Radio România Internațional

Tag: anti-government

  • Two years since the August 10 protest

    Two years since the August 10 protest

    The judicial saga of the controversial “August 10 investigation continues in Romania. The case concerns the gendarme crackdown on a massive protest in the summer of 2018, when around 100,000 Romanians, many of them returning from abroad, gathered in Bucharests Victoria Square to demand the resignation of Viorica Dăncilăs cabinet.



    People were disgruntled with the Social Democratic government and its decisions regarding the laws regulating the judiciary, as well as with the sacking of Laura Codruta Kovesi as chief of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate.



    Hundreds of complaints were filed by the protesters, accusing the gendarmes of using excessive force, including tear gas, against them. Participants said the rally was mostly peaceful, and that the gendarmes were attacked by just a handful of troublemakers, who could have been easily controlled by the police.



    The “August 10 case, which looks into the gendarme intervention and is investigated by the Directorate Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) was closed last month. Prosecutors argued at the time that there was a “moral complicity between the peaceful protesters in Victoria Square and the violent ones, which encouraged the latters aggressive conduct. The prosecutors also said there was no proof of an attempted coup, as the gendarmes and Social Democratic leaders had claimed.



    Last week however, the DIICOT chief Giorgiana Hosu reverted the decision to close the case, and greenlighted the investigation against former senior gendarme officials. She explained that the prosecutor who closed the case had not reviewed the evidence put together by the Military Prosecutors Office, and had not heard the suspects, victims and witnesses once again.



    According to Agerpres news agency, if the Court upholds DIICOTs decision, prosecution will be resumed, for charges including abuse of office, improper participation in abusive conduct, misrepresentation and fraud, aiding and abetting a perpetrator, fraud and misrepresentation.



    On Monday, the Bucharest Court of Appeals declined jurisdiction over the matter, and the case was referred to the Bucharest Court, as the former gendarme chiefs had requested.



    The Liberal deputy PM Raluca Turcan described August 10, 2018 as an ‘open wound of recent Romanian democracy, and emphasized that the violent repression of citizen rights must be punished. President Klaus Iohannis said last week that it was important for the ‘actual culprits to be brought to justice and that it is ‘rather bad that this is taking so long.



    Last year the interim president of the Social Democratic Party Marcel Ciolacu said the situation on August 10 had been ‘mismanaged and handled a little recklessly, and that the Social Democrats had paid for this by losing the presidential election.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • August 10, 2020

    August 10, 2020

    COVID-19 In Romania, the total number of COVID-19 infections is now over 62,500, with 779 new cases reported on Monday and with the death toll standing at 2,729, of which 29 in the last 24 hours, according to the Strategic Communication Group. As many as 476 patients are in intensive care units, and over 30,311 have recovered. The largest numbers of SARS-CoV-2 cases are reported in Bucharest and in the counties of Suceava (north-east) and Arges (south). Healthcare experts once again urged citizens to observe protection rules. They warned that private parties or family gatherings do not eliminate infection risks even if they take place outdoors. Today, the National Public Health Institute decided to include Spain in the yellow risk area. As of Tuesday, all those who travel from Spain to Romania must self-isolate for 14 days, and all flights from Spain to Romania are cancelled. Meanwhile, Italy has extended its self-isolation requirement for all people having stayed or transited Romania up to 14 days before arriving in Italy. The measure will be in place until September 7.



    PANDEMIC Around the globe, some 20 million cases and 730,000 deaths have been confirmed so far. The US and Latin America are severely affected, in Asia the worst hit country is India, with over 43,000 deaths, while in Africa the worst situation is reported in South Africa. The Gulf region is also severely hit, with over 600,000 cases confirmed in Iran and Saudi Arabia alone.



    INVESTIGATION The Bucharest Court of Appeals is today analysing the request of the Directorate Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism Offences (DIICOT) to reopen the investigation against senior gendarme officials with respect to the anti-government protests of August 10, 2018. Last week, the Court of Appeals postponed the request. On Tuesday the chief prosecutor of DIICOT, Giorgiana Hosu, dismissed the decision to close the case and ordered the recommencement of prosecution against the former officials of the Romanian Gendarme Corps. The case had been closed in late June, when the case prosecutor decided that there was neither evidence of an attempted coup, as gendarme officials had claimed at the time, nor evidence that the crackdown on the protests had been planned beforehand. The reopening of the case must be approved by a judge, and then the investigation will be taken over by the Military Prosecutors Office. The former gendarme chiefs will be probed into, among others, for abuse of office and improper participation in misrepresentation, abusive conduct and fraud.



    DEFICIT Romanias trade deficit for the first 6 months of the year stands at 8.665 billion euros, up 935.7 million euros since the level reported for the first half of 2019, the National Statistics Institute announced on Monday. Between January 1 and June 30, Romanias exports totaled 28.590 billion euros, and imports 37.255 billion euros. During the same period, exports dropped by 18.1%, while imports went down 12.6%, compared to the corresponding period of 2019.



    LEBANON Nearly one week after the devastating blast in Beirut, which killed 158 people and injured 6,000, the international community put together an emergency aid package of nearly 253 million euros for Lebanon, and promised it would reach the Lebanese people directly. The money was pledged at a virtual donor conference hosted by France. An investigation is underway to clarify the causes of the disaster, and leaders around the world have asked for a transparent inquiry. Meanwhile, in Beirut, protests are growing, having already led to the resignation of 2 cabinet ministers. For 2 days in a row, protesters demanded the government should step down, and accused politicians of incompetence and corruption. Clashes have been reported between the protesters and the police, with 250 people wounded and 65 hospitalised according to the Lebanese Red Cross. One policeman was killed.



    ELECTION The incumbent president of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, won a new term in office with 80.23% of the votes cast in Sundays election, according to preliminary results. Viewed as Europes last dictator, Lukashenko has ruled Belarus since 1994. Svetlana Tihanovskaia, a former English teacher turned Lukashenkos main challenger in the presidential election, got 9.9% of the votes. The results were challenged by protesters who took to the streets on Sunday. Clashes with the police were reported, with at least one person dead and scores of others injured. (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • October 22, 2018

    October 22, 2018

    STRASBOURG President of Romania Klaus Iohannis will take part on Tuesday in Strasbourg in a debate organised by the European Parliament with respect to the future of the European Union. The head of state will present Romanias views on the topic. It is for the first time that the President of Romania will address the European Parliament, and his participation in the event takes place in the context of a series of debates on the future of the European bloc, in which the leaders of the EU member states are invited to take part. In the plenary session that begins on Tuesday, the MEPs will also discuss the 2019 budget of the Union, ways to reduce the impact of certain plastic products on the environment, and the taxes to be charged for the use of certain infrastructure segments by heavy duty vehicles.




    SECURITY The European Commissioner for Security Union Julian King is on an official visit to Bucharest today. He will discuss with the Interior Minister Carmen Dan topics related to the security of EU citizens, including ways to identify efficient European legislation to fight online radicalisation. Julian King will also have meetings with the head of the Romanian Intelligence Service Eduard Hellvig, with the presidential adviser for national security and with Justice Ministry officials.




    LAW The Parliament of Romania is re-examining the Offshore Bill, after the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats reached an agreement last week. In early August, President Klaus Johannis did not sign the bill into law and sent it back to Parliament for a review. What is at stake is, first and foremost, the profit that Romania will make from natural gas extraction in the Black Sea. The Energy Minister, Anton Anton, is expected to attend in the Chamber of Deputies today a debate on the Offshore Bill and the solutions for capitalising on the natural gas in the Black Sea. The Deputies in the specialised committees are to decide on the final text of the bill to be subject to the vote in a plenary sitting.




    PROTESTS Several hundreds of people Sunday night took part in a new anti-government protest. The participants voiced their discontent with a recent ruling of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, which bans unplanned protests, and with an emergency order issued by the Government concerning changes of regulations in the judiciary. In Cluj Napoca, in the north-west, around 100 people also gathered further to an appeal on social media, to protest the Governments policies in the judiciary.





    TREATY The US national security adviser John Bolton has arrived in Moscow today, where he will be received by the Russian President Vladimir Putin. The latter will request clarifications regarding the USAs plan to pull out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty (INF). The US President Donald Trump announced a few days ago that Washington would withdraw from the INF. The US unilateral withdrawal from the treaty signed with Russia during the Cold War is a mistake, China warned on Monday. The spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry Hua Chunyiong said Beijing is against this plan. The INF treaty was signed in 1987 by the US President Ronald Reagan and the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The document bans the use of missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,000 km, ending the crisis started in the 1980s by the Soviet deployment of SS-20 nuclear missiles targeting all western capitals. Analysts say the withdrawal could have major implications with respect to the American defence policy in Asia, giving the Pentagon new conventional options to reinstate military balance in the region, where China has invested massively in conventional missiles.




    INVICTUS Romanian troops won the first medal in the 2018 Invictus Palarympics in Sydney, Australia, in the indoor rowing event. In the 4-minute endurance event Dumitru Paraschiva won the 3rd place, and his colleague Ciprian Iriciuc, the 4th place out of 21 competitors. At the Paralympic Games held in October 20-27, Romania is represented by 15 soldiers wounded in theatres of war. Romanian athletes, who take part in the competition for the second time, compete in the archery, cycling, Paralympic athletics, rowing, swimming, and volleyball events.




    HANDBALL The Romanian womens handball team SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea Sunday qualified into the 3rd round of the EHF Cup, after being defeated by the Turkish side Kastamonu Belediyesi, 21-20, in the return leg of the 2nd round. Another Romanian team, Măgura Cisnădie, has also qualified into this stage of the EHF Cup, after winning the 2 legs of the 2nd round against the Czech team Slavia Prague (28-25 and 29-20). SCM Craiova also enters the competition in the 3rd round, after having lost the qualifiers into the Champions League and continues into the EHF Cup. Meanwhile, HC Zalău was defeated away from home by the German team Borussia Dortmund, 24-20, and failed to qualify into the 3rd round of the EHF Cup.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • August 11, 2018 UPDATE

    August 11, 2018 UPDATE

    PROTESTS Tens of thousands of people gathered on Saturday afternoon, for the second running day, in Victoriei Square in Bucharest, for an anti-government protest. Meanwhile, Romanian military prosecutors have initiated a criminal investigation concerning the intervention of riot police during Friday nights rally. President Klaus Iohannis accused the Government of being irrational and acting against the interests of their own citizens. He condemned the violence occurring on the previous night in Victoriei Square, and asked the Interior Minister, Carmen Dan, to take responsibility for how the situation was handled. In response, the Interior Minister said that what happened was serious and that nobody could accuse the gendarme service for having enforced the law. PM Viorica Dăncilă requested an immediate and comprehensive report from the Romanian Intelligence Service regarding the entities that planned and instigated the violence on Friday night, and regarding the actions of the public institutions in charge with providing data and intelligence on possible intentions to highjack the protests. Some 100,000 people gathered on Friday in front of the Government headquarters in Bucharest, demanding the resignation of the cabinet and early elections. There were violent clashes between the protesters and the gendarmes, and riot police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd. The gendarmes moved in after some of their colleagues were attacked. Over 450 people, including 35 gendarmes, received medical treatment further to the clashes, and 70 people were hospitalised, of which 11 gendarmes, including a woman who was beaten and had her gun stolen. More than 30 protesters were arrested, and 8 criminal cases were opened. Also on Friday, in several cities in the country, tens of thousands of people took to the streets to voice their solidarity with the protest in Bucharest, shouting anti-government slogans.



    REACTIONS The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and president of the Social Democratic Party, Liviu Dragnea, said on Saturday that it is unacceptable to have “constitutional order attacked by organised groups, supported by the opposition and the head of state. The vice-president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, Deputy Andrei Gerea, claims the violent clashes that took place on Friday night are the result of an instigation and misinformation campaign run over the past few days by the opposition and the President of the country. The head of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, Kelemen Hunor, urges the President Klaus Iohannis to comply with his constitutional role and to mediate between the various groups within the Romanian society. In Opposition, the leader of the National Liberal Party Ludovic Orban said the brutal intervention of riot police against peaceful protesters in Victoriei Square was premeditated. Save Romania Union asked for the resignation of the Interior Minister, of the gendarme service chief, and of the Bucharest Prefect, as well as for a parliamentary inquiry and a special government meeting to “clarify the intervention of riot police in the rally. The Peoples Movement Party labels the intervention of riot police as “outrageous, “unjustified, and the gendarmes measures as “unprecedented and out of proportion.



    ECHOES – International media covered Fridays protests in Romania and the violence in Victoriei Square. “Hundreds injured in protests as emigrants return to fight corruption, writes The Guardian, while The New York Times notes that “Violence erupts as tens of thousands protest corruption in Romania. Tear gas and water cannons to disperse diaspora rally, France Presse reports, and Radio Free Europe reports that hundreds were injured during clashes between the police and protesters. Associated Press writes that the Romanian diaspora organised a massive anti-governmental protest in Bucharest and mentions that the rally was marred by violence.



    FILM The Romanian actress Andra Guţi was awarded at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland the Leopard for best actress for her part in “Alice T. directed by Radu Muntean. “Alice T., a Romanian-French-Swedish co-production, had its world premiere on August 4, as part of the international competition for the Golden Leopard of the Locarno Festival. The award went to “A Land Imagined, directed by Yeo Siew Hua, of Singapore.



    TENNIS – The Romanian Simona Halep, number 1 in the world, has qualified into the finals of the WTA tournament in Montreal, which has 2.8 million US dollars in total prize money. On Saturday she defeated the Australian Ashleigh Barty (16 WTA), 6-4, 6-1. Last year, when the tournament took place in Toronto, Halep lost the semi-final to Elina Svitolina. The Romanian won the tournament in 2016, in Montreal, against Madison Keys, after having lost the 2015 final to the Swiss Belinda Bencic.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • August 11, 2018 UPDATE

    August 11, 2018 UPDATE

    PROTESTS Tens of thousands of people gathered on Saturday afternoon, for the second running day, in Victoriei Square in Bucharest, for an anti-government protest. Meanwhile, Romanian military prosecutors have initiated a criminal investigation concerning the intervention of riot police during Friday nights rally. President Klaus Iohannis accused the Government of being irrational and acting against the interests of their own citizens. He condemned the violence occurring on the previous night in Victoriei Square, and asked the Interior Minister, Carmen Dan, to take responsibility for how the situation was handled. In response, the Interior Minister said that what happened was serious and that nobody could accuse the gendarme service for having enforced the law. PM Viorica Dăncilă requested an immediate and comprehensive report from the Romanian Intelligence Service regarding the entities that planned and instigated the violence on Friday night, and regarding the actions of the public institutions in charge with providing data and intelligence on possible intentions to highjack the protests. Some 100,000 people gathered on Friday in front of the Government headquarters in Bucharest, demanding the resignation of the cabinet and early elections. There were violent clashes between the protesters and the gendarmes, and riot police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd. The gendarmes moved in after some of their colleagues were attacked. Over 450 people, including 35 gendarmes, received medical treatment further to the clashes, and 70 people were hospitalised, of which 11 gendarmes, including a woman who was beaten and had her gun stolen. More than 30 protesters were arrested, and 8 criminal cases were opened. Also on Friday, in several cities in the country, tens of thousands of people took to the streets to voice their solidarity with the protest in Bucharest, shouting anti-government slogans.



    REACTIONS The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and president of the Social Democratic Party, Liviu Dragnea, said on Saturday that it is unacceptable to have “constitutional order attacked by organised groups, supported by the opposition and the head of state. The vice-president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, Deputy Andrei Gerea, claims the violent clashes that took place on Friday night are the result of an instigation and misinformation campaign run over the past few days by the opposition and the President of the country. The head of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, Kelemen Hunor, urges the President Klaus Iohannis to comply with his constitutional role and to mediate between the various groups within the Romanian society. In Opposition, the leader of the National Liberal Party Ludovic Orban said the brutal intervention of riot police against peaceful protesters in Victoriei Square was premeditated. Save Romania Union asked for the resignation of the Interior Minister, of the gendarme service chief, and of the Bucharest Prefect, as well as for a parliamentary inquiry and a special government meeting to “clarify the intervention of riot police in the rally. The Peoples Movement Party labels the intervention of riot police as “outrageous, “unjustified, and the gendarmes measures as “unprecedented and out of proportion.



    ECHOES – International media covered Fridays protests in Romania and the violence in Victoriei Square. “Hundreds injured in protests as emigrants return to fight corruption, writes The Guardian, while The New York Times notes that “Violence erupts as tens of thousands protest corruption in Romania. Tear gas and water cannons to disperse diaspora rally, France Presse reports, and Radio Free Europe reports that hundreds were injured during clashes between the police and protesters. Associated Press writes that the Romanian diaspora organised a massive anti-governmental protest in Bucharest and mentions that the rally was marred by violence.



    FILM The Romanian actress Andra Guţi was awarded at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland the Leopard for best actress for her part in “Alice T. directed by Radu Muntean. “Alice T., a Romanian-French-Swedish co-production, had its world premiere on August 4, as part of the international competition for the Golden Leopard of the Locarno Festival. The award went to “A Land Imagined, directed by Yeo Siew Hua, of Singapore.



    TENNIS – The Romanian Simona Halep, number 1 in the world, has qualified into the finals of the WTA tournament in Montreal, which has 2.8 million US dollars in total prize money. On Saturday she defeated the Australian Ashleigh Barty (16 WTA), 6-4, 6-1. Last year, when the tournament took place in Toronto, Halep lost the semi-final to Elina Svitolina. The Romanian won the tournament in 2016, in Montreal, against Madison Keys, after having lost the 2015 final to the Swiss Belinda Bencic.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • August 11, 2018 UPDATE

    August 11, 2018 UPDATE

    PROTESTS Thousands of people gathered on Saturday afternoon, for the second running day, in Victoriei Square in Bucharest, for an anti-government protest. Meanwhile, Romanian military prosecutors have initiated a criminal investigation concerning the intervention of riot police during Friday nights rally. President Klaus Iohannis accused the Government of being irrational and acting against the interests of their own citizens. He condemned the violence occurring on the previous night in Victoriei Square, and asked the Interior Minister, Carmen Dan, to take responsibility for how the situation was handled. In response, the Interior Minister said that what happened was serious and that nobody could accuse the gendarme service for having enforced the law. PM Viorica Dăncilă requested an immediate and comprehensive report from the Romanian Intelligence Service regarding the entities that planned and instigated the violence on Friday night, and regarding the actions of the public institutions in charge with providing data and intelligence on possible intentions to highjack the protests. Some 100,000 people gathered on Friday in front of the Government headquarters in Bucharest, demanding the resignation of the cabinet and early elections. There were violent clashes between the protesters and the gendarmes, and riot police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd. The gendarmes moved in after some of their colleagues were attacked. Over 450 people, including 35 gendarmes, received medical treatment further to the clashes, and 70 people were hospitalised, of which 11 gendarmes, including a woman who was beaten and had her gun stolen. More than 30 protesters were arrested, and 8 criminal cases were opened. Also on Friday, in several cities in the country, tens of thousands of people took to the streets to voice their solidarity with the protest in Bucharest, shouting anti-government slogans.




    REACTIONS The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and president of the Social Democratic Party, Liviu Dragnea, said on Saturday that it is unacceptable to have “constitutional order attacked by organised groups, supported by the opposition and the head of state. The vice-president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, Deputy Andrei Gerea, claims the violent clashes that took place on Friday night are the result of an instigation and misinformation campaign run over the past few days by the opposition and the President of the country. The head of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, Kelemen Hunor, urges the President Klaus Iohannis to comply with his constitutional role and to mediate between the various groups within the Romanian society. In Opposition, the leader of the National Liberal Party Ludovic Orban said the brutal intervention of riot police against peaceful protesters in Victoriei Square was premeditated. Save Romania Union asked for the resignation of the Interior Minister, of the gendarme service chief, and of the Bucharest Prefect, as well as for a parliamentary inquiry and a special government meeting to “clarify the intervention of riot police in the rally. The Peoples Movement Party labels the intervention of riot police as “outrageous, “unjustified, and the gendarmes measures as “unprecedented and out of proportion.




    ECHOES – International media covered Fridays protests in Romania and the violence in Victoriei Square. “Hundreds injured in protests as emigrants return to fight corruption, writes The Guardian, while The New York Times notes that “Violence erupts as tens of thousands protest corruption in Romania. Tear gas and water cannons to disperse diaspora rally, France Presse reports, and Radio Free Europe reports that hundreds were injured during clashes between the police and protesters. Associated Press writes that the Romanian diaspora organised a massive anti-governmental protest in Bucharest and mentions that the rally was marred by violence.




    FESTIVAL – The 8th Summer Well alternative music festival continues until Sunday in Buftea, near Bucharest. This year as well popular names in the international music scene are taking part, including the British indie rock band Bastille, the Irish alternative rock outfit Kodaline, for the first time in Romania, and the American jungle pop duo Sofi Tukker. The line-up also includes Lantern Company, from Liverpool, who brought to Bucharest illuminated installations in a breath-taking performance.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)