About 5,000 people gathered again on Saturday in Victoria Square to protest against the Government defying freezing cold. Saturday was considered the coldest day of all since the protests have been staged. It’s for the 12th day in a row that Romanians are taking to the streets to voice their anger at the rulers’ intention to amend the criminal law and decriminalize certain corruption offenses.
People waved flags and carried placards displaying anti-government messages: “Resignation”, “PSD, the red plague”, “United, we save the entire Romania”, “DNA should come and get you”, “We fight for a clean country”, “Injustice unites us”, “The ultimate solution: our own revolution”, “Thieves behind bars, not at rule,” ”Schools and hospitals, not crimes”, ”Tougher laws, not thieving convicts”, etc.
A man was seen in Victoria Square accompanied by a dog with a placard hanging on its neck, reading “Black out”. As a matter of fact most of the protesters hanged the placards on their neck, as they could not have them in their hands due to the harsh cold. Protesters were given hot tea and bagels.
At 22:00 sharp demonstrators lit their flashlights and sang the national anthem.
Earlier in the afternoon the protest started with a democracy marathon (photo), with tens of people coming to run for the democracy around the Government’s building. They ran 42 kilometers overall, the standard route of a marathon.
Other cities in Romania staged their own demonstration, with thousands taking to the streets in Timisoara (over 3,000), Cluj-Napoca (2,000), Brasov, Sibiu (2,000), Galati, Iasi, Constanta, Ramnicu Valcea, Medias, Ploiesti, Craiova, Targu Mures or Arad etc.
Anti-corruption and anti-government protests were also held in Diaspora. Hundreds of Romanians took to the streets in Spain, Austria, Denmark, London or Italy.
Tens of Romanians chanted against corruption in Rome, asking for the Gov’t resignation and shouting they want to come back home.
Solidarity rallies with the Romanians in the country were also in Vienna, Solsona, Spain, London or Denmark.
An even large protest is announced in Bucharest on Sunday in the so-called tricolor operation, with protesters intending to create the largest human tricolor.
The initiators of the event posted on Facebook said that demonstrators should come in front of the Victoria Palace with flashlights and fabrics or papers in red, blue and yellow. “We’ll come up in your support with sheets of red, yellow and blue paper and we’ll lift them up above the head around 9 p.m. to light the sky in the tricolor’s colors.”
Participants will be organized on three sectors, as you look to the Government’s building: red on the left of the Victoria Palace, yellow in the center and blue on the light of the Victoria Palace.