Rioting in Romania

The USL is so desperate to get the power that they now brought manipulation and dessinformation to the European Union by lying that Romania is like Hungary and should be sanctioned by cutting down european funds, etc.

Victor Ponta(PSD) lyied that there are ten of thousand of protesters in streets across Romania.

They don't give a shit about the country or the people. From my point of view they are country traitors.

Also they did this also for the case some of them will be jailed for corruption to desinform EU that the "dictator" Basescu put them in jail.

Offcourse this bullshit is sustained by ANTENA 3 , REALITATEA TV , ROMANIA TV wich every day manipulate the idiots that look at this tv stations.

And one more thing :

Next week there will be many protests organized by syndicate members from education, health and also many USL members and they said they will not use theyir logos when protesting. They try now to blend in like normal protesters to show European Union how bad is the situation in Romania.

Sorry for bad english.

I hope TE will continue to write such articles about Romania and not pay attention to all the comments( especially, FloRogue and Coasta de Azorel who tend to have a circular thinking and don't appreciate this article).
The idea here was to point out some general details about this riot and not go in such details many Romanians expected. I am Romanian, but I don't understand all these frustrated comments.
Good job TE.

Protest against cleptocracy not against reforms. The burden of reforms are unequally distributed. Like in many many countries around the world.

The old French used to guillotine their aristocracy instead of just rioting. This practice has seemed to have gone out of fashion when dealing with today politicians and their cronies.

My dear roamanian friends that are avid for TE: i have only one comment- you have transformed the comments on this article to seem like any other ordinary comments on an article in the Romanian electronic press.
It's a pity because you seem to me like very educated people.

Mao has said that a single spark can ignite the whole prairie. Indeed the European flame has spread from Athens to Rome to Bucharest to... with no end in sight.

do we have any chance to see another Arafat on the political scale?

I personally appreciate very much the accuracy and the style of your news articles. Nevertheless, I consider that your article on Romanian "riots" put too much emphasis on the "violent" aspect of these protests that started last week and are still going on. Violent incidents were rather scarce and yet not clear on which side of the barricades (the general feeling is that there were provoked or even orchestrated just to undermine the legitimacy of the protests). I think you should have pointed out the fact that Romanians have finally found their voice, their courage to have their first real “democratic" saying.
In the small town that I live in, every night since Monday -I personally appreciate very much the accuracy and the style of your news articles. Nevertheless, I consider that your article on Romanian "riots" put too much emphasis on the "violent" aspect of these protests that started last week and are still going on. Violent incidents were rather scarce and yet not clear on which side of the barricades (the general feeling is that there were provoked or even orchestrated just to undermine the legitimacy of the protests). I think you should have pointed out the fact that Romanians have finally found their voice, their courage to have their first real “democratic" saying.
In the small town that I live in, every night since Monday -even today, while I am writing this comment- people took the streets in the most un-provoking and un-violent manner possible, shouting 'Down with the government', "Down with Basescu!"
Carmen Tuicu

Dear Sirs,

As an avid reader of The Economist I am very disappointed about your article covering the recent manifestation in Romania.
“Battle for Bucharest”, “violence on a scale unseen in twenty years”, “riots” – these are exaggerations!
The dispute upon the new proposed health law was just the sparkle but mainly the actions are in line with all other “Occupy…” movements seen in major cities all over the word: a reaction of frustrated common people from different backgrounds to the government and political class in general. There was no clear message from the protesters and no leader. Unfortunately (as seen before in other capitals of the word) the peaceful manifestations gave an opportunity to social misfits to act like animals and destroy private and public property.
Also your categorization of Romanians attitude as “resigned acceptance” is rude at the very least. What are you implying that Romanians should have been “rioting” (as you put it!) a long time ago?

In connection with the protests began on 13 January 2012 and the gendarmes intervene against protesters, APADOR-CH makes the following comments:

1. The gendarmes have the discretionary right to hit whom they want, as long as they want and the intensity / brutality they will. Immobilization does not involve hitting a person or subjecting it to ill-treatment. Law provides in Article gendarmerie. 33 that the use of force should not exceed the real needs of those turbulent times immobilization illegal actions and will stop as soon as the mission was accomplished. Situation demonstrations started on January 13 is even worse because, in many images broadcast by television, there were instances of people fell to the ground kicked, punched and shocked by the gendarmes. Hitting a person by gendarmes an offense (if appropriate, submission to ill-treatment, torture or abusive behavior).

Criminal liability for those guilty of violence against demonstrators assaulted victims required to submit to a medical-legal service or the Institute of Forensic Medicine and obtain medical certificate, to identify, as far as possible , audio-video evidence or witnesses who witnessed the incident and make a criminal complaint, on which to submit or send mail to prosecution in the locality where the incident happened.

2.In regards art. 35 of the gendarmerie (Law no. 550/2004), the gendarmes are not entitled to administrative rule to the police or gendarme unit can not be persons who have committed unlawful acts that have caused chaos / disorder and requires immobilization. In other words, the police have no right to charge the protesters in vans and transport them to different police stations, followed only there to make sorting people who were or were not violent, or who committed acts contrary to law . I can not be driven on the gendarmerie is the evidence, when lifting, to comply with the above conditions prescribed by law, for driving. Otherwise, the lead person at the police station / unit of gendarmes constitute the offense of deprivation of liberty of a person illegally. Also prevent a person to travel by train or other means of transport where desired, without legal justification of the trips, are all the offense of deprivation of liberty unlawfully.

State 3.Prosecutors hearing such complaints are required to conduct a prompt investigation thorough, able to lead to the identification and prosecution of those responsible.

People who have been victims of abuse by the gendarmes and want to address APADOR-CH can do to office(@)apador.org

An Intelligence officer - who does not like a series of practices of power - he did, on condition of anonymity, a series of revelations on Sunday night violence. "Nothing has happened Sunday night. It was conducted according to a well-formed plan to have acquiesced and some chiefs of gendarmes devices. Normally, they should be brought to the Military Prosecutor's Office for emergency first endangered the physical integrity of their subordinates. The so-called tactical police erroneous orders was due exclusively to the heads of devices. They paid big money to disorder and vandalism in the Market Square. The stake that the violence will have the effect of either termination or total decredibilizarea demonstrations in University Square. As shown, failed to none, nor the other. "When asked who funded the" operation ", our interlocutor said:" The organization in Bucharest of a political party PD L(Basescu's party). "Asked if the party is part of the ruling coalition, the answer was dryly: "The main ruling party." Not all those who participated in acts of violence were financial incentives. "They received money only so-called organizers. The rest were pawn. Again, however, was a substantial amount. "

Many of the protesters are people excluded by the current economy. Most of them are not crooks nor parasites.

Romania inherited an all-purposes economy from the communist regime. We had a large number of industries created on ideologic bases with a few performers and a lot of life strugglers.

While the overall economic performace was poor, people were indeed busy. Althought low, they had an income and a purpose. Now a lot of people are made useless by an antieconomic and national interest hurting behaviour of the government.

Romania's main economic issue is the lack of national capital, a capital that wouldn't behave oportunistic as the internatioonal capital does. Romania became a big outlet of the international economy. It seems no postcommunist goverment understood and acted enough to help forming a new national capital.

And to answer to a question somebody asked earlier on what did the goverment destroyed, there were functional systems that worked inertially till the nineties. Such systems were : the energy plants - mainly hydro energy, the oil and gas extraction including near shore, the railways, the commercial fleet, the textile industry, the furniture industry. It's true they were already destroyed when the current government come, but members of this government have been involved individualy in destructuring that systems.

It's good to see that the romanians (those living in Romania) are finally trying to get things in their own hands rather than leave a corrupt political class decide for them. I truly hope that these protests remain peaceful and keep putting pressure on the government to start cleaning the political and business environment in Romania. Maybe it's just wishful thinking... as there's little chance anyone who might come to replace the current leaders will actually live to higher moral and ethical standards.
I believe that most romanians are hardworking and honest people, but we've let a group of smart-pants, opportunists and showmen (& show-women) install themselves in power, starting with Mr. Iliescu and his band of reformed-communists. When you come from a communist background, you are "trained" to think of the people as a abstract entity, not someone you represent and you are held accountable to for your job in office. This, in my humble opinion is the problem in Romania as it is in other ex-communist countries. The politicians and leaders don't feel accountable for what they do while holding office. The judicial system is so weak that nobody ever gets sentenced for corruption or plain theft. So being a politician is just a "career" where the main goal is to make money for him/herself, friends and family. What happened to the civil servants ? to the those who put the country's interests before theirs' ? Unfortunately in today's world money rules over values ... it's the same in Romania as it is on Wall Street, the US Congress , Greece or France. The difference is that in western countries there is a recent history of holding people accountable for what they do... in Romania on the other hand, we have communism and the wishy-washy klepto-capitalism that followed. No one was held accountable for the crimes of communism, for the lost opportunities of the transition and for the massive impoverishment of this country.
It's a pity that a country with huge potential has wasted so much time and resources in a limbo of transition from communism to free market.

Arafat made one of the best ER systems in whole Europe. He is really good.

If I were the author of this post, I would take it down, recant it, change it or at least adjust it before I lose my entire credibility as a blogger and as an "expert" on Eastern Europe. Nothing of what you write here is put into context or explained or is at least closely related with reality, the HUNDREDS of comments posted are evidence of that very same fact.

The level of understanding of Romanian politics and economics displayed is at the same level of a small rock. (I could have used a different metaphor but decided not to insult a writer who I normally respect)

I am a great admirer of TE and of your blog, which I constantly read, but seeing you post this, your credibility as a journalist has fallen to an incredible low.

The main issue is that in Romania there is not that much fat to cut. The people were already close to subsistence level on their munificent employee salaries - 200 euros with prices at least as big as the ones in the West. Cutting both jobs and benefits - what austerity means - really pushed quite a few people over the edge. They just do not have enough.

I talked with my father who lives in Romania and his only comment to the events was that "they are hungry and they have the illusion that if they change the government things will be better".

In Romania we can see, what the IMF will make from Europe.

Let us save money on the people.
Then, what a miracle, the production decreases and there is no growth.
(Since the economic growth is produced by the people.)
But we should not touch the banks...

I wish that the people in Romania defend themselves against these stupid ultraliberal
ideas, such as privatizing the emergency medical care.

I see all the commenters are Romanians :best regards to everybody!

To all the people wanting to take a stand and send political comments ,in romana ,I can make available a site of young people that fight to have a new voice in politics:

http://www.nouarepublica.ro

Take a look !

Hi! I'm a Romanian citizen. This is the most accurate analysis about the protests from Romania that I've read these day in the international mass-media. It's absolutely accurate and informative for the international public. Congratulation!

I was stunned by the way the so-called National Liberal Party (now seemingly a satellite of the Social-Democrat Party in their alliance USL) choosed to approach this events. It seems to me, in the upcoming elections I'll have to choose between the crony capitalism comandeered by President Basescu and the neo-communist USL championed by opposition leader Mr. Ponta aka Che Guevara. I can't find the free markets option, supposedly the objective of the National Liberal Party. It seems to me most in Romania want a big government: the big corporations want subsidies and protectionism, the welfare beneficiaries want to freeride forever and the public sector wants even more money for the same lousy results.
The state did and does such a lousy job and instead everybody says: "we need the right guy and/or we need more funding and/or we need more rules and regulations". After 22 years of "free market" (or I hope that was the intention) we are still too eager to sacrifice freedom of choise for a little security. Social security to use the glorified term. I guess we don't deserve neither as Benjamin Franklin said.