PROTESTS WERE SUCCESSFUL
The largest protests in Romania have paid off! The government decided to withdraw the controversial policy which was designed to protect the criminals and stimulate further corruption. These were the largest protests held in Romania ever since the fall of notorious dictator Nicolaea Ceausescua in 1989. (which they also got rid of with the help of protests). Hundreds of thousands of Romanians were united and marched for days in more than 70 cities around the country. But it was all worth it and the government has learned a lesson from its citizens.
BACKGROUND
The ruling social-democratic party PSD (so much about democracy and socialism from their name) which was in charge of the government since January 4th, 2017. has drafted the controversial policy within the first month of its mandate. The policy was designed to allow corrupted officials to end up in jail only if they were convicted for treacheries for above 200.000,00 RON (about 47.000,00 USD). It was supposed to provide protection for hundreds of officials.
In some cases, the policy would also make possible the complete avoidance of prosecution and fines if the corruption was related to more than one family member. It was argued that the policy would cause the biggest blow to democratic and economic reforms ever since Romania joined the European Union. Furthermore, nine countries which included Germany and the USA have expressed their concerns about the influence of policy on EU and NATO partnerships.
IT CAN BE DONE
It seems like Romanian citizens still have some democratic nitro fuel within them because it did not take too long for hundreds of thousands of citizens to march the streets while accusing the president of the treachery. They were united and persistent so the protesting took days but it was all proved worth it as the government has withdrawn the policy. Ever since the fall of communism and taking down Ceausescua on their own, Romanians know that IT CAN BE DONE and they have proved it yet again to themselves and the rest of the world!
