Cav's Place

To be very clear, this will be a rushed post, at least considering the period it covers, not just because I need to finish it today but also, and I’d say mainly, because the protests that took place these days, and most notably between Wednesday and Sunday last week, were so massive that I couldn’t possibly write anything that wouldn’t be completely inadequate even if I’d be dedicating a post to each day. Plus, I took no pictures and didn’t wander around nearly enough, not that it’d have been possible to get a truly good image from the ground even if I’d have tried, considering the size and density of the crowd. And if these reports were supposed to be about the protests and actions organized or at least clearly supported by the United We Save Community, this movement was so massive that its involvement was just a drop in the bucket.
I’ll be picking up where the previous report left off and then going through the days one by one, checking some reports I looked at then as well, right after the fact, and linking to an article and a picture or two that I also shared on the night in question or maybe the following day. Don’t expect many details here, links to additional articles or to photo albums to show signs or other details. If you want them, you can find those yourselves, and anyone interested should already know far, far more than I’ll be writing here.

The quick reaction that began late during the evening of January 31, when the measure was announced as adopted, continued in the night, people rushing to Victory Square however they could, meeting each other as they ran on the streets after public transportation was no longer available. Some media sources that support the protests reported as much as 20000 people there at the peak, but more reasonable numbers seem to be 12000 to 15000, with many known activists and groups seeming to prefer the low end, 12000, the next day. Shared a crowd shot taken around 12:30 AM that night. Though the numbers dropped quickly after a point, there were still at least several hundred people at 2 AM and that night’s protest only actually ended around 3 AM.
The decision was officially published around 1 AM, but only the measure limiting the protections for informers to those coming forward no more than six months after the crime they were involved in came into effect immediately, the text specifying that the rest were delayed for ten days, so there was still some time. Some were no longer interested in any calm approach though, and while most issued repeated calls to continue the protests strictly peacefully, this unfortunately even included some known activists, most notably Alex being among those shaking the gate and fence and meaning to go inside, then posting angry rants that others didn’t follow and advocating the use of some violent means to send a message. The gendarmes had cooler heads though, spraying a little tear gas but mostly picking up the few who did go over the fence and taking them back outside and explaining to them and others that they’re allowed to protest all the way up to the fence, even allowing a few on it, but that they will be forced to prosecute those who insist on going over.

Then came Wednesday, with people called to come to the Square from 9 AM, a couple thousand being there during the day, and a massive protest expected for the evening. But I don’t think anybody truly expected it to be as massive as it was. There were posts saying we could fill the Square with 100000 people, but at the time they were written I’d be tempted to consider them expressions of wishful thinking, yet the Square was indeed filled and people kept pouring in, filling the surrounding area as well. Estimates, even those given by the media supporting PSD, reached and then exceeded 100000, eventually settling between 120000 and 150000, and a total of 250000 to 300000 all over the country. It was stunning, mind-boggling, something not seen since the Revolution and likely exceeding even that in terms of numbers. Shared a panoramic shot taken around 9 PM, another of the Square itself and an article then.
It was an outpouring of anger, but for quite a number of hours that seemed limited to slogans and signs. And before getting to the point where a small group changed that, let me also mention the solidarity shown, how people came together, started organizing and helping each other. Offers of places to stay for those coming from other cities to protest in Bucharest started during the night, as that quick reaction was still taking place; some were sharing means of transportation as well. Then during the day there were offers of free materials for signs and banners, or even of firms willing to create them for protesters for free, plus others offering hot tea or coffee, biscuits, pizza in one case, even warm clothes in another. People were bringing food and hot drinks to the Square and offering them to others, they were starting to work together to ensure this will continue for some time despite the conditions, and then, during the night, after the mess between that group of hooligans and the gendarmes ended, a group formed and returned to the Square to clean up.
Yes, there were some who clearly showed up with different intentions and I later learned that reports about this had started a couple of hours before their presence clearly became noticeable and the gendarmes knew of them even earlier, even releasing statements about it and asking the other protesters to aid them in isolating them and allow them to remove them if needed. Yet they were not removed and at around 10 PM firecrackers started being thrown with increasing frequency, followed by brief booing and shouts of “no violence” from the other protesters. Yet that group, numbering in the dozens from what I saw or, at most, according to some reports, a couple hundred, was determined and any attempts to reason with them fell on deaf ears, so as they gathered in one place and started battling the gendarmes the other protesters in their immediate vicinity cleared away, with the exception of a few who tried to form a cordon between the two groups, protecting the gendarmes with their bodies and shouting desperately at the hooligans to stop. Since that also failed and the gendarmes advanced and tear gas started being used, people cleared away from larger parts of the Square and scattered around the surrounding area, some leaving, others returning sooner or later at least to have another look. Most who were still there at the time quickly cleared the area around midnight though, as even more gendarmes poured in and started arresting and in a few cases even beating anyone in the general area of the hooligans, finally ending the conflict but also the protest.

The next day saw a lower turnout, but the numbers were still huge. It didn’t look like it at first, with few in the area before evening and that overwhelming flood of people seen around 6 PM the previous day not repeating even by 8 PM, with reports estimating some 7000 at 7 PM and maybe 30000 an hour later. Yet people did pour in after that, with the peak estimated at around 80000, 90000 according to some. As such, even if it was the second day in a row for most, third for some, so soon after the January 29 march and just before the weekend, people proved they weren’t giving up, weren’t willing to let anything slip, and also won’t let themselves be chased away by some violent elements.
Other than the fact that a few groups appeared playing drums and a few other instruments, at least one also occasionally working a few slogans into the music, there isn’t that much to say about that evening and I didn’t share anything that night, so no links to add either. Still, must make note of the fact that there were no further incidents, the gendarmes picking up a few suspicious individuals before they could actually do anything, to cheers from the crowd when the moments were noticed. There were even slogans and signs supporting the Gendarmerie, which would have been quite unbelievable during previous protests, and gendarmes were given flowers, which admittedly had happened before, and them and a number of protesters shook hands. Sadly, plenty of known activists were angered by this, posting to remind people of the rough treatment received from gendarmes in the past, plus all the fines, but while it’s clear that they were ordered to be nice this time and would likely quickly change their behavior if the orders did, I fail to see how can one expect good behavior from others while continuing to punish them for past events even when they do display it at present.

Friday was huge again, similar to or possibly even bigger than Wednesday, more of the estimates lining up at 150000. Shared an article that night and you can also see a crowd shot there, but was making note of the fact that people were getting organized even better and there’s more effort and more resources poured into this movement. To some extent, that created a feeling of pressure, at least for me, but it definitely also helped in many ways. People could more easily just grab a sign, having quite a number of options to choose from, if they didn’t bring their own, the creativity of those who did bring stuff increased even further, a nearby building became a screen on which slogans and some other images were projected, there was also a sound system at the opposite end of the Square from the Government, and so on.
And I guess there’s little else I have to say about it, despite the numbers, or perhaps just because of them. Oh, I could mention that, starting from someone’s idea posted earlier, the anthem was sung by the crowd at 10 PM. Past that, the protest again ended after midnight, with no incidents to report and protesters and gendarmes continuing to interact in a friendly manner. Events planned for Saturday began in the morning, but the vast majority only planned to return in the evening anyway, plus that most were already exhausted and ill but were determined to keep going. Of course, like every night, as the other protesters cleared away, some grabbed garbage bags and cleaned the Square.

As I said above, Saturday’s events started early for some. Even saw a planned run around the Palace of Parliament and then to Victory Square, starting at 8 AM, but can’t say I happened to see anything else about it that day or later and didn’t start searching either. Then there was a protest meant for children and their parents, attended by thousands, supposedly between 11 AM and 1 PM, but with the march planned to start at 4 PM, the people coming for it didn’t really start arriving until 3 PM, so the children’s protest stretched on in the Square until then. While some eventually left around that time, some remained and even took part in the march.
As the numbers were still low at 4 PM, by which I mean several thousand, the start was delayed for a bit, but people were moving by 4:20 PM and the crowd, which kept growing as the march continued, reached University Square, where there was a very brief stop, people being asked to honor the heroes who died there, around 5:10 or 5:15 PM. Constitution Square and therefore the Parliament was reached around 5:45 PM and a brief stop in front of the nearby Ministry of Justice took place some five minutes later. Then, after some confusion, as some wanted to continue on, the crowd turned and started walking around the Parliament, for the planned human chain. That failed to form though, as it wasn’t long before people no longer stopped to line up one next to the other, there was also a moment when the gendarmes wanted to stop us and send us on another route, and when, after just a little while, they agreed to block the road all around and let us continue on the planned route, people pretty much just walked around that entire area, the larger group that had gone ahead meeting with a smaller one that had at some point decided to go the other way around 6:20 PM, about halfway down the third side in the direction the larger group was walking in. There was another attempt to form a chain then, but it didn’t last long at all, people generally, and disappointingly, agreeing that 20000, or even 30000 according to some, were far too many to stick to any plan. Either way, as we continued to Victory Square, there was a moment of silence followed by singing the anthem around 7:05 PM, in Revolution Square, and those at the head of the march started getting back to Victory Square around 7:30 PM.
Tens of thousands more had gathered in the Square while the rest of us were marching, so the end of the march took the form of one large crowd walking right into another, quite a number of those waiting cheering the arrival of those who had marched. Then, as numbers continued growing over the following hours, estimates reached and then exceeded those from the previous days, going over 150000, stopping around maybe 170000 at the peak. It was yet another record, yet another protest that was the biggest since the Revolution and, at least in terms of sheer numbers of people in the street, maybe even bigger than that. Didn’t share any article about the protest itself that night though, but I did share a panoramic picture taken around 9:30 PM.
Mentioned above that I didn’t share any article about the protest itself because I did share one, and it did also mention the protest, but the headline referred to the fact that the Government announced scrapping the measure Saturday evening. Not that anybody believed them at that point, or that it’d have been enough in itself after all of this, but the Prime Minister even made it worse by saying they still had to think of the best way to do it, whether it’s a matter of canceling or delaying. So, of course, word got passed around the Square during the evening, but the information was largely dismissed and it changed nothing in the attitude the protesters had that evening or in their plans for Sunday.

And then came Sunday, when something truly massive was expected and people weren’t going to be surprised by the sheer scale anymore. Estimates of 250000 in Bucharest and half a million total were all over, as the target most were quite certain will be reached, and some were hoping to even double those numbers. That didn’t happen, but nobody was disappointed, since the records set the day before were nevertheless smashed, estimates for Bucharest ranging between “over 200000” and 300000. As for what I shared that night, the crowd shots were actually drone shots, considering the area that had to be covered, and I shared two, plus an article that also includes a great shot taken when everybody was asked to turn on lights and videos of that same moment. And then I sent two more pictures in a message to someone, so adding those too.
Back to the numbers, the part of the media loyal to PSD insisted on much lower figures, however, even only in the tens of thousands, but as they tried to explain that no more than that could actually fit in the Square, others pointed out the entire area occupied by people and ran numbers to make estimates, the calculations I saw leading to the conclusion that, while 250000 isn’t an entirely implausible number, it’s more reasonable to say that there were 150000 to perhaps 175000 people there at one time, but people were constantly coming and going, some arriving when others were leaving, the metro station was also full, some were grabbing hot drinks or food or using toilets over quite a wide area, some were simply leaving the crowded area to move around a little, so it is largely agreed among activists and more independent media sources that around or even more than 300000 people are likely to have taken part in Sunday evening’s protest in total.
And to mention United We Save specifically, some of the activists worked together to repeat something that was done at some point during the 2013 protests, namely having marches start from various neighborhoods and uniting at the end, this time of course in Victory Square. Many seemed not to understand the idea, or pretended not to, so they kept being accused of breaking up the protest, but they stood firm and the events took place, albeit with a small number of participants. People were asked to gather in various points from 4 PM and were supposed to start marching at 5 PM, though that was changed on Sunday to 4:30 PM for the routes exceeding seven kilometers. Each route also had at least one major node listed, where people who couldn’t make it to the starting location could wait to be picked up, and they were all supposed to reach the destination at 7 PM. Not that it mattered much, since the one I took part in started with some 17 or 18 people and ended up at a little over 30 when we reached University Square, where we joined with another group coming from another part of the city and which numbered around 100 or perhaps a little over, but I also heard of a group that started with just three. And once we got past Romana Square, we just mixed with a growing wave of people pressing forward, and I guess all the others did the same.
There were already a whole lot of people in Victory Square when we finally got there, I think at about 7:30 PM, by which time the Government had officially canceled that decision, but in a way which allows it to return, so of course it made no difference. At that time, the three laser projectors which some people had added to the “arsenal” that evening were being set up, displaying messages on the Government building itself and two others. I also saw later that the anthem had already been sung once at 7 PM, and this continued to happen every hour, as planned, with the exception of 9 PM, when people were asked to turn on lights, the anthem being delayed for 9:10 PM. A moment of silence for the victims of the Colectiv club fire and of the Revolution was also held at 9:30 PM. And it should go without saying that creativity was even greater than before. People started leaving in large numbers after 10 PM though, likely more quickly than in previous evenings, and the protest may have died down a bit sooner than before, but reports say there were still a few thousand present even at 11:30 PM.

Most people took a break after that, many being utterly exhausted, ill and having simply put their lives on hold for the past several days, and there were also plans for continuing the protests in other ways, such as a general strike promoted by some of the known activists, starting with 5 minutes on Monday, 10 on Tuesday, 30 on Wednesday, one hour on Thursday and all day on Friday. Still, at least a few people, or in some cases just one person, continued to show up in Victory Square even early in the morning, to ensure there was always at least someone there, and evenings continue to see significant protests which only appear small when compared to the mind-boggling scale of those that took place last week.
Should probably start listing this week’s events with the fact that Rosia Montana Day was marked on Monday, though. Then, back to the protests, I’ll go through them quickly and say that I saw estimates usually settling around 20000, though some went as high as 25000, Monday evening, before numbers dropped to only around 5000 or at least not too much over that on Tuesday. Wednesday it snowed and it was bitterly cold, yet some once again showed up early and started clearing the snow away from most of the Square, leaving some areas where messages had been written in the snow, and the crowd peaked at several thousand in the evening, estimates ranging between 5000 and 10000, but with many saying that people were there in shifts due to the conditions, so significantly more are likely to have actually taken part. A protest in front of the National Audiovisual Council (CNA) was also scheduled for that evening, demanding harsher action against the lies and manipulation coming from the TV stations loyal to PSD, but it was delayed for next week due to the conditions and the need for all those still willing to go out to maintain the pressure in Victory Square. As for today, when it was still bitterly cold and a fair amount of snow had settled over the city, I again saw reports of about 5000 at the peak. Oh, and I even forgot to mention it at first, happening so late that it’s really quite irrelevant, but the Minister of Justice finally resigned today.

Been participating in the protests here. First the two Sunday marches, and now since Wednesday every evening. Tomorrow, or in fact today, I’ll need to be there quite early as a march is to start at 4 PM. Been sleeping little, these days went to bed after 6 AM, a neighbor is drilling and banging and waking me up early… Or was, woke me up early Monday and Wednesday last week, then again for the first part of this week, but over the past couple of days it seems to just be a little early on and then I could go back to sleep. Still, slept a total of some 17 hours in four days before getting seven or even a little over that today, or more exactly yesterday. Will get less again this morning though.
Mostly walked to the protests too, and since it’s at Victoriei now, that means well over one hour. Since dad needed the metro card, went there by metro only Thursday, and returned on foot both Wednesday and Thursday, only now taking a bus because I left early, making my way out around 10:15 PM. Wednesday I left just around midnight, when I got a feeling of danger as the gendarmes rushed at some hooligans making a mess of the area, just a handful of them marring an otherwise completely peaceful protest attended by up to 150000, but doing so for some two hours until that moment, clashes escalating and people scattering as a result. Thursday I left at 12:15 AM. Both days I meant to take a night bus back, first waiting at the nearest stop, where it may not actually stop even though the site says it should, then the second where it definitely should stop, a couple of others who stopped to wait with me even checked on their phones and the schedule I remembered was right, but it never came, so after wasting some 30 minutes waiting each time I went back on foot.

Just adding run times here now. Last week’s run was Monday, after maybe three hours of sleep due to neighbors, and with the time being too poor to stay at seven kilometers, I continued to ten. Also used those old shoes that are falling apart again, and for the last time. Just after I finished, something came loose again and I didn’t use glue again, and threw them away after also trying the new ones, which I did for this week’s run. That was Tuesday, again after some three hours of sleep, for the same reason. And again ten kilometers, just with different shoes, to also try these while still saving my running shoes for better weather.
Last week’s time was 54:14, with sector times of 4:42, 5:55, 6:37, 4:57, 5:29, 6:41, 5:07, 5:44, 6:54 and 2:08, making for lap times of 17:14, 17:07 and 17:45. This week it was 52:40, with sector times of 4:41, 5:32, 6:18, 4:49, 5:32, 6:32, 5:02, 5:37, 6:41 and 1:56, making for lap times of 16:31, 16:53 and 17:20. Not sure when I’ll run again now, but I have a buffer of three weeks, so I can afford it.

Otherwise, a complete mess due to the protests and being among people and pretty much just waking up, checking news and posts, going there, coming back, checking news and posts, grabbing a few hours of sleep and repeating. Back in 2013 it took more than a week to get to the state I was in Thursday night after coming back and very clearly today while there. But back then during those initial daily protests I stayed there much less, walked less to get there and came back by metro, and there were a whole lot fewer people. Now my mind just can’t wrap around the sheer scale of it. Also not taking pictures, as what I’d see wouldn’t be representative of anything and either way it’s an effort I can’t spare.
Throat is also very sore, how much due to the shouting and how much because I’m getting a cold or flu, I can’t tell. Eating honey by the spoon, a bit too many sweets otherwise as well… Also grabbed some stuff while there. Didn’t grab anything Wednesday, but Thursday did get a couple of biscuits from those offering this sort of thing to protesters for free and Friday I grabbed a larger pack of biscuits, of which I ate half and saved the other half so I won’t be taking anything again Saturday, and also went to get a cup of hot tea from some who offer that nearby. Rather burned my tongue and throat with it. Oh, and also found 1.5 RON while helping a little with the cleaning as the protest was winding down Thursday evening.

I’ll be picking up from where the previous report left off and say that the referendum became quite a laughing matter when the question was revealed, as apparently the President intends to ask whether the people support the fight against corruption, not something specific to the measures that sparked these protests. As a result, being obvious that it’ll just be a complete waste of public money and a way to add to election fatigue, therefore it couldn’t possibly have any real negative effects for them and may even reduce the public opposition they’ll face after it, PSD even threw aside any countermeasures and said they support it as well.

Now that I got that out of the way, let me get back to activists and protesters, who were keeping a close eye on the January 25 Government meeting, fearing that the measures will be adopted then even if they weren’t among the topics listed as being discussed. After all, they hadn’t been the week before either, but they didn’t try to sneak them through again, so there was no need for a quick reaction.
There was a flash mob announced in front of the Government the next morning, at 11 AM, but barely a few people showed up, as expected. However, January 26 was notable because the Minister of Justice announced that public consultations regarding the planned measures will take place at the Ministry on Monday, but that due to lack of space no more than 50 people will be able to take part, media access won’t be allowed and each person will have three minutes to state their opinion, conditions which obviously generated an outcry and a rejection of these consultations by those opposing the measures.
Over the following days, as official statements against the measures kept coming from various institutions and organizations, including those representing prison workers and even inmates, the Minister seemed to change his mind about the number, saying up to about 90 may somehow fit inside at once and there will be two rounds, one after the other, so the close to 200 who did register to participate will be able to do so. The other restrictions weren’t changed though, so people were called, including through an event created by the United We Save Community, to state their opposition in the street, gathering in front of the Ministry at the time of the consultation.
However, that was Monday from 9:30 AM, when it was obvious that, even despite the huge turnout at what by then had been two Sunday marches, barely a handful will show up. And I for one did try to have a look, being there right on time and wondering whether one other person was there for the same reason or I was the only one, so I wandered around for a while and returned at 9:45 AM, when I saw the situation largely unchanged, though a guy who was quite clearly there for the protest had a look as well and then walked away, so there may have been a few others like us. As I then went to do other things but walked past the area twice more, can say I saw five people at 11:15 AM and ten 20 minutes later, and they were just standing around and chatting.
Things were quite different inside though, and while cameras were not allowed, quite a number of people working for independent media sources were inside and they managed to resist the initial demand to turn in their phones as well, as the listed rules only mentioned cameras. So instead of no media coverage, there were quite a few live streams of the entire event and large numbers watched it or parts of it on-line. And a few known activists were inside after all, stating a firm opinion against the proposed measures, alongside representatives of some organizations and institutions, and also calling for the Minister’s resignation. Plenty of participants were in favor, however, which was hardly surprising, since we’re talking of people who’d directly benefit from the measures, posts and articles being quick to list what they were under investigation or had been convicted for.

But the major event was once again the Sunday march, which was quite a test, since a lower participation than a week before would have sent the message that PSD could simply wait this out, plus that having more people in the street when leading PNL members had announced their participation and even the President showed up would have added weight to the lies that it was just something organized by the opposition that the part of the media that supports PSD keeps repeating. And that was a serious reason for concern, since it hardly seemed likely that a protest bigger than any of those in 2013 would be followed by an even bigger one, especially considering the idiocy with the referendum.
Those concerns seemed founded when I reached the University Square fountain right on time, at 5 PM. Since the week before I had been 30 minutes late, I didn’t have a way to compare directly, but the sight that greeted me was of a small number of people scattered around the area, two gendarmes walking in front of me also commenting that there had been significantly more at that time the previous Sunday and it looked like it’ll be a weaker protest.
Well, it definitely wasn’t. People kept flooding in and spilling over wherever they could after the area filled, calls to take to the street because there was simply no more room for those who kept arriving came even before 6 PM, when it had been announced that the march was to start, and while it was hard to make comparisons at that point, it was obvious that this was at the very least going to also be massive. And as the march continued and the crowd stretched on and on, the head of the column reaching and moving on from points of interest while the rear still hadn’t left University Square, it became increasingly clear just how massive. After the return to University Square, since the route that included this had overwhelmingly won against the proposal to go from the Ministry of Justice to the Goverment on Victoriei in the vote posted the evening before on the event page, I tried to wait for the entire column to walk past me again, but after 25 minutes and with no end in sight I gave up, so I can’t directly say how long it took, but I did see reports saying it took about 40 minutes this time.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. To present a timeline, I’ll say the gendarmes cleared the way and people spilled into the street at 6 PM, then after a bit of confusion, many initially facing the other way, as if the march would be straight to the Government once again, less than 15 minutes later we got moving. Some five minutes before 7 PM, the head of the column reached Constitution Square, where the Parliament is, and there I actually saw gendarmes tell those holding the large banner to spread out more now that there was room, before making way so those with cameras could finally get the shots they had been trying to get since the start. Then, being nearby, the Ministry of Justice was reached at 7 PM and that’s where the first and only stop before the end was, the crowd starting to move again after little more than five minutes, when I also heard a gendarme tell those already there that there are many more behind who want a chance to send their wishes too. University Square was reached again at 7:40 PM, and the head of the column reached the Government a little before 8:25 PM. Or maybe closer to 8:20 PM, according to some reports, since I hadn’t quite managed to catch up after those 25 minutes despite running wherever I could find room and switching between the street and the sidewalk plenty of times in order to do so.
The National Audiovisual Council (CNA) and the Ombudsman were also planned points of interest, protesters demanding a reaction from the CNA regarding the lies the TV stations loyal to PSD keep spewing and at least in theory a challenge from the Ombudsman against these proposals. Since he’s so deep in debt his only hope is to stay firmly on the good side of those in power and hope they pull the strings he needs in return and therefore only acts when those need something from him and not when the rest of the people do, however, the actual demand was just his resignation. But since the CNA is just before Constitution Square and on the left side while the route turned right after reaching the Square, people just passed by, and to be honest I don’t even know whether we did pass by the Ombudsman, since that required a couple more turns and I didn’t notice them, nor the area itself. Either way, definitely no stop in either location, but there were plenty of signs and slogans related to these two institutions.
And speaking of signs and slogans, while there once again were none supporting the opposition, the President or the former Government, there were still many firmly against PSD and its president Liviu Dragnea despite repeated calls posted by known activists before the march to leave this fight against them aside and focus on the matter at hand, just to give them and the media that supports them less reason to claim it’s all something organized by the opposition and occult interest groups that want to dismiss the result of last month’s elections. And I do agree with that call, and even more so with the motivation behind it, despite the fact that I am a very firm opponent of PSD and would never want them to have any sort of power or authority, but a crowd that size and made up of people who simply took to the streets of their own free will couldn’t be led one way or another even if there would have been serious attempts to do so. And anyway, I can’t say there were such attempts this time either.
Getting back to the end of the march, in Victory Square, once again those at the head of the column didn’t advance enough, so those in the Square itself had room to move around, quite a lot for those not right against the cordon of gendarmes, while many people had no way to even reach it. But, either way, stating again that it was a truly massive protest, estimates usually ranging between “over 40000” and 50000, though I also saw 35000 or 60000, plus of course merely 15000 or even still just 10000 at the TV stations loyal to PSD, which are still sadly the most watched. 50000 is the most common number though, also quoted in international media and remaining so even now after the initial euphoria passed away. Which makes sense, since it’s apparently based on Police estimates as well.
But now I find myself needing to end this quickly, so let me just add that I wandered around the Square for almost an hour, taking more pictures before eventually walking away at 9:20 PM, by which time the crowd was thinning visibly. The metro couldn’t handle the numbers though, so police officers were blocking the entrances to the station and allowing people inside in groups, when those inside were telling them there was room for more. Of course, there were long queues at the turnstiles as well, but everything was calm and orderly, as was the entire protest itself.

As I said above, now I need to end this quickly because things just changed and the Government met this evening, supposedly only to approve this year’s budget, only a few dozen people reacting quickly and showing up there as a small spontaneous protest, just in case… Yet after other members left, the Minister of Justice stated, in a press conference during which he was smug and defiant and refused to answer many questions, that the changes to the Criminal Code were adopted and they even add something new, namely that passing laws or regulations may not be grounds for accusing someone of abuse of power or favoring criminals, so they know exactly what they’re doing and very specifically want to make sure they won’t answer for it in courts. During the night, when the decision was published, it was revealed that it’ll come into effect in ten days and not immediately, but there’s still plenty of confusion, so I’m just adding this here as a later edit and there may be more at some other time.
They did this in secret and at night! They announced it at 10 PM or so and after the others even fled the building! People are outraged, calls to take to the streets now are coming from all directions, many activists are on their way, though I initially saw little reason to waste energy tonight after the deed was already done. Tomorrow we need to be there in overwhelming, crushing numbers and see what may still be done. Though, of course, this Government was formed to be sacrificed from the start, so taking them down may well be part of the plan. And a too outraged reaction, one that will lead to violence, will definitely play right into their hands, so that needs to be avoided.

Before anything else, I must stress the fact that this is a game made, with the exception of the music and most portraits, by two people. Granted, I have previously praised a game made, again with the exception of the music, by a single person, and that one is far more complex and quite simply much better in terms of combat and enemies, and probably also character development, but Driftmoon is more of a typical RPG, also involving exploration and much more interaction, which is a notable achievement for such a small team. There are limitations and simplifications that I’ll get to later, but it is nevertheless one of the examples proving that the age of games being made by “two guys in a garage” doesn’t need to be a thing of the past. Just that now they’re not necessarily guys anymore and they may work in something a bit more comfortable than a garage.

If I were to describe Driftmoon in one word, it would be “charming”. That’s the overall impression I got from it, whether we’re talking of the atmosphere, humor, characters, enemies, graphics, locations, music, or the many references. Despite the typical plot of saving the world from a great evil and the inclusion of themes such as torture, it does cater to a younger audience and doesn’t take itself too seriously, yet manages to avoid actually becoming childish or just a parody. Take any single element out of those I just listed aside and it most probably won’t charm on its own, some possibly even bothering adult gamers seeking something other than just amusement from their games, but see them as part of the whole and, from the first moments all the way to the end, this one word describes the game almost too well. At least as long as you manage to ignore one particular infuriating theme, or of course if, unlike me, you happen to be among those at least not bothered by it, Driftmoon is simply charming.
On top of that, there’s something to be said about it managing to avoid the typical elements that make a game frustrating, at least for me. I could hoard pretty much anything I thought could be useful at some later point without running into inventory problems and this hoarding is at times even rewarded, some items proving useful in less expected ways. I never felt that if I made a choice at one point, whether in terms of story or of character development, I was going to mess up more things later without even being made aware of it before it was too late, and I also want to make note of the fact that companions who leave drop all equipment you gave them, so you’ll never lose anything that way. Also, with one late-game exception that you’re very clearly warned about when you mean to leave, areas I had moved on from remained open until the, again very clearly specified, point of no return at the entrance of the final one, so I could always go back and make sure I had really found everything, and the number of quests completed and available in each area is listed on the world map, so you’ll very easily know if you somehow “managed” to miss one. And no fight or other challenge felt unfair or cheap, and it was nice how you could move freely while using ranged weapons and you found a quiver that used mana to provide endless arrows even early on. Admittedly, the game was rather too easy on what should be normal difficulty, but keep that younger target audience in mind and, either way, there are higher settings available for those who want them.
And I really must mention all the references as well. Yes, there’s a lot of humor in the game and it usually works well enough, at least for me, but it’s how many other things, whether also humorous in themselves or not, the developers managed to squeeze in that stands out far more. The entire Black Knight scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail is reproduced with a skeleton in the crypt. A secret room in the library acts as a tribute to quite a number of classic games, Discworld, Muse and Don Rosa’s Disney comics. You can pretend to play a bit of hockey in a frozen area and, also there, a character whose resistance to cold helped him end up just frozen instead of petrified recovers after you get him in a sauna, which is an obvious reference when the developers are Finnish. And many, many, many other things, in dialogues, little quips, writings, book titles, item descriptions, places… Identifying all of them may well be a game in itself, and now I’m even wondering whether the way in which the outcome for each character whose life you influenced is presented at the end isn’t at least in some part a nod to Arcanum.

Unfortunately, one of the things the developers insisted on including is Christian proselytism. As a simple reference like all the others, even to the extent of hiding the entire New Testament in a couple of places and adding a paragraph at the end of the ending credits thanking “Our Loving, Forgiving and Almighty God”, it would have been quite fine. This game is a work of passion and it’s made by two people who really put a lot of themselves in it, including all these references to what’s important to them, what they enjoy or what they personally see as otherwise sufficiently relevant. That’s fine, I get it, and if it’d have been treated like all the others, and possibly just focused on more in the monastery, including by having crosses or even pictures of Jesus instead of the duck images, it wouldn’t have been a problem. But these are not just references, but instead something pressed and hammered in, the game sliding into proselytism plenty of times, even if mainly advocating blind faith and devotion and not also the conservative “values” usually associated with organized religion. Considering that younger target audience, I’m tempted to see it as even more troubling, even more so considering the reaction religious or conservative people tend to have when progressive, liberal or secular values are taught or even simply presented to children.

Otherwise, there’s the matter of the game being rather too simple. I was mentioning the complexity and diversity of combat and enemies in The Spirit Engine II, which was developed by a single person, at the beginning of this review, so the fact that it’s lacking here isn’t because it can’t be done by a very small team. Yet, while the number itself may perhaps be passable, the reuse and to a fair extent similarity leaves the impression that there are only a few actual enemy types, and they pretty much just go all out to attack you with whatever means they have. And your companions behave the same way when aiding you in battle; you can’t even give them any orders such as to attack without you or a different enemy or when to switch to ranged or melee during combat if they have both types of weapons. If they use a melee weapon and you switch to ranged and put some distance between you and the enemy, you may even find that they disengage and just follow you around.
Still on the matter of being too simple, there are rather too few items available. The number of melee weapons is perhaps passable for a game this size, but the rest is quite restrictive, barely a few items of each type being available. Potions also don’t have different strengths and the crafting system, which might have been interesting if used properly, can only produce basic consumables, plus maybe the tickers if you care to use any, so felt like quite a waste to me. And not that there even are more actually useful rings to wear, but being limited to equipping a single magical ring is rather odd. On that note, have to wonder why isn’t there even an equipment panel and you just select what you equip by clicking on the items in inventory, which makes the background turn green. It just seems rather lazy, even if the reduced number of items does indeed help when it comes to not getting frustrated with inventory management.
And I may also mention the length here, but in truth, once again considering the team size and also that likely younger target audience, the bigger issue is elsewhere. According to the save timer, it took me 17 and a half hours to finish the game, but I likely spent less than half of that actually playing, much of it consisting instead of double and triple checking every little bit of every map and moving absolutely everything that could be moved to find all the silver feathers and the few other hidden items. And while it’s nice that you can move so many things around, it gets a bit annoying that you have to, considering the effect and eventual importance of the feathers, especially when we’re not talking just of candles or flowers that you can just throw around, but also of large heavy items that barely budge, plus the cases when some need to be cleared away before you can get to others, so you’ll be spending plenty of time slowly moving absolutely everything you can, just in case there’s something under or behind it. And what makes that even worse is that there are some items that sometimes move and sometimes don’t and there’s no way to immediately tell, so you’ll click and drag and find your character moving instead, then likely try every direction, just in case the item is blocked in some directions and you can’t see why, then conclude that the item in question can’t be moved, but maybe later find one that can be, and then you’ll go back to see if you didn’t miss any others. I was saying above that the game avoided the typical elements that make games frustrating for me and that fights didn’t feel cheap, but this one thing is cheap and frustrating.

Overall, Driftmoon is, in one word, charming. Maybe intended for a younger audience and not taking itself too seriously in terms of the story or characters, but not going too far when it comes to that and being, in my view, enhanced by most of the many references and personal touches included by the two developers. It is rather too simple in some ways and the search for the feathers can get frustrating and feel a bit cheap, but in spite of that it’s quite an enjoyable experience that manages to be close enough to a typical, albeit not exactly serious, RPG while doing away with many of the elements that make many of those almost as frustrating as they are enjoyable, or in some cases even more so.
Or it can be all of that if you can ignore all the Christian proselytism or just aren’t generally bothered by it. I for one tried and largely managed to enjoy it in spite of this, but while the developers, especially when it’s such a small team and they obviously put so much of themselves in it, are free to make a Christian game, I am also free to hold it against them. The other flaws may well be forgivable, but this is not, because it’s not something immediately obvious before you purchase or start playing and even more so because of that likely younger target audience. Quite simply, Driftmoon would have been quite an achievement for a team this size if not for this one very obvious and annoying issue.

Note that this review refers strictly to the game itself. Driftmoon includes an editor and supports mods, some of which are included and just need to be selected, but I played it without any of them installed and didn’t check any other content created by users using the editor. It’s always a good thing when such tools are included, however… And I didn’t check, but wonder if somebody made a mod to get rid of that particular main problem I kept stressing in this review, even if it’d require a fair amount of rewriting.

Half a year after the previous one, it’s definitely time for another protest report. Not that there haven’t been events worth mentioning during this time as well, there have been a few notable ones even earlier this month, including the fact that the Ministry of Culture submitted the documents to nominate Rosia Montana for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List on January 4, on the last day before handing over power to the new Government and a day after the petition asking the Prime Minister to change his mind and sign those documents was formally submitted. Not sure whether that petition had any effect, since in the end this happened because “the Minister of Culture, Corina Suteu, assumed responsibility for the submission, after informing and consulting with Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, and with support from the Ministry of External Affairs” and not because the Prime Minister changed his mind about leaving the decision for his successor, and I also don’t know whether the lack of the Prime Minister’s signature will have a negative impact during the review, but after all these years, it finally happened.

However, this post is about the protests taking place over the past week, and more specifically about those on January 18 and 22, since that’s when the major ones were in Bucharest. The reason is that, so soon after taking office, this new Government means to adopt emergency measures, so without passing them through the Parliament, in order to pardon inmates sentenced to up to five years in prison if not guilty of a long list of offenses considered too serious and if they cover the losses caused within a year of release, halve the sentences of those over 60, pregnant women and those with children under five with no exceptions or conditions, so regardless of the crime they’re convicted for and without requiring them to cover the losses caused, make abuse of power no longer a criminal offense unless the losses caused exceed 200000 RON (about €44500 or $47750) and also restrict the definition of the term, limit the protections for informers who took part in a crime to six months after it was committed, and make some changes to the definition of conflict of interests as well.
While the reasoning is supposedly prison overcrowding and harmonizing legislation, quite a number of politicians will benefit from these changes, a list I saw today containing no less than 65, plus various businessmen and other known figures. Notably, it will benefit PSD president Liviu Dragnea, who is currently not allowed to be Prime Minister or hold other important positions due to serving a suspended sentence, the text actually being specifically tailored to apply to him as well by having the article he was convicted under listed under exceptions but the specific paragraph that applies to him excluded, and also having this decision supposedly aimed at reducing prison overcrowding apply to those serving suspended sentences as well, which is his situation. And it will also benefit media magnate and former president of PC Dan Voiculescu, who due to his age will be among those released without having to pay for the huge losses caused.

These decisions were supposed to be adopted by the Government on January 18, without this having been announced. However, sources leaked the fact to the media the day before, prompting immediate but vague calls for protests, a specific event for Bucharest, calling people to gather at the University Square fountain from 6 PM on January 18, starting being shared late in the evening but not even then on the main pages or groups or by many of the known activists. That meant that, when I checked that morning before going to the dentist, I knew the President, alerted of this, had unexpectedly showed up to preside the Government meeting, inviting the media back inside when they were otherwise being kicked out, making these decisions public, including the fact that they had been dated for that day, so they were definitely supposed to be approved then despite the fact that the Prime Minister was trying to say otherwise, and managing to delay them for a week. However, I didn’t know anything about any specific plans for a protest, and since I was out all day I only learned what actually took place after getting back, late in the evening.
As such, I didn’t attend and only have a few posts and articles to go on, but the fact that such a quick reaction gathered thousands and led to a march was definitely a sign of things to come. Events on such short notice tend to only gather a handful of people, yet in this case, if I’m to take the estimates of some activists who participated, there were some 3000 in the end, when reaching the Government, and some 2000 shortly before 7:30 PM, when they took to the street. A part of the media that opposes PSD estimated even up to 7000 and even international media mentions several thousand, but of course those who support PSD, who sadly also have by far the highest ratings, provided estimates as low as a few hundred, and of course said they were all paid, opposition party members and so on. Either way, the gendarmes didn’t make much of an attempt to prevent people from taking to the street and then caused no problems later either, allowing the march to reach its destination and then waiting for people to clear out on their own, which I see eventually happened after 9:30 PM.

What followed were of course various statements and calls for action, calls to submit comments against the proposals now that the Government has put them up for public comments for a week, calls for the resignation of the Minister of Justice, calls for the President and the opposition to use any means they have to block these measures, announcements from USR that they will file a simple motion against the Minister of Justice and from PNL that they will attempt to call for a vote of no confidence against the Government. There were also discussions over the fact that some USR members attended the protests, whether in Bucharest or in other cities, and announced they will do so again, stating that they are there as simple citizens and will not give interviews to the press, and many known activists keep demanding complete separation between politicians and activists and therefore request that even those who regularly took part in such events before becoming politicians stay away.

And then came Sunday, January 22, when people were called to gather at the University Square fountain from 5 PM, the event being widely promoted. After a poll posted earlier on the event page had resulted in the Government leading the list of destinations for the march by a large margin, the message posted initially stated the protesters should start marching in that direction at 6:30 PM, though that time was changed to 6 PM in another message, posted shortly before the protest was to start. No other destinations were initially listed, but it was said that they will be decided on the spot, if sufficiently large numbers will want to continue protesting somewhere else after a sufficient amount of time spent in Victory Square.
Unusually for me, I arrived quite late this time, at close to 5:30 PM, and found quite a large number of people around the fountain already. And the numbers continued to grow quickly, soon enough the area being completely filled, people spilling over wherever they could still find any room and also crowding on the other side of the road, in front of the Theater. Even though Wednesday’s numbers, considering the short notice, should have been a clear enough indication, the scale of the protest, already seeming to be similar to if not even above the biggest few from 2013, was initially surprising, and not just for me.
One problem was that, on top of members of USR, leading PNL members had also announced that they’ll participate, which was certain to be used by the media supporting PSD to paint the entire event as one organized by the opposition in order to reject the result of the elections and take over power and nothing else. But among so many thousands, I’d say they simply got lost, and I definitely didn’t spot anyone I recognized from any party other than USR, and only a couple from there as well. Then again, I only saw a few people I recognized in general, and none of the best known activists among them, though they pretty much all attended. According to some posts, however, including their own, at least a few of the most notable of them covered their faces and tried to keep as out of sight as possible, bothered by the presence of politicians and the fact that the other protesters weren’t attacking both sides equally and not wanting to be visibly associated with what was certain to be presented by the media as a purely political event.
What definitely ensured that was the fact that the President suddenly showed up around the time people started marching, a few minutes after taking to the street, which happened around 6:15 PM. He didn’t stay long and some agreed with his presence there, but I’m among those angered by it, alongside pretty much all known activists. Still, though I was far from the head of the column, and probably closer to the back of it, he appeared some distance behind me and I just heard a couple of people mention it as word was passed around, but while I later learned that a group formed around him and cheered, likely led by some brought there just for that reason, I didn’t see anyone turn back when the news carried over and I did not personally hear as much as a single slogan or chant supporting him, PNL or even USR.
Now that may not mean much if I’d have stayed more or less in one area of the crowd, considering the numbers, but I’m saying it after making my way to the head of the column, waiting for a good 25 minutes as they walked past me before I could see the end, then making my way back through as far as I could before reaching Victory Square, which was close to 7:30 PM for me but I see around 7:20 PM for the first ones, wandering around while there, finding my way to the head of the column yet again after most left for PSD’s headquarters around 8:15 PM, stopping again to wait as part of them walked past me on the way, going back forward as fast as I could so I got to that destination not long after the first ones did, around 8:30 PM, then going from one side of the road to the other and from one end of the occupied area to the other while there. So I think I know what was shouted pretty well.
What I don’t know is what happened in front of the headquarters of PSD’s allies ALDE, since I only later learned that a part of the crowd had left to go there around 9 PM, reaching it some ten minutes later before returning to PSD’s headquarters around 9:30 PM and then scattering. I guess that’s because I was around the back of the crowd when those calls were made around the front of it, trying to get a few last pictures as the numbers were dropping and I could spot a few interesting signs I had missed until then, before walking away around 9:15 PM. And there is also the fact that a number of people probably stayed in Victory Square for a while after the rest left for PSD’s headquarters and then probably scattered directly.
One more thing I can definitely say, however, is that there was no “command center” trying to lead the chants. And that doesn’t only mean that nobody managed it, which would have been quite normal considering both the numbers and the fact that best known activists were specifically trying not to stand out, but that I didn’t even really see notable attempts, except perhaps one in front of the Government by someone who tends to try to do this either when the best known activists don’t or, at times, going against them. Besides that, I just saw a few more loudspeakers and they weren’t really used in that manner, so it really was a matter of a large crowd of people reacting to something they perceived as wrong and anybody with an idea and some courage shouting something and the slogan either dying along with their voice or carrying as far as enough others thought it was good enough, until they got tired of it or they heard something they liked more at that particular moment.
And yes, the post’s title is perhaps the most memorable such slogan, referencing the fact that many politicians, businessmen and other important figures who ended up behind bars had their sentences significantly reduced after supposedly publishing books or scientific papers despite them usually having no real purpose or scientific value and the numbers and speed at which they were supposedly written making it clear they couldn’t have possibly written them themselves. “From the White House to the White Gate” was another good one though, referencing the fact that Liviu Dragnea had attended Trump’s inauguration and White Gate is the the prison most such important individuals end up in if convicted, the conditions there supposedly being better than in others.
And I guess I should finally end this now, though I’m pretty sure I missed even things I meant to include at some point, plus those I’m not even aware of yet. It was a huge protest, and I found two pictures which should give a good enough idea. Once again have to say it was similar to if not bigger than the biggest few from 2013, most estimates seeming to have settled around 30000 participants, though of course the media that supports PSD stopped counting around 10000 while also again repeating time and time again that supposedly all were paid, this time even those who brought dogs having supposedly received money for each dog, and echoing Liviu Dragnea’s statements that this is an attempted coup orchestrated by parts of secret services, obviously George Soros, who according to them organizes and finances pretty much everything against them and their interests, and others who mean to overturn the will of the people expressed through last month’s elections and hand Romania over to occult interest groups. Did see low estimates even in international media though, such as 15000, but I can definitely say there were well over 20000 people there, past which level I couldn’t estimate more accurately back in 2013 and I can’t now either, so I tend to agree with the 30000 mentioned by most others now.

As for yesterday and today, there were various discussions and positions taken by activists, some more reasonable, a few even welcoming the involvement of politicians in the protests, most rejecting it, some vehemently and harshly accusing both the politicians who show up instead of sticking strictly to the tools offered by their positions if they wish to help, extending this even to those who were activists before and who in their view should completely break away from that past, and all other protesters for not kicking politicians out of protests and not attacking both those in power and the opposition. On the other hand, Demos also finally released a formal statement on the matter, doubled by a rather uncharacteristically harsh and blunt attack against PSD posted by Claudiu, who’s the founder of this project, which currently isn’t yet formally registered as a party but eventually aims to be and which includes a pretty long list of known activists who had until recently rejected the idea of getting directly involved in politics but finally, after being disappointed by the direction taken by USR as well, realized that if they won’t create a progressive and leftist alternative here, nobody will.
Also, while some voices called for daily protests, the person who created the events for January 18 and 22 correctly stated that this would just waste the energy and reduce participation, so the next event was created again for Sunday, though if the Government will approve these measures tomorrow, as it may well do, everybody should obviously be ready to react immediately. However, somebody created another event for this evening, calling people to the University Square fountain from 5 PM and, while most ignored it, I saw a couple of reports estimating about 150 people there. Obviously not enough for any march or anything else, and likely harming the cause due to such low numbers so soon after such a massive event.

The most notable development these days, however, is the fact that the President announced yesterday that he will call for a referendum on these matters, and today he supposedly initiated the procedure in order to do so, though the President of the Senate stated that the documents were not received because today was a national holiday and nobody was there. USR quickly released a statement supporting the initiative and there are various other voices who think it’s a good idea, but I’m again in agreement with the vast majority of known activists who see it as a terrible move and a huge threat that pretty much throws away anything this movement may have obtained and may well clear the way for PSD to do pretty much whatever they want for the next few years.
Without such an initiative, either PSD will back off due to public pressure and they’ll realize they can’t quite get away with everything they thought they could or they won’t and, while it’s true that the measures they wish to implement will have immediate effects impossible to reverse, they’ll face an immense backlash because of it and that’s likely to solidify a movement which may well prevent much worse from being done by them in the near future. With it, regardless of the outcome, a matter of fairness, justice, the rule of law and right and wrong high-level decisions is turned into pure populism, and considering the recent election results and PSD’s voting and manipulation apparatus the outcome is actually quite likely to be that most people will approve of their plans, which will make not only this challenge but also any future opposition easy to dismiss. In addition, this already gave them the opportunity to once again bring up the referendum to change the Constitution to clearly specify that marriage can only be between one man and one woman, and the delay and the impression that somebody else, in this case the President, is handling this matter while in fact the outcome will depend strictly on how well regular people will mobilize is likely to dissipate energy and significantly reduce just that mobilization that’s so necessary.