to celebrate the release of their new album,
Mantras of War.
Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta announced his resignation on
Wednesday, November 4, 2015 following large protests in the wake of a
nightclub fire in Bucharest that killed 45 people and injured 179
others.
Ponta declared on national television: “I’m handing in my mandate, I’m resigning, and implicitly my government too.”
“I am obliged to take note of the legitimate grievances which exist
in society,” he said. “I hope handing in my and my government’s mandate
will satisfy the demands of protesters,” he added.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis is to name a prime minister to form
a new government with the approval of the parliament. If this fails, a
snap election will be called. Romania is due to hold parliamentary
elections in December 2016.
On Tuesday night more than 25,000 protesters took to the streets
calling for PM Ponta to step down because of government corruption and
poor safety supervision.
The public and protestors are sceptical about the accuracy of the
official figures of the size of the protest. Student Mihnea Blag, 21, a
survivor of the fire, explained: “There were around 35,000-40,000
protesting but the media did not want to admit it.”
Protestors met in Victory Square, Bucharest [Dan Mihai Balanescu via Facebook]
He
went on to discuss the incident that happened on Friday night: “I’m
lucky to be alive. I was near the door that we managed to break and get
out. After I made two steps out of the building, it exploded. What I saw
there, it was hell on earth.”
The fire at the Colectiv nightclub, the worst such incident in
Romania in the last 20 years, happened on Friday, October 30, during a
free concert performed by heavy metal band Goodbye to Gravity to
celebrate the release of their new album,
Mantras of War.
Romania’s government declared a three-day period of national mourning beginning the day after, just hours after the tragedy.
Early reports which are still under investigation suggest that the
blaze was allegedly caused by the band’s pyrotechnics and the Colectiv
Club’s inadequate exits which caused a stampede.
The number of people allowed in was far beyond the permissible limit
of the premises and the conduct of fireworks in the interior design
conditions were unfit for such activities, according a statement from
PICCJ, the Public Ministry, Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice.
Hundreds of Romanian citizens flocked to hospitals and blood donation
centres, queueing up to give blood to the many club casualties in need
of transfusions.
Thousands more from inside and outside the country took to Instagram,
Facebook and Twitter to mourn the loss and call for much-needed blood
donations.
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