The 2012 Romanian protests were a series of protests and civil manifestations triggered by the introduction of new health reform legislation. In particular, President Traian Băsescu criticized the Deputy Minister of Health, Raed Arafat, on a Romanian television broadcast. The protests became violent, with both protesters and members of the Gendarmerie sustaining injuries during their clashes.
On the morning of 5 February 2012, Prime Minister Emil Boc announced his resignation because of the protests. He said that his decision would release the tension in the country's political and social situation.
Protests, on a lesser scale, continued in University Square in Bucharest. The protesters demanded the president's resignation and early general elections.
There were ongoing protests in Romania in subsequent months over a variety of disagreements.
Parliamentary legislation of 2010
In 2010, in the recession of the late 2000s, the Boc government, with the support of president Traian Băsescu, imposed a series of tax increases and cuts in public sector wages and social benefits. Boc also imposed a new labour code, which was informed by multinational corporations and business representatives such as the Romanian-American Chamber of Commerce, the major Romanian trade unions, and some employers' organizations. At the time, the Boc government ruled by only a small majority and the parliamentary opposed all the new measures. Boc therefore used a special procedure provided by the Constitution of Romania to pass the new measures.
Parliamentary legislation of 2011
In the last days of 2011, the government introduced a new healthcare bill. It would have reduced state funded health benefits, de-regulated the health insurance market, and privatised Romanian hospitals.
One of the main objectors was the undersecretary, Raed Arafat, the founder of the "Mobile Service Emergency Resuscitation and Extrication" (SMURD) service, a public emergency service partially funded by private donations and partially by the government. His concern was the privatization of emergency services, which he believed would lead to the disappearance of the public service, as for-profit emergency service companies would have access to both private and public funds. President Băsescu criticised Arafat for his opposition. On 9 January 2012, in a phone call to a TV talk show, Băsescu suggested Arafat leave the Cabinet. Arafat resigned the following day, citing the main reason as the need for a fair criticism of the healthcare bill from outside the government. On 10 January, in Bucharest, Arafat and SMURD met to unite in opposition. On 11 January, an Arafat-SMURD solidarity meeting was held in Cluj-Napoca in the north-west.
On 12 January 2012, demonstrations grew in size and spread to Târgu Mureş, the base of SMURD. There, 1,500 to 4,000 people took part in a march organised with the help of the social networking site, "Facebook". As well as supporting SMURD, the marches also started to call for the resignation of Băsescu.
On 13 January 2012, in the evening, president Băsescu held a press conference and asked for the bill to be quashed, citing resistance from the populace. He also criticised those opposing the bill for cronyism. The health minister Ladislau Ritli, acquiesced. Despite these actions, protests continued.
On 12 January 2012, a non-violent protest was held in Târgu Mureș to express solidarity with the SMURD founder, Raed Arafat. People gathered in the center of Târgu Mureș moved on the march towards the SMURD headquarters, blocking traffic, and demonstrators were joined by several hundred people, so that their number reached approximately 3,000. Several petitions had drawn up on social networking websites, these having hundreds of thousands, even millions of upholders.
On 13 January 2012, in the evening, a rally was held at the University Square, in Bucharest to support Arafat. At around 19:00 local time, protesters marched towards the Cotroceni Palace. The number of demonstrators increased to about 2,000. Other large anti-presidential manifestations were organized in Bucharest, Brașov, Timișoara and Sibiu. No meeting was authorized.
On 14 January 2012, protesters rallied at University Square and outside the gates of Cotroceni Palace. To avoid clashes, protective fences were installed. Around 18:00 local time, protesters blocked the Nicolae Bălcescu Boulevard. After the intervention of gendarmes, Nicolae Bălcescu Boulevard was cleared and people were pushed to the sidewalk.
Around 20:50 local time, protesters threw stones at the gendarmes. The Gendarmerie and police officers used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.
Ambulance Bucharest and SMURD crews intervened for medical care to 20 people. Of these, five were gendarmes. Likewise, an operator of Antena 3 was injured during the protests, after being hit by a brick thrown into the melee. Gendarmes picked up 29 protesters, after they threw blunt objects and have disturbed public order.
On 15 January 2012, the demonstrations continued. From the early morning, protesters gathered in the squares of Romania's main cities. They waved Romanian flags cut in the middle (the symbol of the 1989 Romanian Revolution). They called for early elections. The Social Liberal Union (USL) (the parliamentary opposition coalition) demanded an extraordinary plenary meeting of the parliament.
In the mid afternoon, about one hundred people, mostly former revolutionaries, gathered in Victory Square, Timişoara, to protest. The meeting was authorized and was scheduled to end at 17:00, when supporters of football team Poli Timişoara were expected to arrive in the square. An elderly man chanting in favor of Băsescu was escorted by the gendarmes from the area.