Romanian authorities get anonymous complaints over children taking part in protests
Romania’s Child Protection Authority received tens of complaints this month over children attending the protests against a now repealed government ordinance and against the Sorin Grindeanu cabinet, local news agency Mediafax reports.
Massive but peaceful protests have taken place in Romania after the Government adopted an emergency ordinance that partly decriminalized some corruption offences, on January 31. Some of the protesters even took their children with them. Moreover, on February 4, hundreds of families with children gathered in Bucharest's Victoriei Square, in front of the Romanian Government building, for a so-called children's protest. The event was organized on Facebook and was presented as a lesson about democracy and civic involvement.
The complaints, which have been registered anonymously, referenced a law mention that bans the use of children by their parents or legal guardians “for the purpose of receiving personal/ institutional advantages or of influencing the decisions of public authorities.” According to the same law, the parents or legal guardians who break its provisions can be sanctioned with fines ranging between RON 5,000 (EUR 1,100) and RON 10,000 (EUR 2,200). Some 25 such complaints were made, according to the Child Protection Authority.
A nominal complaint was filed against Nicusor Dan, the leader of the opposition party Save Romania Union (USR), who took his child to the protests. The complaint was filed by Alexandru Bajdechi, the president of the Constanta Youth Federation, daily Adevarul wrote.
The Child Protection Authority said that, at this point, it was only gathering information regarding the number of complaints received at a national level, Digi24 reported. At the same time, the Labor Ministry, which oversees the National Authority for the Protection of Children’s Rights and Adoption, said no investigation was started related to the participation of children at the past days' protests and that any sanctions that might be given can only be imparted by the police officers and agents.
Romania’s labor minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu had said at the beginning of February that those who brought their children to protest were “irresponsible” and that children needed to be “taken out of this area, which is practically a war zone,” Adevarul reported.
More recently, the labor minister also criticized President Klaus Iohannis, who congratulated the parents who had brought their children to the protests. Vasilescu said Iohannis encouraged people to break the law.
According to Digi24, the UNICEF Children’s Rights Convention, which Romania adhered to in 1990, allows children to take part in peaceful gatherings that do not infringe on the rights of others. The same law invoked by those filing the complaints also stipulates that children have the right to “free association in formal and informal structures,” as well as a right to free speech.
With the exception of one incident, the protests that have been going on in Romania for more than ten days in a row, were peaceful. A Children’s March took place in Bucharest on February 4th, to protest a now repealed emergency ordinance bringing changes to the criminal laws. Many parents who brought their children to protests argued that they were doing so to teach the young ones civic values. In his February 7 message to the Parliament, President Klaus Iohannis congratulated the parents who brought their children to protest in order to defend democracy.
editor@romania-insider.com
(Photo source: Greeg Serban on Facebook)
