Communist MPs maintain April 7 events constituted an attempted coup

A real coup attempt took place in Moldova on April 7, 2009. The bloodshed and a situation similar to the one in Kyrgyzstan were avoided only due to the clear orders given by the former administration and the appropriate steps taken by the Ministry of the Interior. This conclusion was formulated by the Communist MPs who formed part of the parliamentary commission of inquiry into the April 2009 events. It runs counter to the official report, Info-Prim Neo reports. In a news conference on April 7, lawmaker Vadim Misin said there was considerable disagreement inside the commission as the Communist MPs wanted from the very beginning to find out the truth about those events, while their opponents aimed to justify the violations and illegalities that were committed. The employees of the Ministry of the Interior acted in accordance with the order given by the then President Vladimir Voronin, who instructed not shooting at the protesters, Vadim Misin said. According to him, the former Minister of the Interior Gheorghe Papuc and former police commissioner of Chisinau Vladimir Botnari should not be investigated. On the contrary, Acting President Mihai Ghimpu should award them medals for not admitting bloodshed. Vadim Misin also said the devastation of the state buildings could have been avoided only if the police had used guns as there were many provokers in the square who incited the crowd to violence. Pictures and images were presented at the conference, showing young protesters who, according to MP Grigore Petrenco, are representatives of the National Christian Movement and acted as inciters. Vadim Misin also said that the April events should not be reduced to the night of April 8 as accusations of vote rigging were made on April 6 and 7, when the election outcome wasn't yet known. As to the night of April 8, when the police is thought to have beaten passersby in the Great National Assembly Square, Misin said that those persons could not be there out of sheer curiosity at 02.30. He agrees that some of the police officers broke the law and some of the orders and attacked unarmed persons, but every case must be examined separately and those to blame must be held accountable. The lawmaker said the present administration's position on the April events and the way in which the investigation was conducted disappointed many of the voters and if early elections take place the Communists will again come to power as in 2001. Vadim Misin said the PCRM's position with the signatures of the four MPs who formed part of the commission of inquiry into the April 2009 events will be available in printed form on May 8.