The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections – Coalition 2009 demands that the Ministry of Justice apologize publicly for damaging its image and rectify the statements according to which Coalition 2009 organized or co-organized the April 7-8 protests in Chisinau, Info-Prim Neo reports. “Coalition 2009 has nothing to do with the so-called “Civic Coalition - Elections 2009” that submitted a preliminary statement informing the Chisinau City Hall about the organization of a meeting on April 7, 2009, while the persons indicated in that statement do not form part and do not represent Coalition 2009. We reiterate once again that during that period, Coalition 2009 intended to hold no public meetings or protests,” the Coalition says in a statement. According to the quoted source, “the Ministry of Justice should have compared the names of the two coalitions first and see that they are two different organizations. The Ministry had all the possibilities and the obligation to examine the facts before making statements that affect the image of Coalition 2009 and the reputation of the nongovernmental organizations that form part of it.” Coalition 2009 is a voluntary union of Moldovan NGOs that aim to contribute to free, fair, transparent and democratic elections for the Parliament. It continues the activities promoting free and fair elections initiated by Coalition 2005 and Coalition 2007 and has over 70 NGO members. In a communiqué issued on April 21, the Ministry says that it demanded that the nongovernmental associations inform, within 10 days, about the steps taken to prevent and stop the violence during the protests. It also says that by addressing such a letter to the NGOs, it aimed only to completely and objectively clarify all the circumstances of the April 7 protests that ended with the devastation of the buildings of the Presidential Office and the Parliament.