February 3 (SeeNews) - Some 220,000 people gathered all over Romania and abroad on Thursday for a third consecutive day to protest against a government move seen as an attempt to weaken the fight against corruption and help politicians avoid criminal prosecution on graft charges.
Unlike the previous two days, the combined number of people protesting in cities other than Bucharest were more numerous. An estimated 80,000 people protested in Bucharest only while a total of 140,000 marched in the streets of 50 other cities, according to Romanian media reports. Romanians living abroad again expressed their dissatisfaction with the government backtracking on the fight against corruption, holding protests in Paris, London, Brussels,Turin, Oslo, Copenhagen, Dublin and many others. For the first time, the diaspora overseas - in Washington, D.C., has joined the protests, according to Romanian media reports.
Thursday's protest was entirely peaceful in Bucharest.
On Wednesday, protests in Piata Victoriei square in Bucharest were peaceful until 21.00 CET, when a group of football fans attacked riot police, forcing them to use teargas. As a result of the clashes, three football fans and two gendarmerie officers were taken to hospital, the interior ministry said. Some of the peaceful protesters affected by tear gas also needed medical care. Some 79 people who acted violently were arrested on Wednesday, according to the latest information from the interior ministry.
On Thursday, while people were gathering to protest all over the country, Romania's prime minister Sorin Grindeanu said the government will keep in place its decree.
"We made a decision two days ago and we will go ahead," Grindeanu said at a joint news conference with ruling Social Democrat Party (PSD) leader Liviu Dragnea.
On Thursday, PSD vice-president Mihai Chirica called for the resignation of justice minister Florin Iordache and urged the government to repeal the decree.
As a result of the protests, the technocrat minister responsible for business environment in the coalition government of PSD and centre-right Liberal-Democrat Alliance (ALDE), Florin Jianu, resigned on Thursday morning.
Earlier on Wednesday, some PSD members such as ex-minister delegate for social dialogue and the relationship with civil society in 2014, Aurelia Cristea, also resigned from the party in disagreement over the decree which will benefit corrupt politicians.
ALDE too saw its first member resign on Thursday when Sibiu branch party leader Robert Paskuj stepped down in solidarity with the protesters.
The protests began on January 18, right after the coalition government of PSD-ALDE unveiled the drafts of two emergency decrees that aim to pardon people serving sentences of up to five years for non-violent crimes including graft and decriminalise some corruption offences. Some 3,000 people then marched in the streets of Bucharest. Protests then were held on Sundays.
Despite public discontent and harsh criticism from civil society and law experts, the government approved the decree decriminalising abuse of office on Tuesday night and hastily published it in the country's Official Gazette. The decree makes abuse of office punishable by jail terms only if that offence has resulted in a loss of more than 200,000 lei ($47,500/44,000 euro).
Dragnea himself can potentially benefit from the decree as he is currently on trial on charges of abuse of office that has led to a loss of 108,000 lei to the state. He also has a two-year suspended jail sentence for a referendum fraud in 2012, which prevented him from becoming prime minister.
Instead of passing the pardon decree, the government decided to send to parliament a draft bill which, if adopted, will set free prison inmates serving sentences of up to five years for non-violent crimes including corruption.
(1 euro = 4.5337 lei)