site.btaRomanian Opposition Leader George Simion Calls for Protest on January 15

Leader of the opposition Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) George Simion called on citizens to take to the streets on January 15 to voice dissatisfaction with the current government.

In a video posted on his official Facebook profile on Thursday, the head of the far-right AUR announced a protest scheduled for 6:00 pm local time at University Square in Bucharest.

"Stop commenting and criticising behind social media profiles. Make the effort, even if it’s cold go out into the streets. Fight for what is yours," Simion said. He added that those who dislike him or AUR should organize their own protests or political movements, insisting that "this government must go".

Late last year, Simion made a similar appeal during protests over problems in Romania’s judicial system and demonstrations in Bulgaria that led to the resignation of the government of Rosen Zhelyazkov. "The Bulgarian government fell. On Monday, ours could fall too, if some 'protesters' want it," he said at the time.

In the new video, Simion said he is preparing several public actions and plans to travel to the United States. He described Romania as a country in a "hybrid regime" with no democracy, claiming elections had been cancelled, and urged supporters to "see this fight through to the end".

Simion also announced what he described as an unprecedented pilot initiative to repatriate Romanians. On January 24, activities will be held in 40 diaspora communities under a project aimed at encouraging Romanians abroad to return.

Later on Thursday, another Facebook post said the January 15 protest is organised by MEP Claudiu Tarziu, co-founder of AUR and founder of the new party Conservative Action.

"The sole theme of the demonstration is public outrage over the consequences of the promulgation of the Wexler Law, which seeks to erase heroes, geniuses and saints of the Romanian nation from collective memory," Tarziu wrote. He said the protest would be civic in nature, without party symbols, and called on political parties, civic groups and independent figures to join.

January 15 is marked as Romanian Culture Day.