Marcel Ciolacu has intervened in the scandal arising from the situation at the Unirii Square between Sector 4 Mayor Daniel Băluță and General Mayor Nicușor Dan, urging both officials to restart dialogue, stating that ‘justice is not served with bulldozers.’.
‘I call upon both the Mayor of the capital, Mr.Nicușor Dan, and the Mayor of Sector 4, Mr.Daniel Băluță, to put an end to this confrontation and return to the negotiation table.The safety of Bucharest’s citizens should not be a reason for political dispute,’ Ciolacu wrote on Facebook.
He invited the protagonists of the conflict to refrain from actions that could escalate tensions, encouraging them to resolve the issue through legal channels.
‘In a consolidated democracy, justice is not served with bulldozers, but through the institutions of the state.If one party is dissatisfied, then we have courts to address these concerns.This is how it should be.Therefore, I believe everyone needs to calm down regarding the issues surrounding Unirii Square.There have already been people injured,’ Marcel Ciolacu claimed.
‘I repeat — I am convinced that, in the end, both mayors want the same thing — the safety of Bucharest’s citizens! This is not about who shouts the loudest.It is about Bucharest — the capital of Romania,’ added the head of the government.
Dispute Between Local Police Under the Mayors
The conflict began after General Mayor Nicușor Dan refused to issue an emergency permit to the Sector 4 Municipality for the reinforcement and rehabilitation of the square, stating that he had no legal basis to issue such a permit as the law allows such permissions only in cases of public danger.
During the previous night, Daniel Băluță opened a construction site based on a permit issued by the Sector 3 Municipality, led by Robert Negoiță.Today, Nicușor Dan visited the site where he called for the demolition of the construction, asserting it was illegal; however, the local police of Sector 4 refused to remove the barriers surrounding the site.
Nicușor Dan returned to the construction site opened by Mayor Daniel Băluță on Monday evening with an order to dismantle the site.
‘I issued an order for the Municipal Local Police to dismantle the illegal constructions on our land.I presented this order to the contractor, who refuses to demolish.If the local police are impeded, I have requested assistance from the national police.This construction will not proceed without a legal permit,’ stated Nicușor Dan, while employees of the Sector 4 Municipality shouted at him, accusing him of abuse.
Dozens of gendarmes and police officers are present on site, attempting to mediate between the local police of the Capital Municipality, who came to demolish the barriers with bulldozers, and the Sector 4 Local Police.
The Capital Police announced that a criminal case has been opened after two individuals were injured.’Given the report concerning the injury of individuals, officers from the Old Center Police Service took the vehicle driver to the station and opened a criminal case regarding the offenses of destruction and assault or other violence, for which investigations will be carried out under the coordination of the prosecutor’s office.Emergency response teams also intervened on site to provide specialized medical care to the two victims.
