BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania's prime minister on Tuesday used the country's national holiday to call for unity as thousands gathered to demand the resignation of the government over falling living standards and the way the country is run.
Prime Minister Emil Boc addressed Parliament in a special session on the country’s Day of Unity, urging Romanians to work together to overcome economic hardship.
Meanwhile, some 5,000 people jeered the government in the northeast city of Iasi, calling for early elections. Thousands also massed outside the government in Bucharest to rally against austerity measures.
Romania signed up for a €20 billion ($26 billion) loan with the IMF, European Union and World Bank in 2009 to help pay salaries and pensions, when the economy shrunk by more than 7 percent.
In 2010, the government hiked sales tax from 19 to 24 percent, and cut public workers salaries by one-fourth to reduce the budget deficit. But the protests, now in their 12th day, are also directed against cronyism, widespread corruption and a perception that the government is not interested in the problems of ordinary people in this nation of 22 million.
A 21-year Romanian Army officer became a symbol of the protest late Monday. Lt. Alexandru Gheorghe’s call for the nation’s dignity to be restored attracted widespread attention because it is illegal for the Army members to protest publicly.
Gheorghe said he traveled some 500 kilometers (312 miles) to Bucharest from his military base to join the protesters.
He said he was protesting on behalf of ordinary people.
"I can no longer bear the way we are insulted," by the current government, he said in comments broadcast on Antena 3 TV.
"I saw old people beaten (in the protests) and said to myself that we, the officers, who could die tomorrow in a mission in Afghanistan, must have the courage to fight and tell the truth here in our country," Gheorghe said. Romania has about 1,700 troops serving in Afghanistan as part of a NATO-led force there.
The defense ministry said Monday it was investigating what action to take against Gheorghe.
