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Romanians clash with police in protests over decriminalisation of corruption
Romanian anti-government protests swell as clashes break out in Bucharest
(about 4 hours later)
Protesters have clashed with police in Bucharest after hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in cities across Romania in anger at the government’s decriminalising of a string of corruption offences.
Clashes broke out in Bucharest overnight after a second night of protests saw hundreds of thousands of people demonstrate across Romania against a government decree that many say will blunt anti-corruption efforts and give politicians free rein to commit crimes.
In the largest demonstrations since the fall of communism in 1989, an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 protesters braved sub-zero temperatures to demonstrate on Wednesday night, with some shouting “Thieves!” and “Resign!” a day after the government passed an emergency decree.
In the largest demonstrations since the fall of communism in 1989, as many as 300,000 people braved sub-zero temperatures to participate in protests across 50 towns and cities, including 150,000 in the capital. There were shouts of “Thieves!” and calls for politicians to be locked up.
In the capital, some demonstrators hurled bottles, firecrackers and stones at security forces, who responded by firing tear gas. A few police and protesters were lightly injured.
In Bucharest the protests ended in clashes between the police and small groups of demonstrators. Five people were reportedly injured.
Crowds also hit the streets again in other cities across the country – including in Timisoara, cradle of the 1989 revolution.
On Tuesday night the Romanian government passed an emergency ordinance that would, among other things, decriminalise cases of official misconduct in which the financial damage is less than 200,000 lei (£38,000). Further laws could see an amnesty for some prisoners serving sentences of less than five years, and sentences halved for those over 60.
Over a matter of days that uprising nearly 30 years ago forced dictator Nicolae Ceausescu from power, ending with he and his wife being summarily executed on 25 December 1989.
Many worry that these changes will reverse an anti-corruption push in Romania that has drawn widespread praise. On Wednesday, opposition parties filed a no-confidence motion against the government.
In the emergency decree issued late Tuesday, the government decriminalised certain corruption offences and made abuse of power punishable by jail only if it results in a monetary loss of more than 44,000 euros ($47,500).
Romania’s government, led by the Social Democrats (PSD), has only been in office a few weeks after the party bounced back in elections on 11 December, barely a year since mass protests forced it from office.
Romania’s left-wing government under the Social Democrats (PSD) has only been in office a few weeks after bouncing back in elections on 11 December, barely a year since mass protests forced them from office.
The PSD leader, Liviu Dragnea, is among those set to benefit from the ordinance. The 54-year-old is currently on trial for alleged abuse of power and is already barred from office because of a two-year suspended jail sentence for electoral fraud handed down last year. He denies any wrongdoing in relation to the latest charges.
The government had remained silent since Tuesday evening, but on Wednesday justice minister Florin Iordache wrote on his Facebook page that there was “nothing secret, illegal or immoral” about the emergency decree.
The ordinance has set off alarm bells in Brussels and elsewhere. On Wednesday the European commission chief, Jean-Claude Juncker, and his deputy issued a statement expressing “great concern” over the development. “The fight against corruption needs to be advanced, not undone,” the statement said.
Bucharest said it was putting legislation in line with the constitution.
On Thursday the British embassy in Bucharest said it would be concerned if the ordinance “were to shrink the scope of corruption offences”. “We are also concerned by the very limited nature of consultations with all relevant stakeholders,” a statement added.
But critics say the main beneficiary will be PSD leader Liviu Dragnea, currently on trial for alleged abuse of power, as well as other left-wing politicians.
Florin Jianu, Romania’s business environment minister, has resigned over the issue, writing on Facebook: “I don’t want to have to tell my child that I was a coward and I agreed to something that I don’t believe in.”
Dragnea, 54, is already barred from office because of a two-year suspended jail sentence for voter fraud handed down last year. His abuse-of-power trial, which began on Tuesday, concerns 24,000 euros.
The protests on Tuesday and Wednesday follow a demonstration last Sunday that drew 40,000 people, including 20,000 in the capital, and another a week earlier involving more than 15,000. More protests are expected later on Thursday.
Another initiative, which prime minister Sorin Grindeanu will submit to parliament, will see around 2,500 people serving sentences of less than five years for non-violent crimes released from prison.
“The size of the protests and the range of protesters is hugely significant and shows the depth and breadth of anger,” said Dan Brett, an associate professor at the Open University. “However, [those] who [might] benefit from the law have no interest in backing down. They are working on the assumption that as with most protests they will soon fizzle out and so can be ignored.”
The government said that this would reduce overcrowding in jails but critics say that, again, the main beneficiaries will be the many officials and politicians ensnared in a major anti-corruption drive of recent years.
The anti-corruption push saw Romania make history in 2015 when then-prime minister Victor Ponta went on trial over alleged tax evasion and money laundering, charges he denies.
Only last week the European Commission commended the efforts of ex-communist Romania, which joined the European Union together with neighbouring Bulgaria in 2007 as the bloc’s two poorest members.
But this week’s latest move set off alarm bells in Brussels, with European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker and his deputy Frans Timmermans issuing a joint statement expressing “deep concern” on Wednesday.
“The fight against corruption needs to be advanced, not undone,” they said. “The Commission warns against backtracking and will look thoroughly at the emergency ordinance... in this light.”
The centre-right president, Klaus Iohannis, elected in 2014 on an anti-graft platform and a sharp critic of Dragnea, on Wednesday called the decree “scandalous” and moved to invoke the constitutional court.
Both decrees were published earlier this month, sparking protests last Sunday that drew 40,000 people including 20,000 in the capital, and more than 15,000 a week earlier.
The laws have been heavily criticised by several Romanian officials and institutions, including the attorney general, the anti-corruption chief prosecutor and the president of the high court.
“I am outraged. The PSD won the elections but that doesn’t mean they can sneakily change the penal code in the middle of the night,” said protester Gabriela State, 46.
On Wednesday some 20,000 demonstrators gathered in the western city of Cluj, an AFP correspondent said, while there were 15,000 in Timisoara and 10,000 in Sibiu in central Romania.
