Over 15,000 Romanians protest against amnesty bill
BUCHAREST: More than 15,000 Romanians, including President Klaus Iohannis, protested across Romania Sunday against controversial decrees that will pardon corrupt politicians and decriminalise other offences.
The social- democratic government of Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu published two emergency decrees on tomorrow that will set free inmates serving sentences of up to five years for non-violent crimes.
If the decrees are adopted, about 2,500 people, including several elected officials and magistrates who are behind bars after being convicted of corruption, will be released.
Grindeanu wants to implement the measures through emergency ordinances that would bypass parliament and would not require Iohannis’ signature.
Several political officials who have judicial issues want to change the legislation and weaken the rule of law. Klaus Iohannis, President of Romania
“Several political officials who have judicial issues want to change the legislation and weaken the rule of law,” Iohannis said, as he stood among protesters in Bucharest.
“It is unacceptable to modify the law so that the cases of dozens, even hundreds, of politicians, are wiped out,” he added.
Justice Minister Florin Iordache defended the proposals, saying they would help unburden overcrowded jails.
Iohannis was elected in November 2014 under an anti-graft platform and urged politicians to stamp out entrenched corruption in one of Europe’s poorest countries.
After his election, he said he wanted a graft-free country when his term ends in 2019.
Tomorrow, Iohannis attended a government meeting in the hope of stopping the decrees from being adopted. Protesters gathered near University Square in downtown Bucharest before marching to the government building, chanting ‘ Resign’ and ‘ Democracy, not amnesty’.
“Why do they want to pass these laws now if not to save political officials under investigation or already sentenced?” protester Liana Dumitrescu, 74, told AFP. “They have to be stopped.” — AFP