An antigovernment protest organized by the Civic Platform “Dignity and Truth” took place in Chisinau on April 24. Thousands of people from different regions of Moldova demanded that the current government should resign and early parliamentary elections should be held simultaneously with the presidential elections. During the protest, the demonstrators surrounded the Government Building and then walked to Bulgara St, where there is allegedly the house of the first deputy chairman of the Democratic Party Vlad Plahotniuc, who, according to them, captured the whole country. Altercations between demonstrators and the police started there. The first threw eggs and stones, while the latter used teargas. A criminal case was started over public disorder, IPN reports.
The protest began in the Great National Assembly Square of Chisinau. Carrying the national flag, the people came to seek the government’s dismissal, recovery of the money stolen from the financial-banking system and punishment of those who are to blame for this theft. The protesters also demanded that Vlad Plahotniuc should come out to talk to them as he, according to them, captured the country and controls the current government.
The organizers said the people were hindered from reaching Chisinau to express their dissatisfaction with the government as a number of interurban routes were suspended on the day of the protest.
One of the leaders of the Platform “Dignity and Truth” Vasile Nastase said before the protesters that the current government daily commits crimes against the people of the Republic of Moldova. The administration blackmailed protesters and robbed the people, making them repay the money stolen from banks.
The protesters were joined by members of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Liberal Reformist Party. On a social networking site earlier, the leader of the political project “Action and Solidarity” Maia Sandu also announced that they would take part in the demonstration.
Liberal-Democratic MP Maria Ciobanu said before the crowd that Moldova should unite and should take concrete actions. “It has been 100 days since this criminal government was voted in and only strange things happened since then. The reforms are torpedoed. The ruling gang aims to steal whatever can be stolen,” she stated, proposing that the parties of the right should identify a common candidate for the presidential elections.
The chairman of the Political Party “Platform Dignity and Truth” Andrei Nastase read a resolution that was unanimously accepted by the protesters. This says that the only solution to free the country from captivity is to hold early parliamentary elections simultaneously with the presidential ones and the referendum, in July at the latest. The current government cannot ensure a future for its people, while the state institutions became even more dependent.
After speeches were given, the protesters surrounded the Government Building where police officers formed cordons between the demonstrators and the Building. The protesters threw eggs at the police. After a discussion between the protest organizers and the head of the General Police Inspectorate Alexandru Panzari, the police withdrew five meters away so as to allow the protesters to sit down on the lawn.
The protest continued on Bulgara St, at the intersection with Stefan cel Mare si Sfant, where Vlad Plahotniuc is said to be living. The protesters demanded that this should be arrested. Altercations occurred between the protesters and the police after a protester tried to pull away the shield of a police officer. Afterward, the protesters threw eggs and stones at the police, while these used teargas. The protesters didn’t manage to break the police cordons.
The crowed then walked to the Global Business Center, where Vlad Plahotniuc allegedly has his head office. While in front of the building, the protesters during several hours blocked traffic on Dimitrie Cantemir Blvd. The building was sounded by police officers and the protesters threw again eggs at them. The organizers managed to convince the crowed to return to the central square of Chisinau so as to decide how to act subsequently. On the way to the square, the column of protesters blocked traffic on Ismail St. Later these protested in front of the Ministry of the Interior.
In a press briefing after the protest, Alexandru Panzari said that a criminal case was started over public disorder on Bulgara St. A 26-year-old man was arrested for 72 hours. This was earlier tried. As a result of the altercations, four police officers and two civilians were taken to the hospital. Panzari urged the journalists not to use the formula “the police used teargas” so as not to violate the presumption of innocence.
Under the legislation, the actions to organize and manage public disorder accompanied by the use of violence against persons, destruction of property and use of objects as weapons and the putting up of violent or armed resistance to representatives of the authorities are punished with 4 to 8 years in jail.
