2008-02-15
"We are here to thank the Government of Romania and the Romanian people for the support they have offered to us on several occasions. We are allies in the fight on terror, generally, in Afghanistan and Iraq. We are allies in promoting democracy and we appreciate the support of Romania’s President"
Stephen Hadley, Bush’s National Security Advisor, October 23, 2005
On 21st of September the Romanian Vice Foreign Minister Victor Micula and North-Atlantic Council Secretary Berndt Götze signed the memorandum for hosting the NATO summit in Bucharest in April next year. This 20th NATO summit will be the largest one in the history of NATO, as all the 23 member states of the NATO Partnership for Peace will attend, besides 26 member states of the alliance. Approximately 3.000 high-ranking officials are expected to participate in the summit, whose security will be guarded by some 9.000 Romanian troops, officers of the Special Guard and Protections Service, police officers and gendarmes. The expenses of the event are estimated at 30-35 million euro.
Where to find a better place to hide than in the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, the summits venue?
The building known as Casa Poporului (the house of the people) was build during Ceausescu’s regime. It is 84 meters tall with 12 floors, being one of the top 5 tallest buildings in Romania. It’s area surface (64.800 square meters) makes it second largest after the Pentagon Building; it's underground floors, measuring down to 92 meters below the ground (more that over the ground); it's volume (2,55 billion cubic meters), third largest in the world (after Cape Canaveral and the Quetzalcoatl pyramid in Mexic).
But even if you are not able to catch a guarded or even better ‘unguarded’ tour through Casa Poporului, or you are not even able to get any closer to the area, cause of suddenly appearing stable or moving fences during your visit in April 2008, don’t worry there is much more to explore (still watch out for the local teams, who might be willing to take you on a tour).
Since you are in the capital, with an estimated 1.862.930 (2006) residents, many other institution, worth a visit, are located here. So for example Casa NATO, which promotes Romania as a reliable member of NATO as well as free market institutions and enterprises. Casa NATO is located in Bucharest’s Primaverii Palace, headquarters to Romania’s Euro-Atlantic Center and activities since 1992.
Since Religion is very dominant in everyday life in Romania, especially orthodox (86,8 %), you can find a church on every corner, which deserves a ‘disturbing’ visit.
Might it be for their priests and monks spying for the Securitate, their power and money seeking domination, their gender roles…, you will surely find a reason. If you want to continue your travel a bit further east, you might want to stop by the Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase near Constanta. Not only known for the US troops heading towards Afghanistan and Iraq, but also as a CIA detention center for Iraqis and Afghans.
Surely you will find a worthwhile target, to make the ANTI-NATO-WEEK in Bucharest as disruptive, creative and long-lasting as possible.
FORCES OF REPRESSION
As activists in Romania have never experienced protest against an event of this scale in the country, it is hard to draw from former experiences in regard of state repression.
So here will follows an introduction to the different forces you might be confronted with during your visit.
The main forces of repression in Romania are the National Police (Politia Română), the Romanian Gendarmerie (Jandarmeria Română ) and the Border Police. The Romanian police is devided into two forces, the Politia Română (the civil branch) and the Jandarmeria Română (the military branch).
Romania also has a paramilitary structure, beside a police force and a military force. The Jandarmeria is the structure that should really keep the order, as the Police is meant only to investigate crime, while the military is meant only to defend the country from outside threats.
Politia Română
The Romanian Police is divided into 41 territorial inspectorates, corresponding to each county (judet), and the General Directorate of the Police in Bucharest. Each county inspectorate has a rapid reaction unit (Detaşamentul de Politie pentru Interventie Rapidă, Police Rapid Intervention Squad). The similar unit attached to the Bucharest Police is called Serviciul de Politie pentru Interventie Rapidă (Police Rapid Intervention Service).
Before 2002, the National Police had military status and a military ranking system. In June 2002 it became a civil police force and its personnel was structured into two corps:
. Corpul ofiterilor de politie (Police Officers Corps) -corresponding to the commissioned ranks of a military force.
. Corpul agentilor de politie (Police Agents Corps) -corresponding to the non-commissioned ranks of a military force.
Politia Comunitară is the name for the local police in Romania - on city or commune level. They are subordinated to the mayors and their main duties are to enforce the local ordinances and to assist the National Police and the Gendarmerie.
Also worth mentioning:
DIAS Detasamentul de Interventii si Actiuni Speciale
[Police rapid intervention (local)] The Special Intervention and Action Detachments are the special units of municipal police in Romania. DIAS are called whenever a Police operation may encounter severe problems.
SPIR Serviciul Special al Politiei pentru Interventie Rapida [Police rapid intervention (Bucharest)] The Special Rapid Intervention Service is the name of the much-expanded structure in Bucharest.
SIIAS Serviciul Independent de Interventii si Actiuni Speciale
[Police Special Forces]
The Independent Special
Interventions and Actions Service is an elite unit under the command of the Romanian Police.
Politia de Frontieră
Between 2001 and 2005, the Romanian Border Police has undergone four stages of reform of its internal structure, in order to bring it into compliance with similar structures of the European Union.
SASI Serviciul Actiuni Speciale si Interventie
[ rapid intervention force ] SASI was created on October 1st, 2005 and represents the rapid intervention unit of the Border Police.
Jandarmeria Română
The Romanian Gendarmerie
(Jandarmeria Română) is the state’s specialized institution, with military status. The Romanian Gendarmerie is divided in 41 territorial inspectorates, corresponding to each county (judet), and the General Directorate of the Gendarmerie in Bucharest. Additionally, eight Gendarmerie Mobile Groups (Grupări Mobile) operate on a territorial basis, with headquarters in Bacău, Braşov, Cluj Napoca, Constanta, Craiova, Ploieşti, Târgu Mureş and Timişoara. The Romanian Gendarmerie was re-established on July 5, 1990. Starting in 2006, the corps abandoned conscription and in 2007 it became an all-professional military force.
The Romanian Gendarmerie is for example tasked to:
• ensure public order during meetings, marches, demonstrations, processions, strikes, and also other similar activities carried out in public areas and involving large crowds;
• re-establish public order when it has been disturbed by any kind of illegal actions;
• maintain public order during official visits or during other activities in which Romanian or foreign high officials take part, on Romanian territory, in the competence area and in the places where the activities are carried out
The Romanian Gendarmerie has two brigades, the 11th Mobile Brigade ‘Baneasa’ and the Special Brigade ‘Vlad Tepes’, as well as the Batalionul 1 Interventii Speciale(anti-terrorist force) and the Batalionul 2 Misiuni Speciale (special missions).
The Brigade is divided in two units:
Brigada Specială de Interventie a Jandarmeriei (Gendarmerie Special Intervention Brigade, BSIJ) is a special operations force belonging to the Romanian Gendarmerie. The unit carries the name "Vlad Tepeş".
• 1st Battalion "Actiuni Specifice şi Antitero" (Specific Actions and Counter-terrorism)
• 2nd Battalion "Misiuni Speciale" (Special Missions)
POLICE ARMS
Well the usual stuff: you can find crowd control paddy wagons, water canons, as well as the use of horses and dogs. Water canons, tear gas and rubber bullets have been used by the Romanian police before, for example at the Gay Parade in Bucharest.
GETTING TO THE ACTIONS
People from following countries are able to enter Romania without a visa for up to 90 days: Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Chile, Cyprus, South Korea, Costa Rica, Croatia (30 days), Denmark, Switzerland, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, United Kingdom, Monaco, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Norway, Holland, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Holly See, El Salvador, Singapore (30 days), Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, United States of America, Sweden, Hungary, Uruguay, Venezuela. Since January the 1st 2007 people from the Republic of Moldova can travel with a free issued visa. If you come from a country which is not listed above, you need an entry visa (if you are not intending to pass the green border, swim through the Danube river or overrun the border control with a huge crowd of other people protesting against the fortress Europe). The law bans:
• the possession of narcotic substances, even if for personal use
• bearing arms, hunting or sports weaponry must be mentioned in your passport
Bear in mind that the time difference to Central Europe is + 1 hour.
In 2005 the new leu (RON) was introduced, phasing out the old leu (ROL) in 2006. The new Leu (plural: Lei) is 100 Bani (notes in 500, 100, 50, 10, 5 and 1 Lei, coins in 50, 10, 5 and 1 Bani). The exchange rate is something around 3.4 lei for 1 €. Romanian is the official language, with parts in the border regions where also Hungarian, German, Bulgarian and so on, is widely spoken. Anyway, in good old ‘tradition’ some useful words and phrases:
please, thanks, sorry = te rog, multumesc, imi pare rau
where is… = Unde este….
fuck off = Du-te naibii
come with me = vino cu mine
move on = continua
the cops are coming = vine politia
cops are attacking = politia ataca
to piss off = dispari
to attack = atac
attacking the cops = ataca politia
I need help = ajutor
good, bad = bine, rau
I am not guilty = nusunt vinovat
I want to call my lawyer = vreau sa sun avocatul
BE AWARE….
also the nationalists, nazis and neo-legionaires are for sure mobilizing actions against the NATO summit in Bucharest. The main nationalist actor is ‘Noua Dreapta’ (New Right). You can check them out at http://www.nouadreapta.org/ also easy to identify by their T-Shirts with the face of Corneliu Codreanu.
The ‘usual’ nazis-scum are dressed like neonazi-skinhead, mainly with boots, shaved heads and even using openly signs like swastikas, celtic crosses or hate-bands. Also the football clubs are full with nazis, the most known are Steaua and Dinamo, both from Bucharest. Be aware of that and get informed at the actions in Bucharest, where the nazis might make a march or usually gather.
ACCOMODATION and ACTIVITIES
There will be a range of events in Bucharest and others place. Those coming from the north, can for example stop by at the ANTI-NATO info-point in Iasi (at the Ukrainian nd Moldavian border) before continuing their way to Bucharest. The city also held for a week in July the first squat ‘Rebil’ in Romania (an English report can be found at ttp://de.indymedia.org/2007/07/188166.shtml). If you are coming from the south you might be interested in joining the preparation for the ANTI-NATO bike tour and the critical mass, to be contacted over katarzis@riseup.net.This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it In Bucharest are plenty of opportunities to join into the ANTI-NATO week: a legal march, direct actions, probably the NoBorder from Timisoara seeking exile in Bucharest and many more.
Still you should keep in mind, especially if coming from the west, that the ‘scene’ is not as big and equipped as you might be used to. So try to be as self-organized as possible: bring a sleeping bag, try to organize food (dumpster diving is not so common, but you can still find some stuff) or even join the local FNB group (or bring in your local group for joint actions). Organizing legal sleeping spaces on mass still requires money, so every soli-action is welcome. But also you might want to check out one of the plenty abandoned houses in Bucharest, waiting for a better use.