Cav's Place

Picking up from where the previous report left off, I’ll start this one with Saturday, February 18, when children and parents were again called to Victory Square. Up to 500 people attended, children writing messages with chalk on the pavement, one of the messages also being created with flowerpots after being written with large letters. After that, during the evening’s protest, similar or perhaps slightly larger numbers participated, reports going to 600 or even 700. Candles were also placed on the large message left from the children’s protest, where flowerpots had been hours earlier.

The next Sunday protest was a subdued affair due to the constant rain, on top of the temperature only a little above freezing. Under those circumstances, though the main event was calling people to Victory Square from 7 PM and another even from 6 PM, a message that was shared stated that we should at least be there between 8 PM and 9:30 PM, so not staying that long and reducing the risk of some leaving by the time others arrive, for the peak to be more relevant when the turnout was obviously expected to be low. And it was when you compare it to the previous numbers, but about 2500 or, according to some, 3000 seemed good enough for me, considering the conditions. For the first time since the January 29 march, I also took some pictures.

The one more notable day from this point of view before the following Sunday was Tuesday, February 21, when the Parliament finally formally rejected OUG 13, which is what these protests started from, and approved OUG 14, though which the Government had repealed OUG 13 on February 5. A few hundred people, reasonable estimates going to about 400, were in Victory Square that evening, some to celebrate the decision in a way, but with most of the measures that initially triggered the protests being set to be passed through the Parliament as regular laws and the PSD+ALDE coalition having majority, it definitely doesn’t mean it’s over even when it comes only to these particular issues.
Otherwise, there have been people in the Square every day, a few even during the day, but the numbers were low each evening, so I’ll just go through the list of reports quickly, starting with Monday, February 20, when most sources mentioned only dozens of participants, with one TV station that supports these protests going as high as 150. For Wednesday I saw reports of around or maybe slightly over 100. Then the regular sources stopped covering the daily protests, so I resorted to an independent source that focuses a lot on protests in general, but their numbers seem inflated, so I’m just posting the fact that they mentioned about 200 Thursday and Saturday and maybe up to 300 Friday because they’re the only numbers I have.

Then came another Sunday protest, on February 26, the better conditions also allowing another plan to be set in motion, that being to create the European Union’s flag the same way the Romanian one had been created two weeks before. Unlike last time, since this was also an attempt to counter the accusations of nationalism coming from most known activists then, there were no other such accusations, but also very few messages from known groups or activists mentioning this plan either way, though there was a general note appreciating the fact that the European project is supported, especially considering recent events. There were some complaints from various individuals who are nationalists or have other issues with the European Union, however.
There was also an actual counter-protest that took place on the sidewalk across the Square from the Government, a few people holding large banners there and only leaving after the flag moment, which took place at 9 PM, though a fair number of those participating in the evening’s announced protest had slowly gathered in front of them to complain. Though those large banners attacked institutions that many protesters support, including the justice system in general, some media sources that support the protests, all parties including the new USR, and even supported leaving the European Union and therefore directly opposed the evening’s main idea, I’m not aware of the situation escalating past complaints and occasional shouts, but there was some tension there and gendarmes were monitoring the area carefully. There were cheers mixed with some loud cursing when that group finally left.
Some 5000 people are said to have been in the Square at the peak, so at 9 PM, and I may add the fact that a small group was gathering signatures for a referendum to remove the Mayor of Bucharest, Gabriela Firea, from office. Protesters started leaving rather quickly after the flag moment ended though, so numbers were likely down into the hundreds by 9:40 PM, when I started making my way away as well. Also took pictures again, looking for interesting signs and banners, as there were plenty and the lower turnout meant I could move around and spot them. And yes, most of the large banners from the counter-protest are there as well, though I refused to include a couple.

There were some people still protesting in Victory Square last evening and this evening as well, but just having that one site that may inflate the numbers to resort to for estimates, and they say 200 Monday and 250 today. I also see them mention that signatures for that referendum are still being gathered, though the number required makes the initiative unquestionably doomed and a complete waste of effort and resources.

But this post can’t end here, because a new issue appeared last Wednesday, when discussions about an emergency ordinance adopted last year by the previous government and which established penalties for illegal logging and related activities not covered by other existing laws headed firmly in the direction of at least drastically reducing the fines and increasing allowances, if not repealing it entirely. It must be noted that environmental NGOs were not invited to these discussions, so two days later, on February 24, a common statement firmly rejecting these proposals was released by four of them, including WWF Romania and Greenpeace Romania, plus the coalition whose main objective is identifying and protecting Natura 2000 sites in Romania. People have also been asked since then to send messages to the members of the committees which will discuss the fate of this ordinance, demanding the rejection of the proposals.
And, while a few people had signs mentioning the matter on Sunday as well, a first protest actually regarding this issue took place today at Izvor park, in front of the Parliament. In fact, those who had showed up to stage the counter-protest Sunday evening were the first ones there, at 9 AM, displaying those same banners for a little while, as one of them admittedly mentions the matter of deforestation, though it portrays the EU as the culprit. The main protest was later, yet sadly, with a start time listed as 5 PM and on a weekday, the turnout couldn’t be expected to be high and only about 20 people showed up by 6 PM, when gendarmes started carding those who were there and I left, along with a few others. So the pictures I took are limited to what I saw until that point, though somebody said others remained a while longer and I found what was a live video of what appears to be the actual end of the evening’s protest, ending shortly before 7 PM. A few who could only arrive a fair bit later, after 7:30 PM, posted annoyed messages and pictures showing that they found nobody else there.