Moldovans can assemble freer

The freedom of assembly in Moldova sees upward trends. According to the executive director of the Resource Center for Human Rights (CReDO) Sergiu Ostaf, the phenomenon is due to the changes to the legal framework on the freedom of assembly made in 2008, which offer more opportunities in the process of organizing and peacefully holding meetings, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting a monitoring report on the freedom of assembly in Moldova, which was presented in a news conference. “The CreDO considers that there was a positive dynamic in 2011 as regards the observance of the right to public meetings. This dynamic started to develop in 2009. The permissive and liberal legislation adopted in 2008 is obeyed by 99% of the population and this contributed to destroying the myth that the related laws are applied only in the European countries. As a result, the number of meetings increased in a controllable way. We thus can say that the freedom of assembly is nothing else but the freedom of expression,” Sergiu Ostaf said in the conference. Florin Gasca, consultant and coordinator of the project, said the increase in the number of authorized meetings is due to the amendment of the law on the freedom of assembly. According to statistics, in the monitored period (2007-2011), the monthly number of meetings rose from 30 to 60. Most of the meetings are held in Chisinau, Soroca and Balti. The number of unplanned meetings decreased in the period. A positive thing is the reduction in the number of violent elements witnessed in meetings. The authorized events included mainly commercial demonstrations, meetings, and cultural, social and religious events. Florin Gasca also said that the number of meetings held in the Transnistrian region was much lower than on the right side of the Nistru. This is principally because of the difficulties and more complicated process of organizing meetings in Transnistria. According to the head of the Ministry of the Interior’s General Police and Public Order Division Marian Maxian, more representatives of the police were involved in maintaining public order during meetings. “The 14 275 meetings involving about 6 million people, which were held in Moldova in 2011, were supervised by 47,000 police officers,” said Marian Maxian. The representatives of the CReDO and the Ministry of the Interior consider that the rise in the number of meetings is a positive phenomenon that helps mobilize society and create relations between the people. Under the legislation, a meeting must be announced if it will involve more than 50 participants, except for the unplanned meetings.