Nicolae Robu, the head of Straseni district, said attempts were made on April 7, 2009 to blackmail the then Opposition parties, including into making them give the only vote that the Communists Party needed to elect the head of state. Nicolae Robu made related statements after he gave testimony as a witness to the April 2009 events at the Prosecutor General's Office, Info-Prim Neo reports. Robu said the protests were spontaneous and derived from the young peoples' unwillingness to live in a country with a non-European future. He also said that those events were favorable to certain forces that wanted to blackmail the Opposition. “The Opposition parties were united and not afraid as they were not involved. I was a witness to the discussion about those events between Serafim Urecheanu (the leader of the Moldova Noastra Alliance – e.n.) and the other leaders of the Opposition. It was stressed that the Opposition was not involved and did not bear responsibility for them. The statements were made by Vlad Filat and I remained convinced of what he said,” Robu stated. According to Nicolae Robu, Vlad Filat said it was the Opposition's duty to maintain public order and not allow the protests to degenerate into violence. The head of Straseni district also said that he saw a group of about 10 police officers with shields and a civilian near them behind the Presidential Office. That person told him to move away from several protesters whom he tried to convince not to throw stones at the police. “I got the impression that they prepared a provocation. I convinced myself that there were many suspect persons in the crowds - well-built, masked men who attacked and were violent,” Robu said.