Senate President Florin Citu said on Wednesday that it was not normal for Romanian parliamentarians to support "acts of vandalism", as happened during the protest organized by Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) on Tuesday, when a group of protesters tried to force their way into the Palace of Parliament. He described the event as "bizarre", given that state institutions should be protected from such demonstrations.
Citu was asked about the incident on Tuesday when, together with the US charge d'affaires in Bucharest, David Muniz, he was evacuated from his office, while some participants in the protest organized by AUR were trying to force their way into Parliament, after they broke into the courtyard of the institution and vandalized several cars.
"We had to leave. But David and I can see each other to drink coffee also elsewhere. The point is that yesterday it was a bizarre event for me, because state institutions should be protected from vandalism. Eventually, it is reprehensible that we have Romanian parliamentarians who help those who come and support these acts of vandalism, and then they denounce them. It is clear that AUR are those who instigated violence, those who supported and brought those people to the courtyard of Parliament and then wanted to dissociate themselves from them. It doesn't work that way. All the country saw that AUR organized that protest, instigated violence, supported them, and then tried to say, "No, it's not us," Citu said.
Asked if there would be a reaction from Parliament to AUR, he said: "I always say that they should pay a fine every time they (...) do not respect the law, when they go inside without a mask they should pay a fine. Every time."
"There are images, I told the Minister of Interior, every time there are images, it is assumed that I made a complaint and they should be fined," Citu said.
Asked what was the reaction of the US charge d'affaires when the protesters were at the door of Parliament, he stated: "Americans are very organized, I know very well that when they have to execute orders, they execute them." "We both respected what we were told. No, no reaction," Florin Citu added, Agerpres informs.