Romanians halt building of Xmas fair at protest site

Romanian protesters briefly clashed with riot police on Saturday when they stopped construction workers from building a Christmas fair at the site of anti-corruption demonstrations in Bucharest.

Victory Square was host to big street protests at the beginning of the year following attempts by the ruling Social Democrats to decriminalize some corruption offenses and has been a gathering place for largely peaceful protests since.

Further demonstrations have been announced on social media as parliament gears up to approve a judicial overhaul that has been criticized by centrist President Klaus Iohannis, the European Commission and the US State Department.

Earlier this week Bucharest mayor Gabriela Firea, a senior Social Democrat member, said she would stage a Christmas fair for most of December in the square - a decision which Social Democrat Prime Minister Mihai Tudose said was not "the most inspired."

On Saturday, protesters began dismantling the scaffolding and fences for the fair, waving flags and chanting "We won’t give Victory Square up," and "Firea, don’t forget, this square is not yours."

Three protesters were taken to a police station, riot police spokesman Georgian Enache told state news agency Agerpres. He added one of them was accused of hitting another citizen.

There were no further police attempts to stop protesters from taking apart the fencing.

"We are asking Bucharest city hall to abandon immediately ... the move to fence in Victory square," activists said in a statement on Facebook page.

"We urge citizens to protest firmly but non-violently. We must stop this treacherous and rudimentary attempt by mayor Gabriela Firea to discourage protests at a time when they will be crucial for the future of this country."

Earlier this week, Firea denied accusations she was trying to block protests in a statement and urged people to "put emphasis on the things that unite us, not those that divide."

(Source: Reuters)

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