The Great National Assembly Square of Chisinau was reserved for the days of Friday, Saturday and Sunday for organizing public events until 2025. The relevant preliminary statements were submitted by the Party of Socialists (PSRM) to the Chisinau City Hall. The Liberal Party (PL) reserved the Great National Assembly Square, the Square of the National Opera House “Maria Bieșu” and Europe Square for the days of May 8, 9 and 10 for 100 years. The public authorities said the legislation does not stipulate restrictions as to the period during which a public space can be reserved for rallies. Experts consider such reservations are often made out of bad intention, but this fact should not limit the people’s right to assembly.
The PSRM reserved the central square of Chisinau for the days of Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the period between 2020 and 2025. Contacted by IPN for a comment, Socialist MP Vasile Bolea said that similar preliminary statements were submitted for 2014-2019. These are filed in accordance with the legislation, which provides that such statements should be submitted at least five days before the planned event.
In a response to IPN, the PL said the party reserved for 100 days the place in front of the bust to Ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza for February 24, for celebrating by tradition the Union of the Romanian Principalities (January 24, 1859). Also, the Great National Assembly Square, the Square of the National Opera House “Maria Bieșu” and Europe Square were reserved for May 8, 9 and 10 for holding events dedicated to Europe Day that is observed on May 9. “Given that the law does not stipulate a determined period of time for which a particular area can be reserved for meetings, priority in holding rallies is given to the one that submitted the preliminary statement the first,” runs the response.
Vasile Pascari, senior specialist at the Municipal Social Humanitarian and Interethnic Relations Division, has told IPN that the local authorities are preparing draft decisions to limit the period of time for which a place can be reserved for meetings. These are to be adopted by Parliament. The organizers are currently obliged to inform the City Hall about an event at least five days before this. If there are more applicants, the authorities stage a working meeting with these.
Contacted by IPN, Florin Gîscă, expert of Promo-LEX Association, said the mechanism for submitting preliminary statements was introduced in a move to ensure communication between the organizer and the public authorities so that the organizers benefit from the services required in case of public events. When the statements are filed two, five or ten years beforehand, the good faith of the organizer is doubted. The good faith element in the case of the two parties disappears as the probability that a person or a party will continue to live or exist in 100 years is very low. This way, it is a case of abusive use of the provisions of the Law on Assembly.
The expert noted that the given mechanism is good when the organizers are of good faith. The law says priority for a place is given to the one that submitted the statement the first. If the area is large enough, two events can be held concomitantly without affecting each other. “In practice, this does not happen as there is probably no culture concerning the sharing and common use of public places among event organizers in our country,” stated Florin Gîscă.
He also said that the problem resides not in the legislation, but rather in the attitude and bad intention of some of the organizers of public events. The people’s right to meet to deal with the abusive attitude of some of the organizers cannot be limited by law.
