Cav's Place

The protests changed, so the format of these posts is once again changing as well. I’ll go over Monday and Tuesday very quickly, but there are daily events to report starting Wednesday, when a spontaneous protest and march took place. I won’t use the same format I used for the Sunday marches to write about that, however, so at the moment I’m considering making some changes to the way I report those as well. But that’s something I’ll need to think about later, because right now I have far too much to write and far too little time to do it.

As I said, if Monday only saw the poll with the possible routes for this Sunday’s march posted, which poll closed Tuesday at 1 PM, all plans were thrown aside by Wednesday’s events from Pungesti, where Chevron was about to start drilling to explore shale gas deposits. Of course, the fact that such work was set to start was already known and the people from Pungesti were already protesting, but seeing as the Global Frackdown was Saturday, the activists from Bucharest had scheduled an event then, and that event wasn’t even here, the plan being to go to Pungesti and show solidarity with the villagers. In addition, a gathering took place at Campeni Saturday as well, and this was directly related to the Rosia Montana issue, so the focus was on these two events in addition to Sunday’s march, meaning that doing anything here over the course of the week didn’t even seem to be on anyone’s mind until, to put it bluntly, shit hit the fan.

October 16 (another video, from a news site, and the pictures I took, just in case anyone is curious): The protesters at Pungesti, who were attempting to stop the drilling from starting, were surrounded by large numbers of gendarmes, who said they will proceed with removing them and who were also blocking the road in order to prevent others from joining the protesters. After that point, the reports regarding the behavior of the gendarmes were highly conflicting, some saying that they hit the protesters and dragged them through the mud while others simply stated that they formed a line to prevent the protesters from entering Chevron’s property and interfering with what was set to take place there. There were also reports that two old men died while three other protesters required medical attention, some saying that this was a result of the gendarmes’ actions while others that the deaths were due to natural causes and the other three people only suffered panic attacks.
Based on this, people were asked to gather at the fountain, one event, created by those whose main cause actually is fracking, being scheduled for 5 PM, and another, created by the group formed at the start of these protests for Rosia Montana, for 6 PM. There were no plans after that point and it was obvious that not even the two groups had discussed the matter, each simply reacting independently and thinking they’ll sort things out on the spot, based on the news that continued to come from Pungesti and on the numbers and the mood of the protesters who will attend.
When I got there, around 6 PM, there were perhaps slightly over 100 people and the numbers seemed to increase slowly, but they did increase, so there were 200, maybe as many as 300, when a call was made to take to the street, around 6:50 PM. The relatively few gendarmes present at the time appeared completely surprised by the move, only calling reinforcements and surrounding us after the fact, never attempting to push us back onto the sidewalk. As such, we blocked that piece of road and waited for our numbers to grow even further while trying to figure out what to do next.
At 8:20 PM, when we may well have been around 1000, we started marching, quickly reaching the Ministry of Internal Affairs and protesting there for a short while. At 8:45 PM we were moving again, reaching the Ministry of Economy at 8:55 PM, then the Government at 9:15 PM. After about ten minutes spent protesting there, our numbers having grown to around 2000, we tried to move again only for the gendarmes to try to stop us, so we had to get through two such attempts and run in order to prevent them from regrouping again in front of us before making another very brief stop, at 9:45 PM, in front of the headquarters of PSD, which is the largest party in the ruling coalition. At 9:55 PM, with no gendarmes in sight except the negotiator who had stayed with us, we were at Arcul de Triumf, where a moment which could have turned out far better was staged before we got moving again at 10:15 PM. At 10:25 PM we were at TVR, which is the state-owned television station, where we stopped for about ten minutes before continuing on our way back to University Square, the gendarmes once again forming a line in front of us during this final part of the march, briefly holding us back at Romana Square. However, since it was later reported that they had been ordered to avoid further clashes after we made it through and started running on Kiseleff, I believe that was more because the group had become quite scattered and they wanted those at the head of the column to wait for the rest to catch up than anything else, so the matter was quickly settled and we reached our destination at 11:25 PM. I left some 15 minutes later, but I heard that some remained there until at least 1 AM.
To return to the incidents that took place on Kiseleff Boulevard, when we meant to continue the march after the stop in front of the Government building, what the gendarmes did seemed more of an attempt to intimidate or provoke us than an actual effort to hold us there, seeing as it wasn’t particularly difficult to get through their line if you used the sidewalk, looked for a good moment and were sufficiently calm. That was a lot to ask from an angry crowd, however, and some of the gendarmes were already annoyed as well, so the situation was rather tense for a few moments and a furious older woman who tried to push through the line required medical attention after apparently fainting. Still, the events didn’t escalate and everything was over in a few minutes, doubtlessly thanks to the restraint urged by those who had kept cooler heads on both sides, since you could see both calmer protesters who kept telling the more furious ones to find a way around and avoid any confrontation and gendarmes who were telling their colleagues not to chase after those who were calmly slipping past them and even holding back those who seemed set on reacting to the insults and threats shouted by the particularly angry protesters.
And to also return to the other moment mentioned above, namely to our stop at Arcul de Triumf, the plan some of the known activists had made on the way was to go around the arch on both sides, march back through it, like a victorious army, then sit down and sing the anthem. However, several people started shouting that we need to say The Lord’s Prayer first and, despite the fact that many, including most of the other known activists, were saying that it was a bad idea to do so, the person who had been called to sing the anthem using a loudspeaker agreed, also making a rather confused speech about how good Romanians are also good Christians and we must remember that our ancestors knew that nothing can be done without God’s help. That resulted in a hostile reaction from a large part of the protesters, who obviously weren’t Christian and felt insulted by such statements, those who did recite the prayer being booed and shouted at. Add the fact that the person who had the loudspeaker, whose name I keep forgetting but who is otherwise very calm and collected and a good speaker, messed up while singing the anthem as well, and you’ll see why it might have been better to simply continue marching after passing through the arch.
As a conclusion, people were angry and it showed. Shouts and signs were at another level, and people were determined to do what they wanted regardless of the gendarmes, who were there in large numbers and, as I said, tried to stop us a few times. Unfortunately, this anger led to many acting hastily and to things being said, and in some cases perhaps even done, which weren’t exactly called for, but it also brought back that energy we all felt during the first half of September, which we had been noticeably losing lately. As such, seeing as the incidents weren’t serious, the good far outweighed the bad and we can say that the movement was greatly rejuvenated on that day, and also that it finally incorporated both causes more or less equally.

October 17 (also, my video, showing only parts of what happened after the Minister got to his car, but having English captions): Regarding the previous day’s events, after the dust settled and information was easier to obtain, it was revealed that the two people reported dead were, in fact, alive, one of them even being released from hospital, though the other did have a heart attack while protesting and needed to be resuscitated. Activists spoke with this second man, who said that his heart attack happened after gendarmes hit and tripped him, leaving him in the mud, and also that the other man was injured after being struck by gendarmes as well, but seeing as it was also reported for several hours that they were confirmed dead, protesters from there actually saying so repeatedly, both on camera and by phone, I’m honestly not sure what to believe.
Otherwise, Chevron announced suspending work at Pungesti and moved the equipment some kilometers away. It was just a tactical retreat, of course, and they’re using the time to move in on other areas, the first one I see mentioned being Mangalia, but while the people from Pungesti weren’t fooled and continued their protest, many others took this, and most probably also the fact that nobody was actually killed the day before, as a signal to stay home, maybe 40 people showing up at the fountain that evening and nobody actually protesting. However, it was known that the Minister of Culture was the guest of an event taking place in a nearby club at the time and messages started coming that first some ten people, then about 30, including most of the known activists, had gathered there and were challenging him about the Rosia Montana as UNESCO World Heritage Site issue and he was refusing dialogue, so most of us left to join them, at first meaning to wait outside but then quickly heading inside after the police officers who were present said that nobody is allowed to gather there.
Seeing as I didn’t actually go into the room where that event took place and, either way, probably got there after it was all over, all I know about the protest that took place during the event itself is pretty much what you see in the video I linked to above. The only other thing I can say is that, in this other area where I was waiting, people were disagreeing on what to do next, the main options being either to go back outside and wait for the Minister to leave or to try to drive him out so it’ll look like he’s running away from us, though Vlad also got in a heated argument with one guy who had the “bright” idea of seizing the Minister and holding him there.
Eventually, it was decided to head back outside, where about 70 of us ended up waiting for him to appear and his car was stopped by those who recognized his driver as he tried to slowly drive past us. The Minister came out shortly after that, well protected, and managed to make it to the car, but it took the police officers and gendarmes who had rushed to the scene a while to clear a path for them through the protesters, during which time somebody unfortunately broke the car’s rear window. I know that, while most merely chanted, stood in front of the car and placed banners or fake money on it, some people were seen hitting the windows and the others repeatedly told them to stop, but I heard one of them reply that a window can take a lot more than that and moments later he was proven wrong.
The Minister came out of the car at that point, shouting at the protesters, calling us neo-fascists and legionnaires while some were shouting back at him and others kept telling everyone to avoid touching him. Thankfully, everybody listened that time, so even he stated that he was never personally in any danger, only his car having been attacked, but the damage was already done and that did put us in a bad light. I’m saying this because I want to make it clear that, while the stones and bottles that certain mainstream media sources claimed were thrown certainly never existed and the window only broke completely when he returned inside the car and slammed the door, it did indeed do so because it was already cracked after being struck by one of the protesters, who was supposedly later identified by police.
After that scene ended and a way was finally cleared for the car to leave the area, three people were taken for questioning, though it appears that at least two were quickly released. There was a lot of confusion regarding the last one, however, even after we chased the police officers and gendarmes over a short distance and many people tried to obtain more information. Several television crews were with us at that point as well, so a few of the known activists were asked to give plenty of statements regarding what happened and, in between that and the confusion, the calls to return to the fountain and continue protesting there were ignored for quite a long time and plenty had already left before things finally seemed to be heading in that direction.
I’m not sure what happened after that point, because I peeled away and haven’t seen any reports about later, so it’s probably safe to say that, if any did return to the fountain, they were few and didn’t stay long. Also, not sure whether those who left earlier, as a group, went to have an action group meeting or, as Alina said at the time, simply meant to have a beer. It’s also quite possible that they had an action group meeting over a few beers, of course.

October 18: Some 30 people gathered at the fountain, but I wasn’t one of them, so I don’t know whether anything actually happened there or not. What I do know, however, is that the gendarmes appeared to be practicing across the road, putting on quite a show before speeding away and, according to some other reports, continuing the exercises in another location relatively nearby. Coupling this with the fact that many of the protesters who were identified as having been present during Thursday’s incident were informally called in for questioning and with the statements made by both the President and the Prime Minister, who said that cities can’t be blocked by protests anymore and the Police and Gendarmerie have full mandate to step in and clear the protesters if they break the law, including by marching on roads, it’s obvious that they’re trying to intimidate us.
At the same time, the Special Commission formed to supposedly investigate the Rosia Montana matter, which was supposed to complete its work these days, had its mandate extended by 30 days. I won’t even get into what that Commission did, the way it stalled all this time and the way it’s trying to fool people into thinking anything changed by bringing several supposedly major amendments to the proposed law; instead I’ll merely say that this obviously means there won’t be a vote in the Senate next week, which suddenly makes this Sunday’s march, which is supposed to end at the Senate, appear poorly timed. They’re clearly still waiting for the protests to die down, giving their other tactics more time to work now that they noticed that they underestimated our determination.

October 19: With probably some 200 regular protesters from Bucharest, including the vast majority of the known activists, at Pungesti and Campeni, the only event organized here in order to mark the Global Frackdown was supposed to be a flash mob at what was supposed to be the Chevron headquarters, at 4 PM. However, with everything else that happened, the event was created in a hurry and basically not checked since, the fact that a few people pointed out that we should be going to another address, since the branch that deals with shale gas is located there instead, being missed by nearly everyone. In addition, from what I got from those who actually went inside to ask, it’s possible that not even that other branch, largely dealing with oil, was located there anymore, having subleased their offices to a legal firm.
Either way, there were barely a few people there at 4 PM, wondering whether we were in the right place, though we ended up being over 50 around 5 PM, when things actually started, and the numbers eventually peaked at around 70, which was actually better than it sounds, considering how many were away and how “invisible” the place was. The police officers who arrived first said it’s supposed to be a flash mob, so we can sit around and prepare as long as we don’t block the traffic, but once we actually start protesting we have about 15 minutes before we’ll need to scatter, yet the event definitely turned into a more regular protest and lasted significantly more than that, in part due to the fact that Alex, who was the only one of the known activists to be available, had quite some speeches to give, touching upon several issues.
In addition, by the time the protest at that location did end, perhaps after about one hour, an agreement had already been reached with the gendarmes who had also showed up after the police officers, so the 50 or so of us who didn’t decide to leave right away marched towards our regular spot at the fountain. The march took place without causing any problems for traffic, as we used the sidewalk and stopped at red lights, and it was followed by some more protesting, though the numbers quickly dropped even further. I only stayed for a little while longer, leaving at 6:35 PM, and others had left even sooner, but I checked the webcam overlooking the area every 30 minutes during the evening and a few people were still there even at 10:30 PM. In fact, there were still a few on and around the benches at 11 PM as well, but there was no reason to believe they were protesters and, even if they were, they obviously weren’t protesting in any way anymore, so the day’s events can be seen as having ended by then either way.