City Hall Greenlights Transporters’ Protest
Bucharest City Hall has given its approval for the protest organised by transporters and farmers, announced the city’s mayor, Nicuşor Dan, on Thursday. The demonstration is scheduled to take place on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday in Constitution Square. According to the mayor, the gathering will allow the participation of 100 tractors, 100 tractor units, and 5,000 individuals.
Initial Rejection and Revised Request
Earlier, Nicuşor Dan had rejected the protesters’ request, deeming it “unreasonable.” The farmers and transporters had initially sought permission to occupy Victory Square from Friday to Monday with 15,000 vehicles, a move that would have led to the complete blockage of traffic in Bucharest. “We rejected the request for the protest by transporters and farmers because it was not reasonable. They explicitly requested the complete occupation of Victory Square and adjacent streets from Friday to Monday for 15,000 vehicles and equipment. Clearly, all transportation would have been blocked in Bucharest,” wrote Nicuşor Dan on Facebook a few days ago.
What the Protesters Requested
The new request, submitted on Thursday to the Municipality of Bucharest, sought approval for a demonstration in the central part of Victory Square without the need to restrict road traffic from January 19 to 22, between 6:00 and 24:00. The application mentioned that 50,000 people would participate in the protest, and access was requested for 200 vehicles, including 100 tractor units and 100 tractors.
Mayor’s Explanation and Approval
“This is the sixth or seventh request we’ve received. Some did not meet the legal conditions, in the sense that they lacked mandatory elements—such as where the people come from, the flow, and all these things. They were rejected. There was also a request made by the FORT union of transporters, which we rejected because it would have completely blocked traffic in Victory Square and the surrounding boulevards. The first request was made by a citizen who had all the technical elements to be discussed. The citizen was invited to our committee, where representatives of the City Hall, Gendarmerie, Police, and Traffic Police were present. There was a discussion, initially proposing Victory Square. There are traffic issues there. Constitution Square was accepted. The number of vehicles and 5,000 people were accepted,” said Nicuşor Dan.
The mayor added that the approved protest “will not affect traffic in Bucharest.” “We must respect the law. We are already in the tenth day of the protest. Obviously, if we had three or four requests for the same thing, we would look at who is more representative, but we are in a situation where we have an initial request that meets legal conditions,” clarified the mayor of Bucharest.
Nationwide Protests and Government Response
Transporters and farmers have been protesting for the ninth consecutive day in various regions of Romania. The demonstrations have led to traffic disruptions in several cities. The protests have arisen due to the increase in diesel taxes, fiscal measures taken by the government at the end of last year, and the rising costs of RCA policies. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced on Thursday during a government meeting that direct support of 100 euros per hectare would be provided to growers in the plant sector to compensate for losses resulting from the conflict in Ukraine.
Source: Adevarul
Editor: Andreea Gudin
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