Anti-Government protests continue in Romania for sixth Sunday in a row

Some 3,000 people participated in a march in Bucharest on Sunday evening, March 12, this being the sixth Sunday in a row in which the Romanians have protested against the Government. A few hundred people also protested in Cluj-Napoca and Sibiu on March 12. In Bucharest, the protesters started gathering in Victoriei Square around 18:00, with some of them carrying flags of Romania, the EU, and the U.S. Almost an hour later, when the number of protesters reached around 1,000, the people started their march to the Parliament's Palace. By the time they got there, their number went up to some 3,000. They chanted slogans against the Government, against the draft bill promoting pardon, and against the ruling parties PSD (the Social Democratic Party) and ALDE (the Alliance of Social and Democrats). The protesters also carried signs saying “Tired but still here” or “Corruption is bad for the society.” Similar to the previous protests, the Sunday march was organized on Facebook. The protests in Romania began on January 31, right after the Government led by Sorin Grindeanu adopted an emergency ordinance on justice during a late meeting. People have taken to the streets every night since then, witharound half million people gathering in major Romanian cities on February 5, although the Government had already decided to repeal the controversial ordinance. On February 21, the Chamber of Deputies voted a law that rejected the Government’s emergency ordinance that aimed to change the Criminal Code and partly decriminalize some corruption offences. However, the people are still unhappy with the draft bill on pardoning certain categories of prisoners, which is currently discussed in the Parliament. In the march organized a week before, the protesters showed their support for the National Anticorruption Department (DNA) and the fight against corruption in Romania. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (Photo source: Irina Gache on Facebook)