, and that Romanians had the right to vote on these issues, especially since they were not part of PSD's electoral programme upon which they won the 2016 parliamentary elections.[35]

Liviu Dragnea

Liviu Dragnea stated on 23 January that the President's attendance at the government meeting on 18 January was unconstitutional, and that he was attempting a coup against a democratically elected government by participating (and "leading") the protest on 22 January.[36] Furthermore, he stated that the President has been insistent in blocking the implementation of PSD's electoral programme, and that the president's actions risked the possibility of his suspension by the Parliament.[36]

Romanian government

Despite the negative reactions from the relevant judicial institutions, as well as the massive protests that took place throughout the country, the Grindeanu Cabinet, especially Florin Iordache (Justice Minister), repeatedly restated their position in favour of the bills. However, before 1 February, Florin Iordache was seemingly backing down by leaning towards the option of the laws not being passed as Emergency Government Ordinances, but rather being sent to Parliament after the public consultations and modifications have been made.

On 31 January 2017, the Grindeanu Cabinet had a meeting during the evening and the published agenda announced that the 2017 Budget will be discussed and passed. However, the aforementioned emergency ordinance bills were introduced during the meeting, even though they were not listed in the agenda, nor the supplementary agenda list. During the meeting, the emergency government ordinances were passed by the government. A mere five hours after their approval, the Ordinance regarding the Penal Code and Penal Procedure Code was published in the Monitorul Oficial (the government gazette), thus turning the bills into law. The laws were barely modified since the initial drafts, and in fact more crimes were decriminalised, such as "favouring the offender", which were not included the initial drafts under public consultations. The lack of transparency in passing the bills, as well as the final form of the laws, has been interpreted as a lack of consideration of the reactions received by the government and PSD from various parts of Romanian society.

Embassies

The Embassies of Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands and the United States released a strong-worded statement against the passing of the ordinances, both in terms of how it was passed, as well as their content.[37] The statement explained that these actions have undermined the rule of law and stifled the fight against corruption. They further explained that government actions risk damaging Romania's partnership with Europe and NATO.

American Chamber of Commerce

The American Chamber of Commerce in Romania (AmCham), which represents businesses that generate 25% of Romania's GDP, also issued a strong-worded statement noting that "[i]t is extremely worrying for the business community and society as a whole, that legislative pieces with such moral, societal and economic implications with immediate and long term effects are adopted by the government without observing the minimum requirements of transparency in decision-making."[38] There are a lot of speculation about the role of foreign NGOs.

See also

References

  1. ^ Digi24 (5 February 2017). "Contramanifestație. Un miting de sprijinire a Guvernului are loc la Cotroceni". Digi24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b Carmen Paun (22 January 2017). "Romanians protest government plan to commute sentences". Politico.
  3. ^ de Costin Ionescu (31 January 2017). "Romanian government secretly adopts emergency ordinances critics say undermine fight against corruption". HotNews.ro.
  4. ^ Carmen Paun (22 January 2017). "Romanians protest government plan to commute sentences". Politico.
  5. ^ "Nucleara din justitie. Lista potentialilor beneficiari ai dezincriminarii mascate a abuzului in serviciu". HotNewsRo (in Romanian). Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  6. ^ a b c Digi24 (1 February 2017). "Cel mai amplu protest din ultimii 25 de ani. Peste 300.000 de oameni au fost în stradă". Digi24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Dan Tapalaga (17 January 2017). "ALERTA SURSE Guvernul va adopta miercuri Ordonanta de Urgenta cu modificari importante in legislatia penala/ Vor fi gratiate o serie de pedepse si dezincriminate fapte (amnistie mascata)". HotNews.
  8. ^ a b c News Editor (18 January 2017). "Miscare - surpriza a lui Iohannis: a venit pe nepregatite si a condus sedinta de Guvern in care urma sa se adopte gratierea si dezincriminarea unor infractiuni. Iohannis a anuntat ca Guvernul nu adopta azi ordonantele de urgenta". HotNews. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  9. ^ News Editor (18 January 2017). "Moment inedit la sedinta de guvern: Klaus Iohannis nu a lasat presa sa iasa din sala pana nu a vorbit despre "cei doi elefanti de care nu vrea sa vorbeasca nimeni"". HotNews. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  10. ^ a b c Associated Press (22 January 2017). "Thousands march against prison pardons in Romania". Guardian.
  11. ^ Digi24 (20 January 2017). "Guvernul Grindeanu, izolat. Cum a reacţionat până acum sistemul judiciar". Digi24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ News Editor (18 January 2017). "Mai multe proteste anuntate in Bucuresti si in tara: "NU legii gratierii"". HotNews. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  13. ^ Victor Cozmei, V.M. (18 January 2017). "Protest in Capitala impotriva amnistiei si gratierii. Mii de manifestanti au scandat "PSD, ciuma rosie", "DNA sa vina sa va ia" sau "Fara amnistie, va vrem la puscarie"". HotNews.
  14. ^ Victor Cozmei (22 January 2017). "Protest masiv anti-amnistie si gratiere in Bucuresti. Circa 30.000 de persoane au parcurs traseul Piata Universitatii - Guvern - PSD - ALDE. Protestul a fost pasnic, dar RTV si Antena 3 vorbesc despre "lovitura de stat"". HotNews.
  15. ^ News Editor (22 January 2017). "Proteste de amploare impotriva amnistiei si gratierii si in numeroase orase din tara: Peste 5.000 de manifestanti la Cluj, 3.000 la Timisoara si Sibiu, 2.000 la Iasi - "Dragnea, sa ajungi imbracat in dungi"". HotNews. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  16. ^ Ștefan Both (22 January 2017). "UPDATE Aproximativ 5.000 de oameni au mărşăluit pe străzile Timişoarei: „Dragnea, nu uita, asta nu e ţara ta"". Adevărul.
  17. ^ News Editor (22 January 2017). "Proteste anti-amnistie si gratiere in mai multe capitale europene. Zeci de oameni au iesit in strada la Londra, Paris, Milano, Haugesund si Copenhaga". HotNews. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  18. ^ a b Template:Ro icon "Cel mai mare protest de după Revoluție: peste 90.000 de oameni se opun grațierii". Digi24. 29 January 2017.
  19. ^ Template:Ro icon "Peste 10.000 de clujeni protestează împotriva OUG privind grațierea și modificarea codurilor penale". Ziua de Cluj. 29 January 2017.
  20. ^ "Massive protests in Romania over draft pardon bill, changes to Penal Code for second Sunday in a row". Business Review. 29 January 2017.
  21. ^ Template:Ro icon "Protestele românilor din străinătate". Digi24. 29 January 2017.
  22. ^ Template:Ro icon "Diaspora se REVOLTĂ: Sute de oameni au protestat la Bruxelles şi Paris (VIDEO)". B1.ro. 29 January 2017.
  23. ^ a b c d e Victor Cozmei (31 January 2017). "Protest spontan in Piata Victoriei, in miez de noapte: Circa 15.000 de oameni au iesit in strada. Situatia a fost foarte tensionata. Jandarmii au dat cu spray lacrimogen la una dintre intrari. Cele 2 ordonante, publicate in Monitorul Oficial". HotNews.
  24. ^ I. Baias, A. Lazurca (31 January 2017). "Proteste in tara: Mii de oameni au iesit in strada in Cluj, Sibiu, Timisoara, Brasov, Iasi, Constanta, Ploiesti, Craiova, Orade". HotNews.
  25. ^ a b Radu-Sorin Marinas ; Luiza Ilie (1 February 2017). "Romanians rally in biggest anti-corruption protest in decades". Reuters.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ Digi24 (1 February 2017). "Bilanţul violenţelor: 2 jandarmi şi 3 manifestanţi au fost răniţi". Digi24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ Dora Vulcan (1 February 2017). "Protestul de la Guvern deturnat de ultrași. Intervenție în forță a trupelor speciale". Revista 22.
  28. ^ Digi24 (1 February 2017). "Sute de români au protestat și în Diaspora față de situația din țară". Digi24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  29. ^ "PROTEST BUCURESTI 2 FEBRUARIE. UPDATE ZECI de MII de oameni protesteaza in Piata Victoriei LIVE | B365". B365 (in Romanian). Retrieved 2017-02-04.
  30. ^ "A patra zi de proteste. Peste 300.000 de oameni au ieșit în stradă".
  31. ^ "FOTO VIDEO. #Ro-mânia, a cincea zi de proteste: 330.000 de oameni au fost în stradă".
  32. ^ "A cincea zi de protest în Bucureşti. 170.000 de oameni, în stradă. Au strigat: "Anulaţi şi plecaţi"".
  33. ^ http://www.digi24.ro/stiri/actualitate/justitie/legea-gratierii/cel-mai-mare-protest-fata-de-oug-13-anuntat-pentru-duminica-in-capitala-663703
  34. ^ Reuters (20 January 2017). "Romanian president urges cabinet to scrap 'decriminalization' decree". Business Insider. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  35. ^ a b Reuters (20 January 2017). "Romania's President calls for referendum on justice laws". Business Insider. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  36. ^ a b Alina Neagu (23 January 2017). "Liviu Dragnea despre Klaus Iohannis: A dat buzna in sedinta de Guvern in afara Constitutiei. Isi cere suspendarea. Vrea sa se victimizeze. Nu suntem interesati de asta, nu cred ca trebuie pentru Romania asa ceva". HotNews.
  37. ^ "Major Partner Countries Call on the Government of Romania not to Reverse its Fight Against Corruption | U.S. Embassy in Romania". U.S. Embassy in Romania. 2017-02-01. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  38. ^ "AmCham Romania: The lack of transparency in adopting legislative changes sends a strong negative wave of mistrust and uncertainty, internally and externally - AmCham". Retrieved 2017-02-02.

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