Romanians protest for 2nd day

Romanians have taken to the streets in a second day of protests against the governmentâ„¢s support of a controversial Canadian gold mine project.

Around 1,000 people staged a sit-in protest surrounded by riot police, blocking the Regina Maria Boulevard in the capital Bucharest for about six hours on Monday evening.

The crowd rallied against the government’s support for a plan by Canadian company Gabriel Resources to mine in the village of Rosia Montana in the region of Transylvania.

The protesters chanted slogans against the gold mine project and its aim to use cyanide as well as against President Traian Basescu and his government, saying a definitive no to the highly poisonous chemical.

The anti-mining demonstrations began on September 2 when thousands staged protests across the country against the mining plans and against the governmentâ„¢s approval of the Canadian project.

Protesters say the project, which would become Europeâ„¢s largest open-cast gold mine, would damage the environment, as the Canadian company plans to destroy four mountain tops and wipe out three outlying villages in the area.

The project would also involve using an average of 12,000 tons of cyanide a year to mine the estimated 314 tons of gold and 1,500 tons of silver.

The protests came as the Romanian government approved on August 27 a draft law granting national interest status to the Canadian project. The draft must however receive approval from the parliament before becoming a valid law.

The government gave the approval after it received a bigger stake in the project by the Canadian company, which has been waiting 14 years to receive permit for the mine.

Prime Minister Victor Ponta voted for the draft law even though he was a strong opponent to the project before taking office in May last year. Ponta told media that after the approval he would vote against the project in parliament.

CAH/HN