Romanian gendarmerie: Nearly 250 arrests following Sunday evening riots

Around 8,000 protestors in 41 cities across the country took the streets on Sunday evening ( January 15 ), and a total of 2,000 gendarmes were brought in to secure the public peace, according to a statement of the Romanian gendarmerie. Moreover,10 gendarmes needed medical attention, and 2 of them are still in hospital. “Except for the protest in the capital city, all other protests have been peaceful,” says the gendarmerie. In Bucharest, a total of 247 people were taken to police stations. At a first glance, the value of the gendarmerie’s damages amounts to RON 150,000 (around EUR 34,500). Romanians organized street protests for three consecutive days. The spark for the recent riots in the Romanian capital was the proposed health law, which, if enforced, would have brought changes to the country’s emergency health system. Sub-secretary of state Raed Arafat’s resignation from the Health Ministry over the planned changes to the system was the pretext that sent Romanians out onto the streets. Initially started mid-last week as support demonstrations for Arafat, the protests soon turned against Romanian President Traian Basescu, demanding his and the Government’s dismissal, and for early elections. Read more about the riots in Romania hereand here. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com