Cav's Place

As a result of the events taking place in Pungesti, the week started with a group of about 25 protesters gathering in front of the Government building Monday morning, starting from 11 AM, the gendarmes who wanted them to clear the area apparently asking them to go inside in groups of two and request an audience with the Prime Minister instead.
The day’s “main” protest, however, took place in the evening, people being asked to gather in front of the Government building at 6 PM and probably around 200 eventually doing so, though barely a few arrived even roughly on time. Because of that, the actual start of the protest had to be delayed until enough people gathered at the metro exit and it was only around 6:40 PM that we moved to the piece of sidewalk that’s right in front of the Government building and started walking back and forth in order to avoid being told to clear the area. Despite being recommended by one of the Gendarmerie’s negotiators, the method didn’t buy us too much time, however, and as our numbers exceeded 100 and continued to increase and we also started chanting in a somewhat orderly fashion we were warned that we will be carded and fined if we do not leave.
At that point I actually went to the negotiator and asked him what’s going on, being told that another procedure applies once chanting starts and that if someone would have enough influence to make the rest follow such an advice we should regroup outside the metro exit, which is actually a double violation of the law, seeing as it states that we can protest outside institutions but not outside metro exits. I didn’t even try to persuade anyone, of course, but those of us who slipped away once it was obvious that the gendarmes were serious ended up there in the end, after those who had gathered in the area between the metro exit and the sidewalk most of the rest were still on were told to clear away as well. At that point, most of us were quite at a loss, feeling powerless to help those who had chosen to stay in front of the Government and not knowing how to best make use of the fact that we were free to move almost anywhere except back towards them.
That changed in a few minutes, after the cyclists gathered on the other side of Victoriei Square, in front of the Antipa Museum, and a quick call was made for everyone to get there as well. People were slow to do so, however, and many probably didn’t even understand why they should, but eventually a few dozen of us ended up there and the road was briefly blocked in that area at 7:55 PM, until enough gendarmes rushed over.
Gathering again on the sidewalk, we then waited for a green light and crossed the street towards Victoriei Way, which some started marching on at 8:10 PM before quickly needing to return to the sidewalk after the gendarmes gave chase, this being the point after which my information, not to mention my pictures, can’t be complete anymore, seeing as a few small groups scattered in different directions while the rest of us who weren’t being carded returned to another part of Victoriei Square and tried to figure out what to do next. In fact, many were wondering whether there was any point in staying, considering the number of gendarmes present in all locations by that point and the fact that we were so scattered, but all of a sudden a few rushed past, chasing after a bus and shouting at the rest of us to get in because we’re going to Romana Square, where we arrived at around 8:25 PM.
That didn’t solve much, however, especially since the small group we passed on the way failed to reunite with us as quickly as we expected them to, the gendarmes we had seen following them arriving there first and moving on to cut us off in case we planned to keep going towards University Square. It was later revealed that the delay was caused by some scuffles, some of the protesters being struck by a few gendarmes, but eventually all the separate groups that had walked away from Victoriei Square slowly gathered in one place once again, across the square from where we had stepped off the bus, in a spot that most gendarmes seemed to stay away from, only a colonel, or lieutenant colonel, asking to talk with Claudiu and being in turn approached by several other known activists and other protesters.
The talks lasted a while, but we weren’t sure what to do anyway, so even though some were getting restless, I wouldn’t say we lost time, but in fact that we gave those who had been held in front of the Government building until the gendarmes carded and fined them time to join us as well, which many of them did around 9 PM, when we suddenly noticed a sizable group step off another bus. That group also included Alex, who immediately shouted through his loudspeaker that we should start marching towards University Square, which seemed to be what Claudiu and Vlad had in mind as well, so we promptly followed that call.
Since the march was on the sidewalk and the pace was quite good, not offering any opportunity to be accused that we were blocking traffic, I know of no incidents even though gendarmes walked both alongside us and on the other sidewalk, keeping up. As a result, we arrived in front of the Bucharest National Theater at 9:20 PM and protested a short while longer before people started to scatter, those left generally splitting in small groups and trying to discuss the next course of action, either at Pungesti, where many planned to go in order to help the locals, or here in Bucharest.

Though many were expecting another call to gather somewhere Tuesday evening, none came, the only message only being shared by several known activists and regular protesters during the evening and asking people to just go out for a walk, find each other, form groups and figure out what to do on the spot, the result being that barely a handful gathered at the fountain for a while.
Still, even that was more than was said over the next few days, since I’m not aware of anything happening on Wednesday and Thursday’s event was completely unannounced, the first messages appearing after it had already started. The protest itself was quite creative, if likely too subtle for many, seeing as the six protesters who participated repeated chants and demands made during the protests that took place at the start of 2012 and led to the current ruling coalition taking over. They also held a banner saying “Down with the Boc Government!”, Emil Boc being the Prime Minister at the time, and handed out fliers with the current Prime Minister’s picture but Boc written underneath, the point obviously being to say that nothing has changed.
As for Friday, a few protesters did post some messages asking others to come when the mayor will turn on the holiday lights, but I’m not aware of anyone that’s part of this movement managing to do something then. Greenpeace Romania, however, did, displaying a ten-meter long banner that said “Respect Pungesti” during the ceremony in question and therefore finally openly getting involved, albeit quite some time after a few activists had started to wonder where they were and whether they even cared about what was happening.

I should, of course, continue with Saturday and Sunday as well, but I already spent quite a few hours struggling to write even this much and I need to stop here if I’m to have any chance to post this today. I’ll try to write another post tomorrow, covering the weekend, but I’m making no promises at this point. Do want to point out, however, that there’s no missing “is” in the chant quoted in the title, that being the literal translation of “Pungesti, nu uita, Bucuresti de partea ta”.