Another protest has been announced in Bucharest this Friday, June 8, in support of the preservation of the Roşia Montana site. It comes after media reports that the Romanian Government has stopped the procedure for including the Rosia Montana village on the UNESCO world heritage sites list.

The protest, set to take place in the capital’s University Square, would add to the four rallies announced for this weekend in Bucharest. Among them are the pro-democracy rally of the ruling Social Democrat Party (PSD) and the 2018 Bucharest Pride march, both scheduled for June 9.

In addition to the protest, almost 4,000 people signed an online petition asking UNESCO to keep the Roşia Montană case on the agenda.

The PSD expects over 30,000 people to attend the Bucharest rally. Around 10,000 people are expected to come from Olt county, and another 6,000 from Iasi. PSD Buzău expects some 4,000 members to come to Bucharest, while 5,000 people are expected from Vrancea, News.ro reported. Liviu Dragnea, the PSD leader, had said that the rally would focus on defending justice, and would be a manifestation against the “terror” that is imposed by the law enforcement institutions.

The joint permanent bureaus of the Parliament decided that the parking lot of the Parliament Palace can be used on Saturday by MPs and their guests, the Senate President, Călin Popescu Tăriceanu, announced. In his turn, Dragnea explained that he saw no problem with the Parliament’s parking lot being used by the buses with PSD supporters expected to come from all over the country.

“This isn’t a party rally. If the PSD MPs want to use this opportunity to allow their supporters coming from their counties to visit the Parliament, why would they not be able to do this?” Dragnea said, quoted by Digi24.

Meanwhile, a Facebook event invites people to park their cars in the area of the Parliament Palace, in an attempt to protest against the decision to use the Parliament's parking lots for the buses that will bring PSD supporters to Bucharest.

"The Parliament building is a space for all citizens not only for the PSD. If they voted to let buses coming to Bucharest to park there, then we can do that too," reads the event's presentation.

At the same time, the Corruption Kills (Corupţia Ucide) Group announced they would hold a rally on Sunday, June 10, also in Victoriei Square. The #rezist protests initially planned to gather on Saturday, when the PSD rally also takes place. They decided to move their protest on Sunday so as not to create conflicts with the participants at the PSD rally, which “would allow the PSD to immediately pose as a victim,” they said.

editor@romania-insider.com