A group of activists who protested near the Great National Assembly Square on the Independence Day demand that the policemen who used teargas against the crowd should be held accountable. In a news conference staged in front of the Ministry of the Interior, the activists sought the resignation of Minister Alexandru Jizdan. For his part, the minister said the police took those actions on August 27 following reports about possible use of violence during the events held to celebrate the Independence, IPN reports.

According to the activists, police officers used physical force and special means against the protesters even if the latter included elderly people and children. “What the authorities did in the Great National Assembly Square and near the monument to Stephan the Great and Holy on August 27 is at the top of wrongdoings,” stated ex-MP Alexandr Petcov. According to him, the resignation of Alexandru Jizdan and the head of the General Police Inspectorate Alexandru Panzari over the acts of violence committed on the Independence Day is imminent.

The protesters said the policemen could have avoided the use of teargas against the crowd and could have used other methods to disperse the people as they were larger in number than the demonstrators.

Commenting on activists’ accusations, Alexandru Jizdan in a news conference said that the protesters tried to break the police cordon that maintained public order and to interrupt children’s artistic activities in the central square of Chisinau.

According to the minister, some of the people could not watch the parade close owing to those who caused tensions in the center of the capital city. “We had to take increased security measures so as to also protect the thousands of people who performed before the diplomatic community,” he stated.

On the Independence Day, a group of people protested in the center of Chisinau, expressing their dissatisfaction with the scale of the festive events staged to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the declaration of Independence and with the current administration of the country. These unsuccessfully tried to break the police cordons in parts so as to come closer to the state officials who watched the holiday inauguration ceremony and the military parade.