Bucharest Nightclub Blaze: Romanian government resign following protests

In aftermath of the huge protests in Romania following the fire in a Bucharest club which killed 32 people and seriously injured thousands, Prime Minister Victor Ponta and his entire government will resign later today.

Shouting “Assassins!” and “Shame on you!” on Tuesday evening, 20,000 people took up the streets of the capital demanding resignations of government and of the district mayor where the nightclub was.

“I am obliged to take note of the legitimate grievances which exist in society. I hope handing in my and my government’s mandate will satisfy the demands of protesters“ said the PM, already under the pressure due to charges of tax evasion, fraud and money laundering, also added he would stay on until a new government will be elected.

Always accused of being corrupted, the Romanian government was eventually forced to dismiss after the wide discontent expressed in the past days.

“I understand what is being asked and what is expected, and they are right, someone has to take political responsibility. The next step is for politicians, who cannot ignore this sentiment of revolt“, said President Klaus Iohannis on Facebook few hours ago, also adding: “We should no longer tolerate government incompetence, institutional inefficiency, and we cannot let corruption spread to the point that it kills people.”

The nightclub, named Colectiv, where the concert of the heavy-metal band Goodbye to Graviti was taking place when a pyrotechnical show brought out the fire, had been already reported for not being compliant with legal standards. It had only a single-door exit when it was required to have six.

According to witnesses, before the blaze broke out the group had performed a song called This Is The Day We Die.