Cav's Place

On top of what would be the typical Sunday protest, last week people were asked to attend one on Friday as well, since it was Romania’s National Day. The event was called “Romania Is Dying”, which was an admittedly sensationalist title, but the description also listed more general matters, such as healthcare, education and the millions of Romanians who left to work abroad, after all the issues which have been on the agenda of activists and protesters lately. It didn’t include any actual demands though, which was also pointed out by one of the activists I follow.
Adding that lack of demands to the rain that was in the forecast and the fact that the protest was scheduled to start at 6 PM on a Friday, and on the National Day as well, might have resulted in a rather embarrassing turnout, yet the mayor seemed to decide to offer a helping hand by suddenly “inventing” a third Christmas fair, organized in just a few days and intended to take place in Victory Square between December 5 and 17, with the area being blocked for three more days before and after that period for the required work. Since no plans for such a fair had been known before, there had not been such a fair in Victory Square in previous years, the area being poorly suited for such events anyway, and another request for an event of this sort had actually been denied earlier, it’s obvious that the only reason for this was to stop the protests from taking place there these days, since you can’t legally have two such events in the same place. As a result, people had another reason to protest, and December 1 was the last day when they knew they should be able to do so without things getting ugly.
Not that there’s much to be said about what actually took place there that evening, but the estimates of 1500 to 2000 participants that I saw seem fair. A group had brought large letters forming “Romania Moare” (“Romania Is Dying”) and held them up, and there was also a large palm with a message against the fiscal changes, in reply to the Prime Minister’s statement that he didn’t see any complaining about those the week before, when 3000 such palms, albeit of a significantly smaller size and with a message against the changes having to do with the justice system, were ordered and handed out by a group of activists. Otherwise, people were invited to use the sound system installed there to speak, some patriotic songs were played in between such speeches, and a few minutes before 8:30 PM, when most had already left, those remaining were asked to join in the Union Hora. That made the Square clear a bit faster than it would have otherwise, as the circle grew as more dancers joined and those who didn’t care to dance were literally knocked away.
One more thing that happened was that the Christmas lights were turned on, all over the city, at 7:10 PM, and you can see how the area looked in some of the pictures I took. Actually decided to take a few just for the lights just before leaving, giving myself something to do for a few moments longer after being among those knocked away by the dancers. Still wasn’t there when the protest pretty much broke up for good, but didn’t miss that moment by much, the reports I saw stating that the rain got heavier around 8:40 PM and quickly caused just about all those still there at the time to leave.

Unsurprisingly, things got heated the next day, starting in the morning, when workers arrived to start getting the area ready for that additional Christmas fair. Protesters, in numbers varying from dozens to a few hundred over the course of the day, met and tried to stop them, the methods used escalating from attempting to form a human chain around the area or surrounding it with a “barrier” of toilet paper to pushing the fences away and onto the road and dismantling what had already been placed there, apparently in a very orderly manner. Gendarmes stepped in to stop the fences from being moved in a way that would have affected traffic, but neither they nor the security guards stopped those taking things down, and eventually the firm hired to do the work took everything away. Or, more exactly, they took everything except the toilets then, those being removed by Sunday.
One troubling incident took place when a protester asked an old man who was in the area of his opinion about the protests and the man insulted the protesters in reply. What followed after that was obvious harassment, the protester chasing the old man, who had immediately started walking away, and trading insults with him until the old man struck the protester with his backpack, knocking the phone used to film the incident out of his hand and, from what I heard, breaking it. And then the protester attacked the old man, who had blood on his face by the time gendarmes rushed in and immobilized his attacker. As far as I know, the old man refused to press charges, despite having every reason to, since he had been so obviously harassed before things got violent.
There were other incidents as well, a couple of others also being taken away by gendarmes and eventually fined large amounts. Or, more exactly, I’m not sure how the total amount, which was made public, was split among the others, but I know that one woman, one of those who may be seen as one of the leaders of these ongoing Victory Square protests, received a particularly large fine after being dragged away kicking and screaming. It was entirely deserved though, since she got completely hysterical while pushing and shaking the fences and then ended up striking the two gendarmes who were very calmly trying to get her to calm down, and I heard that she spat on at least one too. Sure, she struck them lightly, on their chests or shoulders, and they were more confused than anything else by it, but it counts and worse charges may yet come her way.
The thing is that those who can be said to be leading these ongoing protests have nothing to do with the activists I’ve known all these years, and this was pointed out by some after these events, some of those who do continue to attend at least the bigger protests specifying that they no longer feel that they fit in and are increasingly uncomfortable with where these protests are going. However, their first reaction to Saturday’s events was to openly express support for those who were in the Square at the time, doing so perhaps more firmly and openly than they had supported these protests in quite some time, calling everyone to rush there and help, and then asking for legal and financial aid to be offered to those who were taken away. Obviously, the tone changed once all the facts became known, some openly criticizing those who had turned violent and even those who dismantled things, stating that they will not support anything of the sort, while others took a more nuanced approach.
Still, despite the indefensible behavior of a few and the at least questionable one of others, the result couldn’t be denied, said result being that the mayor announced that the fair will be moved away from Victory Square, and it has since been canceled completely, which was obviously going to happen since the whole point was to block that location. However, the day’s events were used by her, some members of the ruling coalition and the TV stations loyal to them to once again portray protesters as dangerous and call for the gendarmes to get much tougher, aiming harsh accusations at them for not having done so already. As such, I for one am concerned that winning that battle may lead to losing the war, or at least to making future battles a whole lot harder, even more so since new laws for the Police and Gendarmerie are being discussed at this time and they were quite clearly aimed at stopping protests even before such excuses were provided.

Considering all of this, it wasn’t surprising to see significantly fewer people on Sunday than there had been on Friday, the estimates of maybe around 500 that I saw again seeming quite fair. With the Square clear and that fair no longer being an issue, the immediate problem faced by those who were interested in being able to return there during this period no longer existed, then it’s quite obvious that some were put off by the previous day’s events, and then there’s also the fact that the Chamber of Deputies was scheduled to vote on those laws having to do with the justice system during the next few days, so some may have wished to avoid tiring themselves, and maybe also the risk of ending up involved in further incidents, before then.
Under those circumstances, Sunday evening’s protest, again scheduled to start at 6 PM, risked to pretty much die out without even really starting, not being significantly more lively than one of the protests that keep taking place there every evening, being attended by a handful of regulars. However, following Saturday’s events, a large flag of the European Union that’s being taken to the cities where protests are taking place was brought to Bucharest by activists from Galati, whose turn to have it apparently was that day, and this gave people something to do starting at 7:30 PM, when the participants were asked to gather around and hold it. I again left at 8:30 PM, having taken only a handful of pictures that evening, and there weren’t many people still there when I did, but a post I saw later stated that the flag was displayed for about one hour and 20 minutes, so until around 8:50 PM.

While all of this was going on, the group which also handed out those palms didn’t lose sight of their other campaigns either, asking supporters on Saturday to send a message to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in order to persuade them not to reassociate with Holzindustrie Schweighofer, an investigation revealing that the company hadn’t improved its practices. Then, with the FSC’s board of directors meeting Monday and Tuesday to discuss Schweighofer’s situation, representatives of the FSC agreed to meet two representatives of the group on Tuesday, assuring them that the reassociation will not happen soon and the company will need to meet certain sustainability requirements first.

This same group also created a tool to alert those who sign up and inform them how to take quick action when these changes having to do with the justice system will be voted on. Since I didn’t sign up, I don’t know what that tool actually did, but I doubt it was necessary, since most groups and activists were watching this matter carefully, as did the USR party, and when these proposals showed up on the schedule, Wednesday, calls to gather at the Parliament came from every direction while USR was using every tool available to them to block or at least delay the vote, including proposing as many amendments as they could come up with, speaking as much as they could get away with, challenging everything that could be challenged, using loudspeakers when they were no longer allowed at the microphone and staging a protest in the Chamber of Deputies.
One problem with these protests taking place that day was that, following the death of Romania’s former king the day before, nearly all groups had initially announced suspending any planned protests for the following period, the ruling coalition also announcing suspending their plans to stage massive support rallies. A few of the Victory Square regulars showed up Tuesday evening as well and there were a few comments criticizing the others’ move, seeing as the vote on those changes was scheduled to take place on Wednesday, but a message signed by many groups asked the ruling coalition to respect this period as well and at least delay any actions which will prompt a response, even Wednesday morning the plan obviously being to keep their word and not organize anything if at all possible.
But, of course, it wasn’t possible, the ruling coalition pushing through with the planned vote and the atmosphere getting increasingly tense over the course of the day, as they kept using whatever tricks they could but were still held back by USR’s determination. Unfortunately, even other opposition parties criticized USR, and let’s not even mention what happened, and what’s been happening since then, at the TV stations loyal to the ruling coalition, which are sadly by far the most viewed ones for news and talk shows. Interestingly, at some point during the day, the proposals temporarily showed up on the Chamber of Deputies’ site as having been approved, the matter officially being dismissed as a software error but plenty having doubts about that.
Still, with people gathering at the Parliament during the evening, estimates placing the maximum at up to 2000 but stating that people kept coming and going, the ruling coalition eventually had to give in and accept delaying the vote until next Tuesday. The cold, the gendarmes and even the late hour had driven most protesters away before that decision became known, but those who were still there at the time waited for the politicians to leave, relying on information from USR members to know which gate to wait at and that many will try to leave in their personal cars, things getting even more tense when they were recognized. There was even a moment, when protesters were walking back and forth on a pedestrian crossing from the area and even trying to gather around cars and stop them, when a member of PSD lightly hit two. But the mood obviously changed completely when the members of USR walked out, openly and together, at the end, being met with applause and congratulations and stopping to talk with those who were still there at the time.
All told, seeing as almost all groups, old and new, called people to come to the Parliament that evening, and considering what was proven to be possible so far, the turnout was rather low. Then again, I wasn’t there either, the large number of gendarmes may have scared some away, and their behavior may have caused others to walk away sooner without generating the anger which would have attracted others, as the reports of those who were there state that they seemed mainly concerned with keeping the traffic flowing and otherwise made little sense, spreading protesters one way or the other, sometimes blocking one sidewalk and at other times letting protesters occupy it again, spraying some tear gas at one point but without it seeming to lead to anything else, and, as far as I know, not asking people to show their identification or fining them.

Since then, that idea of suspending protests during this period was abandoned, almost all groups again calling for a massive protest Sunday evening, and plans being made for another one at the Parliament next Tuesday. However, there are also some messages from a few known activists who stress that the “core” of this year’s protests is different from that of those from previous years, that while some of them continue to attend they feel increasingly uncomfortable doing so and can’t identify with the current regulars, and even that the proposed changes may not be that much of a problem and other things should be the focus at the moment.
I for one definitely agree with this part about the focus, at least. As for the changes themselves, I’m not afraid to say that the matter goes over my head, being a long, technical discussion about details having to do with something I’m far from sufficiently knowledgeable about or, frankly, interested in. Many of the activists I know and, at least to a certain extent, trust when it comes to such matters are against these changes, and that includes most of those who are increasingly uncomfortable with the protests themselves, so I can say that I express my support for their opposition, but I don’t have a personal stance and I’m getting quite weary of the whole thing, and also increasingly concerned that other matters are being allowed to slip past us while just about everyone focuses so much on this one issue.
At the moment I’m saying that I’d want to at least have a look tomorrow evening as well, but I’m not even actually sure that I’ll go, much less that I’ll do anything more than wander around quietly for a little while and take a few more pictures, if even that. And I think an increasing number of others are starting to feel the same way, and that some have in fact been feeling this way for quite some time, so maybe it’s time to largely leave the issue to those who oppose these changes while being experts in the field, or at least sufficiently involved, and to USR, who have now actually managed to do what their voters expected and demanded of them, and only bring the matter back to the attention of the people and call for another protest over it when truly necessary.