One year after the brutally defeated mass demonstration on 10 August 2018, tens of thousands of people took to the streets last night in Romania. They demanded the resignation of the government under Prime Minister Viorica Dancila (Social Democrats / PSD) as well as consequences following the police violence.
In the capital Bucharest, despite the fierce heat, more than 20,000 people demonstrated for hours in front of the seat of government, where they „resign,“ „enough,“ „we do not forget what you did last summer“, „justice, not corruption“, „without Offenders in Offices „and“ PSD, the Red Plague „called. Many demonstrators carried banners reading „Killing Corruption and Incompetence“ and lit candles for the two weeks ago in Caracal, southern Romania, by a suspected serial offender.
In the face of catastrophic government failure in the case of 15-year-old Alexandra, who had dropped three emergency calls and implored the local police for help before she was killed, the protesters marched her to the Home Office, where she „shame,“ „protects her not, but kill „and“ Alexandra „shouted. In other Romanian cities – including Iasi, Cluj, Constanta, Brasov, Sibiu, Craiova – thousands of people took to the streets.
„One of the biggest tragedies“
In Bucharest this time the big demo was without incidents. The police, who have been pilloried again for the Caracal tragedy, hastened to assure in the morning that they would be present on site „just for safety“ and not „for intimidation“.
Almost at the same time, head of state Klaus Johannis also expressed the hope that „this time the government will refrain from using force“. The brutally defeated anti-government demonstration a year ago described Johannis as „one of the greatest tragedies of the Romanian post-revolutionary period“.
