Gov't minister fired for insulting remarks

BUCHAREST (AP):

Romania's prime minister fired his foreign minister yesterday over insulting remarks he made about anti-government protesters, but the opposition said the move would not appease widespread public anger.

Last week, as anti-government protests raged, Teodor Baconschi wrote on his blog that Romanians who work for a living will decide the country's future, not those from "violent and clueless slums".

Prime Minister Emil Boc said in a speech to Parliament that Baconschi had been sacked after the comments caused outrage. Boc also apologised during an extraordinary two-day session called by opposition parties.

The Mediafax news agency reported Baconschi, in Brussels for a European Union meeting of foreign ministers, as saying he was fired by text message.

Protesters took to the streets for an 11th day yesterday, briefly scuffling with police in the capital Bucharest as tempers flared. Authorities said 3,000 people protested in several Romanian cities.

In the capital, hundreds, demonstrating against austerity measures and calling for the resignation of President Traian Basescu and the government, waved banners showing their deep dissatisfaction with the government and politicians. In University Square, a symbol of Romanian democracy, where protesters first gathered in the 1989 uprising that toppled communism, they urged others to join them to force the government to resign.