A group of people gathered together in the Great National Assembly Square to commemorate the April 7, 2009 protests within an event staged by the Civic Platform “Dignity and Truth” and civic activists. The participants brought flowers and candles and observed a moment’s silence in memory of Valeriu Boboc, who died seven years ago. The crowd went on a ‘silence and sorrow march’ to the Ministry of the Interior and the Parliament Building and then returned to the central square of Chisinau, IPN reports.
Platform member Inga Grigoriu said the commemoration event was staged at the scene of the crime, where Valeriu Boboc died. “We will put the first questions to the Ministry of the Interior, which caused the wrongdoings that night, which created ’death corridors’ and allowed ill-treating and torturing young people. The number of victims is much higher. It is not known exactly. More than 700 young people were tortured and these continue to recover,” she stated.
“We came here with black ribbons in sign of mourning for those who sacrificed their lives and health for us all. We came here to tell the whole world that the struggle initiated in 2009 continues and we will bring it to an end, until we free this state,” said Platform member Dinu Plangau.
The marchers were met by a police cordon near the Ministry of the Interior. Platform member Liviu Vovc expressed his indignation at the fact that these are armed and urged them to leave their firearms and teargas away. “Seven years passed and the police didn’t learn the lesson. The Ministry of the Interior commits the same mistakes. In other states where corruption is flourishing and the state is captured, the police took the side of the population. How long will our police still wait?” he asked.
Deputy head of the Council of Student Organizations of Moldova Mihaela Popescu said that the young people took to the streets on April 7, 2009 to take their future back. “We cannot forget about the ‘hell judges’ who tried young people in police commiserates. We cannot forget about the ‘death corridor’ and the torture to which young people were subject. We, the young people, want our future back, while all those to blame for the April 7, 2009 events should be held accountable,” she stated.
On April 7, 2009, the people took to the streets to protest against the results of the April 5 parliamentary elections that were won again by the Communists. The protests, which involved mainly young people, degenerated into violence and both civilians and police officers suffered injuries. Only the death of Valeriu Boboc is officially recognized as having occurred during those events.
