Romania: Thousands in angry protests against social service cuts

In the last days, protests were held in various cities of Romania against the health bill that has been submitted by the government. Extensive privatization of the entire health sector will be enforced with this new law. By Sunday, January 15th, 2012, the social protests climaxed. In Bucharest it came up to street clashes that lasted for several hours [see video]. Police and gendarmerie inflicted severe injuries to demonstrators.

~ Privatization of the entire health care system – Health only for the rich

By the end of December 2011, the new health bill was submitted by State’s president Traian Băsescu of the right liberal-democratic party (PDL). The president expounded that he seeks the whole privatization of this elementary field of society in order to revive the ‘competition between the hospitals’. Simultaneously, the services of the health insurance were cut severely. Additional payments or general contributions of medical attendance are obligatory. The ambulance service (SMURD) is about to be privatized as well. That means in concrete: no money – no salvation. This purpose made sub-secretary Raed Arafat, director of the emergency service, to declare in public that this bill shatters the health system and that he would not agree upon this project. The reaction of president Traian Băsescu was authoritarian as is usual. He denounced Arafat as ‘the greatest enemy of the private health system’ and declared last Thursday (January 12th, 2012): ‘If he doesn’t agree with the law, he goes.’ To give more weight to his threat, Băsescu added towards a journalist: ‘It was a bigger issue when Stefan Lazaroiu (former labour minister) resigned from his position.’ Raed Arafat resigned finally and left his post on last week’s Friday. [For two and a half years, R.Arafat was under-secretary of State for Public Health, but he was compelled to resign on January 10th, after expressing his criticism during the current health care and welfare reform debate.]

On Protests from Romania

Symbolic violence, protester’s violence, monopol on violence

There are many forms of violence that Romanians are confronting every day: government violence, capitalism violence, the symbolic violence that is used through the state or private institutions in order to creat the proper medium for the absurdities and crime of both – the state and the capital. It is imposible to live with the minimum wage of 570 lei per month when only the heat over the winter may rise to 300 lei per month, when the price for a small flat rise to 400.000 lei and the rent can reach 1.000 lei.  I should also mention the arrogance of Traian Basescu that is naming the working class – ‘lazy’; the arrogance of senator Iulian Urban that named the protestors – ‘worms’ and the arrogance that can be seen daily on the faces of the politicians and on the faces of those almighty businessman they protect, and that can get away with any crime they make. They have the monopol over violence, including physical violence when people’s voice rise.

Those that thrown bricks and Molotov cocktails represent a tiny part of the violence that people confront daily and their violence is a direct result of all the frustration accumulated in time, in a society ruined and leaded to poverty by the government and the cupidity of the capitalist class.

Mass media reports

There are a few clichés that are to be found in mass media reports:
- ‘Those that thrown bricks are football hooligans’. No one reported that among this ‘hooligans’ can be found middle class youth with university studies. The media reports tend only to discredit them and not to find and analyse the causes of their anger and although most of the protesters are peacefull this attitude will legitimate the government to repress them and to abuse them with more violence;
- ‘The number of gendarmes on the street must grow’. The number of gendarmes is already big and they are making victims including among elderly people;
- Some TV stations report a much smaller number of protesters;
- The press don’t reveal to the large public that protesters shout among others – ‘The only solution – another revolution!’.

Government reaction

- The government called the gendarmes from all over the country and placed them in the cities where protests are taking place;
- The government stoped a train, when people from another city – Craiova, wanted to come in Bucharest to support the protests;
- Under the reason that ‘they are making noise’, the police took in custody – only last night – over 70 persons and they arrested around 100 persons although there was no violent acts from the protesters.

What the government should know

These protests are against the system. What the government should know – is that the repression of these protests can be the prelude for the revolution.

Tausende in wütenden Protesten gegen Sozialkürzungen (Update)

In den letzten Tagen kam es in verschiedenen Städten Rumäniens zu Protesten gegen das von der Regierung eingebrachte Gesundheitsgesetz. Mit diesem Gesetz soll die umfassende Privatisierung des gesamten Gesundheitsbereichs durchgesetzt werden. Am Sonntag  (15. Januar 2012) erreichten die sozialen Proteste ihren Höhepunkt. In Bukarest kam es zu mehrstündigen Straßenkämpfen. Polizei und Jandarmerie fügten Demonstranten schwerste Verletzungen zu.

Privatisierung des gesamten Gesundheitssystems – Gesundheit nur für Reiche

Ende Dezember 2011 wurde das neue Gesetz von Staatspräsident Traian Basescu von der rechten Liberal-Demokratischen Partei (PDL) auf den Weg gebracht. Der Präsident erklärte, das er eine vollständige Privatisierung dieses elementaren Bereichs der Gesellschaft wünsche, um den “Wettbewerb zwischen den Krankenhäusern” zu beleben. Gleichzeitig wurden die Leistungen der in den Krankenkassen Versicherten massiv beschnitten. Zuzahlungen bzw. Generelle Bezahlungen von Arztbehandlungen sind obligatorisch. Auch der Rettungsdienst (SMURD) für Notfälle soll Privatisiert werden. D.h. Konkret: Ohne Geld – keine Rettung. Diese Absicht veranlasste den Unterstaatssekretär Raed Arafat, Direktor des Rettungsdienstes, öffentlich zu erklären, das dieses Gesetz das Gesundheitssystem zerschlagen werde, und er diesem deshalb nicht zustimmen werde. Die Reaktion von Präsident Traian Basescu viel gewohnt autoritär aus. Er erklärte Arafat zum “größten Feind des privaten Gesundheitssystems” und erklärte am letzten Donnerstag (12. Januar 2012): “Wenn er dem Gesetz nicht zustimmt, dann geht er”. Um seiner Drohung mehr Gewicht zu verleihen schob Basescu gegenüber einem Journalisten noch hinterher: “Überlag doch wie das ging, als Stefan Lazaroiu (damaliger Arbeitsminister) seinen Ministerposten aufgab.” Raed Arafat trat dann am Freitag letzter Woche von seinem Posten zurück.

Geschäft und Segen – Macht und Finanzierung der Orthodoxen Kirche in Rumänien

Die kurze und kenntnisreiche Reportage beleuchtet Macht, Einfluss und Finanzierung der Orthodoxen Kirche Rumäniens und ihre Rolle im Staat. Kritik an der Kirche und am Glauben hören dabei weder die Kirche noch die Mehrheit der rumänischen Bevölkerung gerne. So spricht ein orthodoxer Priester im Interview davon, „Wer gegen die Kirche kämpft, kämpft gegen Gott“. Einen Gott den es mit allergrößter Wahrscheinlichkeit gar nicht gibt und den es, Bakunin zu Folge, selbst bei seiner etwaigen Existenz abzulehnen gilt.

Der Film ist in Rumänisch und Englisch untertitelt.

Grafik entnommen dem Blog der Anarcho-Syndikalistischen Initiative Rumäniens

Business and Blessings – Power and Financing of the Orthodox Church in Romania

The short and knowledgeable Reportage shed light on Power, Influence and Financing of the Orthodox Church in Romania and here role in the state. Critic on the church and the belief don’t like to hear neither the church nor the majority of the Romanian population. “Who fights against the church, fights against God”, says an orthodox priest in a interview. A god, who almost certainly doesn’t exist and who, like Bakunin said, is to refuse, even when he would exist.

The Movie is on Romanian language and with English subtitles.

Graphic from the Blog of the Anarcho-Syndicalist Initiative from Romania

Extreme form of protest

An extreme form of protest over the government austerity measures took place yesterday in the Romanian Parliament. Adrian Sobaru is 41 years old and father of two and he working as an engeneer for the Romanian Television. He shout to the prime minister from a balcony of the chamber: “You have robbed children’s rights” and jumped in an suicidal attempt.

The photos published by newspapers show Sobaru wearing a white T-shirt, with the words: “You’ve pierced us. You’ve killed our children’s future. Freedom!”. The first sentence is a reference to President Traian Basescu who, upon winning the presidential race in 2009, said: “I’ve pierced them”. The word “freedom” it refers to the 1989 uprising in which more than 1,300 unarmed people was killed by authorities.

Adrian Sobraru is now hospitalized. He sustained face wounds, and other non life-threatening injuries, said Catalin Carstoiu – the manager at the University Hospital. He will soon undergo surgery.

The extrem form of protest that Sobraru choose was meant to make the politicians understand that their austerity measures are criminal and that life for simply, honest  workers becomes imposible to be lived.

On 11 July, the ‘Research Institute for Quality of Life’ (http://www.iccv.ro/oldiccv/english/newsite/index.htm) published under the aegis of the Romanian Academy, a sociological and economical study that shows very clear that at 20 years from the falling of the communist regime, the country was sistematically robbed and that politician’s measures lead to the extreme social inequities and poverty among the working class.

 

 

„Freiheit!“ – Protest gegen massive Kürzungen im rumänischen Parlament

Aus Protest gegen die massiven und lebensbedrohlichen Kürzungen von Lohn und sozialen Leistungen hat sich am Donnerstag ein Elektriker des rumänischen Fernsehsenders TVR von einem Balkon des Parlaments hinab in den Plenarsaal gestürzt. Der Kollege trug dabei ein T-Shirt auf dem zu lesen war „Ihr habt uns durchlöchert und verkauft – ihr habt die Zukunft unserer Kinder getötet – FREIHEIT“. Für seine Aktion wählte der Arbeiter die Plenarsitzung die über die Neufassung (Verschlechterung) der Regelungen der Lohnzahlungen im rumänischen Arbeitsgesetzes, des Codul Muncii „beriet“. Im Moment als der rumänische Premierminister Emil Boc (Demokratisch-Liberale Partei) das Wort ergriff sprang er herunter. Der Kollege überlebte den Sprung und rief noch, als er auf einer Trage hinausgetragen wurde laut „Freiheit“.

Mittlerweile ist eine Hetzkampagne in den kapitalistischen Medien gegen diesen verzweifelten Kollegen im Gange. Die Medien sprechen von einem „Unfall“ im Parlament. Zusätzlich werden unwahre Behauptungen über sein angeblich riesiges Einkommen und zahlreiche Sonderleistungen, welche der Vater von zwei Kindern für seinen autistischen Sohn von der Regierung erhalten würde, sollen seinem Protest die Legitimation absprechen. Bei der Hetz- und Lügenkampagne tut sich besonders die staatliche Nachrichtenagentur Mediafax hervor. De facto ist es so, dass alle finanziellen Unterstützungen für das autistische Kind nahezu komplett gestrichen wurden. Als ein Beispiel dafür nennt eine seriöse Quelle den Zustand, dass der Vater nun alleine für die dreimal die Woche nötige Therapie des Sohnes die Kosten von 200 Lei pro Sitzung selber tragen muss. Der Staat unterstütze ihn zuvor mit 550 Lei im Monat und hat die Unterstützung nun auf 150 Lei im Monat zusammengestrichen. Die reinen Therapiekosten belaufen sich aber auf 2400 Lei im Monat. Zum Vergleich: das durchschnittliche Einkommen eines Arbeiters/einer Arbeiterin liegt um die 7 bis 800 Lei.

Wie in anderen Ländern, so wird auch in Rumänien der massive Sozialabbau zusammen mit Lohnkürzungen und Verlängerungen der Arbeitszeiten durchgesetzt. Die Situation für einen Großteil der Menschen ist im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes Lebensgefährlich, da vorne und hinten Geld für den Lebensunterhalt fehlt. Unsicherheit ist ein alltäglicher Begleiter für viele. In ersten Reaktionen des Premierministers sprach dieser mit Krokodilsträniger-Stimme davon, dass „wir in schweren Zeiten leben.“ Dass er selber zu den Verursachern und Wegbereitern der schweren Zeiten gehört, verschwieg er wohlweislich. Die mit zahlreichen Bestechungs- (und Unfähigkeits)vorwürfen konfrontierte Tourismusministerin Elena Udrea (ebenfalls PDL) forderte direkt nach dem Sprung des Arbeiters dazu auf, seine Aktion nicht als politische zu verstehen und „diesen Moment nicht politisch auszunutzen“.

Doch die Aktion ist genau dies. Eine politische Aktion eines verzweifelten Kollegen, der aufgrund der Politik der Bocs und Udreas dazu getrieben wurde, auf seine – und die Situation tausender anderer – durch den spektakulären Sprung aufmerksam zu machen. Allein: Die Politik zu ändern vermag sie nicht – dazu wäre die entschlossene Aktion der Arbeiterklasse notwendig. Doch diese ist überhaupt nicht abzusehen.

ASIR, 23.12.2010

Interview with the Romanian Anarcho-Syndicalist Initiative: “Working people must take over their businesses and their workplaces and implement worker’s self management”

A few weeks ago was founded in Romania the „Anarcho-Syndicalist Initiative“. The comrades run an actual and very informative Blog and set as an aim, the popularisation of Anarcho-Syndicalism inside the working class in Romania. We did an interview with our comrades from IAS Romania.

AS-Info Romania: We feel very happy to see, that with the Anarcho-Syndicalist Initiative there is now also in Romania  a serious attempt to make Anarcho-Syndicalism popular among the wageworkers. What led to the foundation of your anarcho-syndicalist initiative? How did you encounter Anarcho-Syndicalism?

IAS-Romania: The need for a genuine class struggle anarchist and anarcho-syndicalist perspective in Romania and also to legitimize the libertarian socialist tradition as whole in Romanian society. After dabbling with some other projects we felt that the current anarchist scene in Romania ignores class struggle anarchism depriving the class nature of anarchism and leaving nothing but an “alternative fashion and lifestyle”out of it. We thought that an ideologically motivated initiative must be created, an initiative that presents actual alternatives to capitalism and statism. We saw no alternatives in the current Romanian anarchist scene, no ideological praxis no unity, nothing that can resemble an actual social and political movement. As for the second part of the question, well you know how they say, anarchists are not made they are born. I personally think that anti-authoritarianism is part of human nature as greed is or submission to authority is and things like that,the problem is that capitalism as an economic system creates a social environment that shapes people in this way,traits such as solidarity, anti-authoritarianism etc. are pushed away for other traits say,submission to authority and greed. So i think i always was an anarchist as far as my desires go,but the collapse of neo-stalinism in Romania and the effects of wild and crude capitalism,made me turn to anarcho-syndicalism’s blend of anti-authoritarianism and class equality.

AS-Info Romania: Are there in your opinion any prospects for the development of a union out of your current initiative? What are your ideas to make the initiative more popular?

IAS-Romania: The initiative is fairly new, only 2 weeks old, i think. And its interesting because it’s so new but the feedback we are getting from is pretty good, so for now we can’t think about building a union. The initative for now is a Romanian anarcho-syndicalist informative bulletin, but the main purpose of it, is to get attention and maybe in the near future build a union from it, so the initiative is just a start. We want to exapand and built a social agenda which can be understood by the Romanian working class, we want to adress everything from day to day labor struggles to alternatives to labor problems and at last alternatives to capitalism as a whole. This is can relate to question one, in Romania we don’t have such an initiative, the stalinist parties still use the same old back in the day argument wich let’s working class issues unattended and let’s people looking back rather then looking onward, towards a new fresh start.

AS-Info Romania: Almost every day the workers and unemployed have to face new attacks by the government and the IMF under the circumstances of the already unacceptable low standard of living. What are in your opinion the suitable means to answer these ongoing deterioration and cuts?

IAS-Romania: As an old man told me once, working people are always in economic crisis, so these measures taken by globalized capitalism in league with the government are not new for Romania’s working class. Romania’s problem is a world problem now that’s why the west has her eyes on us . For 20 years we have the same problems, its not the first time the IMF loans money to us and we implement heavy cuts . Romania for the past 20 years was in constant crisis, neither the quasi-statist social democratic agenda helped us nor the liberal one, the outcomes were and are the same, more unemployed people more concentration of wealth and more division among classes. The opposition in this country is controlled by wealthy bussiness people and the alternatives given by them are laughable, all unions are in the pockets of the parties, so the opposition is not really an opposition. I think there is no hope in Romania , a popular movement must be built by anarcho-syndicalist unions going for general strike and direct takeover of all means of production, working people must take over their businesses and their workplaces and implement worker’s self management at all levels, we must show the capitalists and statists that working people are capable of running their own lifes without the state nor the capitalists.

AS-Info Romania: Which reactions have you received from the small anarchist scene of the country on your initiative? Have you felt supported or was the idea of class-struggle rejected?

IAS-Romania: As i already said, until now its only positive feedback from the few people we know but most of the anarchist scene here is based around the punk scene and has no idea nor interest in class struggle anarchism. I said at question one about anarchism in Romania, most self proclaimed anarchists are punk’s involved in football hooliganism rather then actual activism or punk’s involved in alternative lifestyles so there is no ideological basis here.

AS-Info Romania: Have you already taken action of publicly informing workers about your initiative and which where the reactions received? Do you have a magazine or another kind of publication?

IAS-Romania: As i said, we are very new so we are still expanding, we are not concentrated in one city so its hard to move, but in the near future we are preparing for a publication and agitation inside workplaces and unions. At this stage we are trying to bring people together on this initiative so we can eventually create an actual union.

AS-Info Romania: Thanks a lot for this interview. We wish you success with your initiative!

The Homepage of the Anarcho-Syndicalist Initiative can be reached here:

http://iasromania.wordpress.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Protest of the mainstream unions (Update 28.10.)

Mainstream unions that are active in Bucharest have decided to initiate a strike on October 27^th and to call for 80,000 workers to protest against the wage cuts. As well, on October 27^th the main opposition party – the Social Democrats – will initiate in the Romanian Parliament a censure motion against the government.

The first impression I have is that political parties are using unions to lunch attacks in their political struggle. Union’s leaders are also fraternizing with politicians and call for action and protest only to support political groups.

The relation between politicians and union’s leaders can’t bring anything in favour of the workers and as we know from the past neither the next government will be interested of worker’s life conditions nor the union’s leaders will call for new protests.

Why should all these worry the workers? It is because the unions that should represent and fight for their rights are lead in a very undemocratic manner and are close to the definition of the yellow unions. It seems also that all their actions are converging to the political support of the big political parties, instead of fighting for worker’s control and work as a democratic inner organisation.

The government is very unpopular since the workers are loosing a large part of their income under the false government slogans of solidarity during the economic crises. The protest from tomorrow as much as will bring nothing much than support for the censure motion – and replacing a parasites class with another – won’t really bring something substantial for the working class.

Update 28.10.2010

Report on protest

The protest meant to support the censure motion of Social Democrats ended yesterday without reaching its goal. Despite the popular support – the censure motion has not met the majority in Parliament. Although the unions involved in the protest are reformist and the union leaders avoid slogans that include class struggle, there were some small group of people that started to chant: ‘Revolution!’ and ‘Capitalist thieves!’ but all these was not mentioned by media.

Gendarmes present at the protest were attacked by syndicalists that tried to break a blockade and 12 syndicalists were arrested. The protest was also marked by the first degree alarm initiated by Internal Affairs Ministry – a decision that is taken in the interes of “national security”. This action of the government shows only that they are fear of people that reached a high level of discontent with government policy.

Diogenes for ASIR

Teacher on hunger strike

Since 24. August in Hungerstrike. The teacher Cristina Anghel.

Cristina Anghel is the name of a Romanian teacher on hunger strike for 64 days. She refuse to eat since August 24, protesting against the government decision of wage cut. There were a few politician’s declarations urging her to end the protest and not to put her life in danger no more. What these politicians really don’t understand is that their actions are putting her life in danger as their decisions are putting every wage addicted person’s life in danger. With a salary that is less then 300 Euros it is impossible to live. That is the reason why she is accusing the officials for ignoring her and treating her as if she did not exist.

Cristina Anghel is 55 years old, she’s married and she have a daughter. She was admitted in a hospital and is now under medical supervision. She is decided not to end her protest until politicians will understand that people’s life conditions, those conditions caused by government incompetence and cynism, lead people to desperate solutions. Yet Cristina Anghel does not want to commit suicide as one of her colleague – Maria Cracoveanu – did last month, realising she could not live on the reduced wage.

Cristina Anghel’s declarations directly targeting government and the lack of emphaty and humanity of the politicians that are refusing systematically to accept that people’s needs have reached the point where is all about surviving.

“I will not stop until the politicians understand that Romania is our country and we want it the way it should be” she declared to the press. The Romanian president – Traian Basescu declared also to the press that he didn’t heard about the teacher’s hunger strike and that he did not know anything about.