Concrete blocks removed from checkpoint, protesters still discontented

The concrete enforcement installations at the peacekeeping checkpoint near Vadul lui Voda have been removed on Monday after several days of protests staged by locals and war veterans, Info-Prim Neo reports. However the protesters are not entirely satisfied. “This is not enough. It wasn't the concrete blocks that killed Vadim Pisari”, said Iurie Inihteev, a protester and a Nistru war veteran. The man claimed that Dubasari police officers blocked their passage preventing the protesters from reaching the checkpoint. Dubasari Police chief Vitalie Grabovschi, however, stated that no one's movement was obstructed and everyone had access to the checkpoint. He also reported that there were no provocations or altercations and a sufficient number of police officers were deployed to prevent incidents. Whereas the police estimated the number of protesters at 60 to 100 people, the protesters themselves said they were over 300 in number, Nistru war veterans and inhabitants of the nearby villages Pirita, Cosnita, Dorotcaia and Cocieri. Protests began last week after on January 1 a young man from Pirita was shot dead by a peacekeeping officer. The protesters demand the removal of the peacekeeping checkpoints, the prosecution of the responsible officer, and the replacement of the current trilateral peacekeeping operation with a civil mission under an international mandate.