The head of the General Police Inspectorate Viorel Cernăuțeanu said that as long as there is no clear responsibility on the part of the Chisinau City Hall, the police will take all the legal measures to unblock the streets in Chisinau. But he cannot say if the tents from Ștefan cel Mare Blvd, which was blocked by protesters, will be taken away or not. He said the protest organizers and the local public administration should obey the law, IPN reports.

“Either these adopt a correct civic approach towards the citizens of Chisinau or not, the police will document the actions in accordance with the law and will take steps to ease traffic and not only,” Viorel Cernăuțeanu stated in a news conference on Monday morning.

According to him, a series of violations were identified in the period between September 18, when the protests started near the City Hall, and October 9. Over 45 violations committed by protesters were recorded on Sunday alone.

In the period, the Chisinau City Hall and the Chisinau Prosecutor’s Office were notified of the actions or inaction of the local public administration and protest organizers. A lawsuit was filed after the City Hall was requested to change the format of the protest last Friday but the local administration ignored the request.

Also, representatives of the Police wanted to talk to the protest organizers so as to clarify particular rules but it turned out that there was no responsible person empowered by the protest organizers. Viorel Cernăuțeanu insisted that the mayor of Chisinau should intervene as the local public administration is the one that demands a demonstration to be halted. He said the Police were informed about violations committed by protesters and about the blocking actions that cause inconveniences and discomfort and these will be examined.

As to the intentional blocking of Ștefan cel Mare Blvd by the mayor, the chief of the General Police Inspectorate said this is a flagrant violation of the Contravention Code and the mayor faces a fine of at most 4,500 lei or a ban on holding a post for a period of three months to a year. A decision will be taken by court.

“The mayor didn’t hold a meeting but abusively organized the blocking of the artery in the municipality of Chisinau. In the case of the mayor general, this is a gross violation that will be punished in accordance with the Contravention Code,” stated Viorel Cernăuțeanu.