Opposition files request to convene Chamber in extraordinary session

Bucharest, Aug 14 /Agerpres / - A request for the Chamber of Deputies to convene for an extraordinary session August 20-24 was submitted Tuesday to Parliament, floor leader of the opposition National Liberal Party (PNL) Raluca Turcan said Tuesday.

"We filed the request of 112 lawmakers for the Chamber of Deputies to convene for an extraordinary August 20-24 to consider three items on the agenda: setting up a parliamentary inquiry committee to look into the suppression of the peaceful anti-government protest held in Bucharest on August 10; the establishment of a parliamentary committee to inquire into how the Romanian authorities got involved and acted to prevent and combat African swine fever in Romania, and also to submit a simple motion on the work of the minister of internal affairs in the context of the August 10 protest in Bucharest," Turcan said at Parliament Palace.

She added that the request for the extraordinary session was signed by lawmakers of PNL, Save Romania Union (USR) and the People's Movement Party (PMP), and also by the non-attached MPs Daniel Constantin, Sorin Cimpeanu, Victor Ponta and Oana Bizgan.

"We are asking Mr Dragnea to convene this session, and so we can see if Mr Dragnea is eager to find out who the culprits are and how a peaceful anti-governmental protest could be suppressed by an institution of the Romanian state. We believe that what happened on August 10 was a diversion meant to justify a crackdown on a peaceful protest, and we can no longer tolerate Romania being the country where an institution of the Romanian state, at the behest of criminals, arrests people in the streets, abuses women, children, the elderly, peaceful and innocent people ... All political responsibility lies with Mrs Carmen Dan [the interior minister], and also with the Speakerof the Chamber of Deputies, Mr Liviu Dragnea," Turcan said.

According to her, the request for the Chamber of Deputies to convene in an extraordinary session is "the best proof that at times, the Opposition understands to be united and to act in a common position in favour of people and those who were simply maligned this time by those who govern Romania."

"I am fully convinced that the parliamentary opposition will be increasingly stronger. I strongly believe that at some point we will find a parliamentary majority to oppose this toxic majority of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE)," added Turcan.

PNL national leader Ludovic Orban said on Monday that the party will take steps for the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate to convene in extraordinary session. AGERPRES (RO - author: Florentina Peia, editor: Claudia Stanescu; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Razvan Pandea)