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Romania: Prime Minister Ponta Resigns Amid Protests Over Nightclub Fire

Romania's prime minister stepped down today after street protests in Bucharest yesterday called for his resignation, outraged by a tragic fire that left dozens dead last weekend.

Last Friday, the nightclub Colectiv in Bucharest's District Four hosted a concert that ended when a fire broke out, killing 32 people and hospitalizing more than 100.

The tragedy provoked outcry across the country as critics pointed to poor fire safety oversight and bad management of healthcare facilities as factors in the heavy death toll.

At about 6pm Tuesday, up to 30,000 protesters gathered in front of the University Square in Bucharest before marching to the government building, Ministry of Interior, and District Four's city hall. They called upon Prime Minister Victor Ponta, Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea, and district mayor Popescu Piedone to step down.

Their demands came after it surfaced that the club where the tragedy took place lacked the relevant permits to hold their concert – an allegation Mayor Piedone had previously denied.

All three owners of Club Colectiv were arrested Tuesday and stand accused of manslaughter after failing to let authorities know the true capacity of their nightclub. Applying for the proper permit would in theory have ensured that fire hazard regulations were met.

Holding up signs saying "corruption kills", protesters blamed the fire on the wider environment of graft within the country.

The Romanian government, led by the Social Democrats and Prime Minister Victor Ponta, has been under fire over corruption allegations for some time already.

President Klaus Iohannis, of the National Liberal Party, urged Ponta to resign after prosecutorsinitiated an investigation into accusations against the premier in June.

They suspected him of 17 offenses of document forgery and of being an associate in a tax evasion and money laundering scheme during the period he spent working as a lawyer between 2007 and 2008.

Ponta allegedly received a total of 181,440 Romanian lei (US$ 44,460) from the law firm Sova and Associates for fictitious legal work that he claimed for using forged invoices. He allegedly later used the money to buy property.

Prosecutors say that through these invoices, the law firm and Ponta evaded 51,322 Romanian lei (US$ 12,576) in taxes.

Ponta denied the allegations, saying they were the result of "unprofessional" prosecutors imagining facts.

However, he resigned from his role as leader of the Social Democrats in July in the face of the allegations. His indictment was announced in September, but he said he still didn't plan to step down as Prime Minister.

After the fire tragedy, however, protesters focused on the theme that the overall level of corruption in the country was putting the lives of citizens in danger.

The protester's concerns were echoed by President Iohannis, who publicly criticized public institutions and authorities for incompetence relating to the nightclub fire.

"We cannot allow corruption to stretch until it kills,” he said on Sunday.

Ponta responded to the protesters demands on Wednesday, announcing that he would step down.

"I hope that the submission of my mandate and the government will satisfy the expectations of those who protested,” he said.  

With Ponta's resignation, Interior Minister Oprea (who is also Vice Prime Minister) will also potentially be put out of his job, along with the rest of Ponta's cabinet.

Despite his denial that the nightclub in his district operated without the relevant permits, Mayor Piedone also resigned.

President Iohannis must now name a new interim prime minister, and if Parliament fails to approve his chosen candidate on two occasions, the country will be pushed to hold snap elections.

Ana Poenariu in Bucharest contributed to this report

www.occrp.org

Comments (1)

Robert Alexandru
The demonstrations continued after the resignation of the Prime Minister Ponta, of the Interior Affairs Minister Oprea and of the local Mayor Popescu, even extending. The demands are directed against the whole political class, called „guilty for the continual degradation of the social and economical situation since december 1989 [the chute of the Ceausescu socialism]”. Demands of elimination of „all existing political parties” were frequent. However, it is to be remarked that the manifestants did not find alternative solutions, except the demand for the creation of a „whole new political class, made only from young peoples, without previous political activity” which „should ask what to do from and report to the street fellows”. Also, is to be remarked that president Iohannis, as mayor in Sibiu, similar to other mayors in Romania, managed local clubs in the same manner as mayor Popescu in fourth district of Bucharest, so some of its critical declarations are somehow weakened, so it is not strange that street critics went also against the President. The street protests were also directed against the Orthodox Romanian Church leaders, and this is a premiere. In the first days of mourning, the church highest leaders lucked to go at the place of the tragedy. Some declarations from orthodox areas pointed to the „non-orthodox” and allegedly „satanist” character of rock concerts, but the street peoples manifested against the unjustified enrichment, manifest opulence and visible corruption in the Romanian Orthodox Church, specifically demanding „pray with us and not in your Mercedes”. In the last twenty five years, the educational system in Romania, based on a unique and very demanding curriculum, lack any serious form of social and political instruction, history studies barely pass WW II so it would be difficult for the street protesters to pass over the „put down all” and „all negation” phase.

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