From Romania, an encouraging sign for democracy Thousands of people took to the streets in Bucharest, Romania, to protest the lifting of an anti-corruption law. (Daniel Mihailescu/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images) By Editorial Board February 7 AT A time when democracy is eroding in several nations in Central and Eastern Europe, an encouraging countermovement has suddenly erupted in Romania , a formerly Communist nation of 20 million on the Black Sea. For the past week, huge demonstrations by hundreds of thousands of people have rocked the capital, Bucharest, and other major cities in what has been widely described as the largest political mobilization since the collapse of the Communist regime in 1989. The rallying point has been simple, direct and, given the country’s history, inspiring: a demand that the government not relax anti-corruption laws. Romanian governments have been permeated with graft at least since the days of dictator Nicolae Ceaus