Christmas tree to stand in front of Chisinau City Hall, if police allow

For more than two hours the employees of the Chisinau Greenspace Agency tried to move the Christmas tree from the back of the Triumphal Arch to a site near the City Hall building, as Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca instructed. After the tree was taken down from its concrete support, the work was stopped by the police, the municipal employees told reporters. Eliferie Haruta, the director of the Greenspace Agency, said a City Hall representative was sent to the Police Commissariat to hand the Commissar Chirtoaca’s ordinance. The Commissar wasn’t there, but called to say he was on his way, Haruta said. Even without an authorisation from the police, the workers carried on their efforts in the meantime, loading the fir tree and the concrete base onto trucks. “We’ll load them and proceed to the City Hall. If they forbid us to pass, we’ll figure something out”, Haruta told reporters. At 5:00 PM on Tuesday, the loaded Christmas tree was still standing behind the Triumphal Arch. Under the same mayoral ordinance, the place where the Christmas tree will stand – the segment of Vlaicu Parcalab Street enclosed between Stefan cel Mare Blvd and Veronica Micle Street – will be closed for vehicle traffic during the winter holidays. The buildings on that segment will be accessible via Veronica Micle Street. The Christmas tree was installed by the municipality in Chisinau’s central square on Sunday, December 9. However, later that night, it was moved to the back of the Triumphal Arch by the police, city officials said. The chief of the municipal police, Iacob Gumenita, denied any involvement. Earlier, the municipality expressed concern about the central authorities’ unwillingness to celebrate Christmas as per the standard calendar, like in most places around the world.