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FlavMogo blog: • My recent photography in articles • News about the world of photography and the equipment • Current news and events • My take on all of the above

October 14, 2010

Romania in turmoil


Bucharest, Romania (CNN) -- Thousands of protesters rallied Tuesday in Bucharest over government austerity measures that have cut state salaries.
About 8,000 people demonstrated in front of the main government building, unions and security forces said, and they represented a wide range of sectors.
The protesters were demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Emil Boc and his team for deciding on a 25-percent cut to all state employees' salaries as of July 1. The demonstrators want the money back and also want the government to raise the minimum wage stipulated in the current contracts.
They displayed red cards written with the words, "No to austerity."
A march then took place through the capital so the protesters could express their anger in front of other government ministries.
A delegation of protesters was due to meet Boc and the work minister later Tuesday, at the end of the protests, to discuss their demands, a government spokesman said.
The Bucharest protests were taking place a day before wider demonstrations over government austerity measures in more than a dozen other European countries.
The day of action Wednesday was being organized by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), which includes trade unions from 36 European countries and says it has a total of 60 million members.
The main demonstration was planned for Brussels, Belgium, but a general strike was also planned in Spain, and workers were also expected to strike in Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Cyprus, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, according to ETUC.
Source: CNN

My summary:
Romanian government cut state salaries by 25% this summer as a measure of alleviation of the financial crisis, in the same time rasing the VAT from 19% to 25%.
These measures brought very harsh critique from the people and some of the press. The Finnancial Ministry's employees are on strike rallying in front of the minister's office.
The people are asking for the resignation of prime-minister Emil Boc.

It's all understood: while Barack Obama tries to stimulate the economy, dumping money into the industries and financial institution, Traian Basescu, the romanian president (who I am honestly ashamed of and does not nor did he ever represent my thoughts about politics, society...and even the human condition. He once striked a kid right in his face because he was shouting "Go Geoana" - the opposition to the presidential chair for the 2009 election - right in front of the stage where Basescu was holding a populist narrowminded speech, he leaned down and striked the little boy in his face!)

All of this makes me sick to my stomach and I trully hate the condition this country has come to. A very big portion of the romanian work-force is state-employed and they suffer the most from these measures. It's a disgrace unworthy of a civilized European country.

Seriously Romania... this guy?... wtf?


My hands are clean, I never voted for him. Just as I always thought Bush was America's biggest mistake, since the moment he stepped in office.

11 comments:

  1. i know the situation in romania is geting worse :) and the presiden`t isn`t helping much.
    he told romanian doctors to go abroad if they don`t like it :) the man is not stable

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  2. I'm still at a loss on this guy. What was the deal with the benches in Cluj? I am only finding a little bit of info on it on english language sites, but I guess people were raging about it in Romania. Maybe a topic for a blog post if you know about it?

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  3. awesome read, thanks for sharing!

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  4. The governments keep pushing people and dont seem to realize how real shit can get

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  5. my hands are clean too!

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