Ponta threatens Opposition with criminal complaint

PM Victor Ponta threatened he would file a complaint to the Prosecutor General Office against PDL-PNL if the opposition is calling people to take the streets to protest against the current government.

“I am calling Blaga and Gorghiu (PNL co-presidents) to have a grain of common sense to understand they cannot set a country on fire. We’ll file a criminal complaint to the Prosecutor General for the crime stipulated by article 397 in the Criminal Code. As in my case, the prosecutor general can declare them suspects and investigates them. We can do that, I hope it will not be the case,” Ponta told the PSD Executive Committee meeting on Sunday.

Article 397 in the Criminal Law stipulates that taking violent actions against persons by several persons together with the purpose of changing the constitutional order or of preventing the ruling power exercise, if the national security is endangered, is punished with 10 to 20 years in prison.

The same warning came from the Justice minister’s part. Robert Cazanciuc on Monday admonished the National Liberal Party leaders that staging “illegal political manifestations” targeting “the obstruction of the power exercise” of the Parliament or Government, may draw criminla liability.

“It’s against all commitments assumed by Romania with its European and Atlantic partners that PNL should use the judiciary to solve its incapacity of convincing the population and the MPs with a solid, coherent political program to help Romania and not take it where it stood during 2009-2011,” reads the minister’s press release.

In retort, PNL co-president Alina Gorghiu told the premier and the Justice minister that Liberals “are not impressed by the threatens with criminal complatins, jails and new miner riots”.

“This is what Iliescu, Nastase and Ponta’s party knows to do since 1990 up to the present time: miner riots, counter-demonstrations, instigation to hatred, contempt for the laws and the citizens. Nothing can stop us to fight for the right to vote and for the Romanians’ right to demonstrate. Nothing can convince us that a premier facing a criminal prosecution is something else than a shame for Romania,” Gorghiu replied.