Cav's Place

I’ll start this post with something that happened today and is not related to the recent protests taking place here, because it marks a victory in a process started with the May 2015 March for Forests. I’m referring to the announcement that the FSC disassociated itself from the Schweighofer Group, the statement making it clear that the decision is a result of the Group’s violation of standards in their operations in Romania. So another demand of the activists who have maintained this campaign for close to two years now has been met and there is hope for further improvements, as the announcement also states that the FSC intends to “begin to build a permanent presence in Romania […], to identify long term solutions to the challenges of responsible forest management in the country“.

And now let me pick up from where the previous report left off and say that February 10 seems to have started with a flash mob that took place at Unirii metro station in the morning, a handful of people singing the anthem and handing out the list of demands agreed on by some. Then there was the regular protest in Victory Square in the evening, some 5000 or 6000 people attending at the peak, about 5000 attending Saturday evening as well. However, Saturday began with a “marathon of democracy”, reports stating that four people actually managed to run the distance of a complete marathon in the area surrounding the Government, some others joining them at various times and for various distances. In between, one man sat down in Victory Square at 8 PM Friday evening and only left at 8:30 AM Saturday morning, resisting all through the cold night.

The next major protest was once again scheduled for Sunday, February 12, the evening’s “main event” being preceded by a dancing flash mob, handing out fliers with that list of demands I mentioned above as well and a plan to set up boards or large sheets of paper with various questions for participants to write their brief answers to, though I can’t say I saw or heard anything about this last part actually happening, whether when I arrived that evening or in the reports I read later. One of those badly injured in the Colectiv club fire also announced that she’ll celebrate her birthday in the Square that evening.
One problem, on the other hand, was that the “main event” included creating the Romanian flag at 9 PM, participants being asked to hold colored sheets of paper above their heads and light them with their phones or flashlights. For most known activists, this was seen as another dangerous step toward promoting harmful nationalism and also a troubling reminder of the Communist days, so many spoke out firmly against it. It was made clear that it won’t stop them from participating in the protest otherwise, but they definitely won’t take part in that moment, and that was my attitude as well.
About the protest itself, while still stunning compared to anything seen here before this year, it was significantly less massive than the previous ones and, while still creative, it seemed a fair bit more subdued, or at least that was my impression while there. Estimates seem to settle around 50000 participants, though some went as high as 70000, and that peak was reached when the flag was formed. Since I got myself out of the crowd before 9 PM and returned later, to make it perfectly clear that I refused to have anything to do with that moment, I was able to easily see how many people were starting to clear away as soon as it was over, likely due to the cold. The rest tended to remain until the anthem was sung, at 10 PM, and then cleared away as well, not many being left by 10:30 PM, when I left as well. A report mentions only about 100 protesters still in the area at 11 PM.

As for this week, reports mention a peak of about 1000 people in Victory Square Monday and Tuesday evening, some estimates going as high as 1500 for Monday, then the number dropping to maybe some 700 Wednesday and some 500 or 600 Thursday. After “#REZIST” (resist) was spelled in the Square with flowerpots earlier today, estimates mention some 700 protesting during the evening. Those who still attend seem focused on demanding the Government’s resignation and, though I don’t really know this and some were still speaking out against the idea when others were finally realizing, last week, that we should just focus on the weekends because daily protests at this point only exhaust participants and will eventually end up aiding those we’re fighting against, I rather doubt known activists are among them anymore.
The protest in front of the National Audiovisual Council, which was initially scheduled for last week and then delayed, did take place Tuesday evening, but reports state that only a few people attended, which was not surprising. In addition, gendarmes weren’t as friendly with those few as they’ve been with the rest, and there are also reports of the attempted removal of one person who had continued to come to Victory Square in the morning all this time, as he was told that protection fences won’t be placed in the area so early and he can’t be there without them, though a report I’m reading right now mentions that fences weren’t placed in the Square this evening either. And this is on top of the fact that an investigation has been launched and all sorts of weird debates have started regarding those who brought children to the protests, or that those who used drones to take pictures have been identified and charged of operating them without a license or improperly. So, at least so far, no action is being taken against regular protesters, known activists or those who are part of the groups that tried to organize some aspects of these protests, but with numbers dropping, some additional methods meant to discourage people from continuing are beginning to be used.

But since I started this post with a victory in a campaign that’s not related to these recent protests, I guess I’ll be ending it with a defeat in another, and now I’m referring to the fact that the European Parliament approved CETA two days ago. Also, to refer strictly to the failure of the Romanian campaign against this deal, all but two Romanian MEPs voted in favor of it and only one, Laurentiu Rebega, voted against, the other being absent, so those who voted in favor included the few who had expressed concerns about the treaty and even one, Norica Nicolai, who had stated that she opposes it and will vote against. Still, this is not over yet, but there are only a few national or regional Parliaments that we may hope will eventually push back due to the highly troubling aspects that are part of the package, and the Romanian one is not among them.