Boc left. But the protests continue

The Boc government left, but the protests will go on. This is the message of the protesters in the University square, who continued to shout yesterday against the politicians: "Băsescu is next after Boc" and "USL, PDL, same garbage".

Claudiu Crăciun, Ph D in political sciences, who is protesting in the square, said: "The resignation of the Boc Cabinet shows that politics in Romania can't remain the same. Through their free and model mobilization, they have accelerated, perhaps even caused this resignation. But this is just one stage. The protesters are requesting the resignation of Traian Băsescu, who bears the responsibility for the decisions of this government. The protests will continue until spring, if necessary. The resignation of Traian Băsescu will open the road to the organization of the early presidential elections. The protesters don't support a specific party. They want the current president to leave and to have a choice again. We are getting ready to continue the protests, trying to make them more persuasive, more structured and more conducive to participation. People can have a say in the Romanian politics and this is a lesson and a warning to all the politicians, regardless of whether they are in power or in the opposition".

George Epurescu, the president of the "Romania without them" NGO, who has been present in the University Square ever since the protests began, said: "The resignation of the Boc government only came as the result of the street protests, given the fact that it has withstood so many votes of no-confidence. This is the first government which was taken down by protesters over the past 22 years. The government of Petre Roman was removed following the deal between president Ion Iliescu and the coal miners. The opposition is also making its own scenarios, so I don't expect much from them".

According to the protester, citizens need to have equal chances in the electoral competition, and the interim government needs to ensure transition to free elections.

Also, George Epurescu considers that the Parliament needs to urgently revise the electoral laws and the law of referendums, so that citizens will no longer be discriminated in the elections.

"According to the Constitution, the right to be elected is guaranteed. Moreover, we should no longer have in the government people who have already held public positions in the administration or that are notorious for having done business with the state", the president of "Romania without them" says. He concludes that in the short time that is left until the elections, there will be protests in every square in the Romanian cities, a civic movement based on clear fundamental principles, which will only support candidates which present moral guarantees.

Another protester in the University Square said: "The resignation of Emil Boc is a small victory in our war to reform the entire current political class, and a desperate PR stunt by the PDL to keep its chances of staying in the Parliament. It is the last card that Traian Băsescu had to play before his resignation. The only thing that we still want from Traian Băsescu is his resignation".

The protesters are adamant about remaining in the square and they say that they will not leave until the political system is reformed for real. One of them said: "We will remain in the square until the political system is truly reformed and until all those who were involved in politics before January 2012 and who had public official positions in the central and local state apparatus and in the decentralized institutions will be prohibited from running in the next elections. After that, we want the reestablishment of democracy, the holding of free elections with international oversight and the return to normalcy in the country. Romanians will band together and will rid the country of thieves. It is only from the ashes of the old political class that the new political class will be reborn".