http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/19/europe/EU-GEN-Romania-Protests.php International Herald Tribune Romanian retirees, pro-democracy activists stage protests
The Associated Press Tuesday, June 19, 2007 <http://ad.doubleclick.net/click;h=v8/3576/0/0/%2a/k;44306;0-0;0;7973244;4252-336/280;0/0/0;;~sscs=%3f> Click here to find out more! BUCHAREST, Romania: Hundreds of Romanian retirees took to the streets in cities around the country on Tuesday to demand that pensions be raised to at least 45 percent of the average national salary and other benefits. Small protests were staged in the capital and about 20 other towns. The trade unions that coordinated the protests said they also wanted cheap accommodation and free medicine for the country's elderly population. Romania has 6 million retirees out of a population of 22 million. The average monthly salary in Romania is about 1,200 Lei (€373, US$500) before taxes. Labor Minister Paul Pacuraru said it was not "realistic" to increase pensions due to budgetary constraints. He said pensions would be raised in 2008, but did not say by how much. In a separate protest in Bucharest, activists rallied against government plans to force a pro-democracy group out of its offices in a building that has become a symbol of Romania's efforts to build a democracy. The Group of Social Dialogue was the first pro-democracy organization set up during the 1989 anti-communist revolt. The government wants to force them out of the building and hand it over to the nationalist Greater Romania Party. Actor Marcel Iures, former Prime Minister Teodor Stolojan and political scientist Vladimir Tismaneanu, who led an investigation into the crimes of the communist era in Romania, were among dozens who packed the building's courtyard. "The roots of this place are too deeply entrenched for it to be pulled out by a group of politicians," said Stelian Tanase, a well-known political commentator. Copyright © 2007 The International Herald Tribune | <http://www.iht.com/> www.iht.com ---------------------------- Vali "Noble blood is an accident of fortune; noble actions are the chief mark of greatness." (Carlo Goldoni) "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." (Jimi Hendrix)
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