Deputy Prime Minister Nicu Popescu, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, said that April 7 is a sad day for the Moldovan citizens. The events that happened in Chisinau 14 years ago represented a real tragedy for all the Moldovans. “The abuses and deaths witnessed then taught us how important freedom is and how we should cherish it,” the official noted in a message transmitted in connection with the April 7, 2009 events, IPN reports.

According to Nicu Popescu, the day of April 7, 2009 had a profound impact on society and showed the Moldovan people’s determination to struggle for justice. “Today we can be proud of the fact that we managed to keep our determination and to continue struggling for a better future,” said the Deputy Premier.

“We should never forget that freedom and democracy are the most important values we have. In this regard, the accession to the European Union is the only way for keeping and developing these values.”

On April 7, 2009, a large-scale protest was staged in central Chisinau. The protest involved mainly young people who took to the streets to express their dissatisfaction with the results of the April 5 parliamentary elections in which a majority of votes was won again by the Party of Communists. The protest resulted in a number of victims among civilians and police officers. Only one death was officially confirmed, of Valeriu Boboc. Later, representatives of civil society organizations issued a note, saying that the April 7, 2009 case failed. All the persons holding responsible posts were acquitted or the charges against them were dropped. Over 600 persons were ill-treated, arrested and beaten cruelly in April 2009. These didn’t benefit from fair trials. They were held in inhuman conditions, without water and food. At least five persons died in suspicious conditions, but the authorities assumed only one death.