Romania protests join Balkans-wide wave

A decision by the centre-left government to clear the way for Europe’s biggest open-cast gold mine in the Carpathian village of Rosia Montana was the trigger in Romania.
Through its 80%-owned subsidiary Rosia Montana Gold Corp, Canadian firm Gabriel Resources plans to extract 300 tonnes of gold using 12,000 tonnes of cyanide a year.
After promising to block the mine during the electoral campaign, prime minister Victor Ponta’s ruling coalition approved a draft law making it easier for the company to expropriate private lands and circumvent existing environmental and urban planning regulations.
“Rosia Montana has touched a sensitive point because it threatens values that young people believe in: ecology, transparency, the right to be consulted,” Codruta Cernea, a visual artist told AFP. Cernea, 34, had never taken part in street protests before.
http://www.gulf-times.com/uk-europe/183/details/365869/-romania-protests-join-balkans-wide-wave