Protesters seeking the ouster of Romanian President Traian Basescu and early elections gathered for a fourth straight day Sunday in a main square of Bucharest , the capital , and 18 other cities in the Eastern European nation . The demonstrations , which included clashes between police and protesters Saturday in University Square that injured 17 people , are the most serious since Basescu 's election in 2004 . See images from the protests . Some of the hundreds who showed up at the square on Sunday demanded justice and blamed the government and austerity measures for their poor living standards . `` We have no financial security . My husband and I are retired but we are sharing our modest income with our children because they are jobless , '' said Rodica Ganea , who described being asked during hospital visits to pay for `` medicines , syringes , bandages , everything . '' `` I ca n't afford it , '' Ganea said . Another woman , 64-year-old Marilena Salan , described similar circumstances . `` My kids are university graduates but they are jobless , '' Salan said . `` They are forced to break up their families , leave their kids home and go abroad to work . My nephews are growing up without their parents . This is unacceptable . '' On Saturday , police fired tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters gathered in University Square to demonstrate against government austerity cuts . The protesters blocked traffic , waving flags with the centers ripped out to symbolize the 1989 communist revolution . Others carried signs reading `` Liberty '' and `` Down with President Basescu . '' Police fired tear gas in an attempt to calm the crowd , and 17 people were hospitalized in the ensuing chaos with 50 fined for disturbing public peace . The injured included a local journalist and five police officers , one severely injured when demonstrators stoned him . The protests broke out Thursday after the resignation of Deputy Health Minister Raed Arafat , an opponent of health care reforms proposed by the government . Facing public pressure , Basescu decided to scrap the reforms Friday , saying he made the decision after realizing that a majority of those in the medical system opposed the change . `` The hospitals do n't want the change , the ( doctors ) do n't want the change and neither does the emergency health care system , '' Basescu said . Critics had argued that the proposal favored the private health care system by allowing access to government funds while the state-funded system lacks financial aid . The protests follow several unpopular measures taken by the government over the past two years . After receiving a loan of 20 billion euros from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union in 2009 , the government cut salaries in the public sector by 25 % a year later to enforce austerity measures recommended by the IMF . Prime Minister Emil Boc said on Sunday that a new series of debates on the health care issue will start Monday , with the intention of creating a new health care law . Over the past three days , protesters also held demonstrations in other cities including Cluj , Timisoara , Iasi and Targu Mures .
Protesters gather in Bucharest and 18 other Romanian cities . It was the fourth day of protests against government austerity measures . Clashes between police and protesters left 17 injured Saturday in Bucharest . The demonstrations were sparked by a decision to raise taxes on fuel, electricity and water bills for some 300,000 people who receive social welfare payments from the state.