Hundreds of thousands of people on Wednesday hit the streets across Romania to protest against the government’s decriminalizing of a string of corruption offenses, the largest demonstrations since the fall of communism in 1989.
Between 200,000 and 300,000 protesters, according to media estimates, braved subzero temperatures to demonstrate, with some shouting “Thieves!” and “Resign!” a day after the government passed an emergency decree.
In the capital, Bucharest, some demonstrators hurled bottles, firecrackers and stones at security forces, who responded by firing tear gas. A few police and protesters were lightly injured.
Photo: AP
For the second straight night, crowds also hit the streets in other cities across the country — including in Timisoara, cradle of the 1989 revolution.
Over a matter of days, that uprising nearly 30 years ago forced then-Romanian president Nicolae Ceausescu from power, ending with he and his wife being summarily executed on Dec. 25, 1989.
In the emergency decree issued late on Tuesday, the government decriminalized certain corruption offenses and made abuse of power punishable by jail only if it results in a monetary loss of more than 44,000 euros (US$47,488).
Romania’s left-wing government under the Social Democratic Party (PSD) has only been in office a few weeks after bouncing back in elections on Dec. 11 last year, barely a year since mass protests forced them from office.
The government had remained silent since Tuesday evening, but Romanian Minister of Justice Florin Iordache on Wednesday wrote on Facebook that there was “nothing secret, illegal or immoral” about the emergency decree.
Bucharest said it was putting legislation in line with the constitution.
However, critics said the main beneficiary would be PSD leader Liviu Dragnea, currently on trial for alleged abuse of power, as well as other left-wing politicians.
Dragnea, 54, has already been 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.
Another initiative, which Romanian Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu is to submit to parliament, would see about 2,500 people serving sentences of less than five years for nonviolent crimes released from prison.
The government said that would reduce overcrowding in jails, but critics said that, again, the main beneficiaries would 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-Romanian prime minister Victor Ponta went on trial over alleged tax evasion and money laundering, charges he denies.
Last week, the European Commission commended the efforts of ex-communist Romania, which joined the EU together with neighboring Bulgaria in 2007 as the bloc’s two poorest members.
However, this week’s latest move set off alarm bells in Brussels, with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans on Wednesday issuing a joint statement expressing “deep concern.”
“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.”
Center-right Romanian 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 Romanian Constitutional Court.
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