A large-scale antigovernment protest was mounted in Chisinau on November 29. According to the organizers, tens of thousands of people gathered together in the Great National Assembly Square of Chisinau to demand that the current government should resign. Similar protests were staged the same day in the towns of Ungheni, Causeni, Soroca, Balti, Cahul, Orhei and Hancesti, organized by the Civic Platform “Dignity and Truth”, IPN reports.
The protesters sought the de-politicization of the presidential office and rule of law institutions, early legislative elections, punishment of those to blame for the bank frauds, limitation of the parliamentary immunity and reduction of the number of MPs from 101 to 71.
One of the Platform’s leaders Vasile Nastase said the Platform found the instruments needed to remove the current administration. Amending the Constitution is the first step. Afterward they will provide a ‘clean’ alternative to the current administration by founding a new party and will free the captive state institutions.
According to economic expert Sergiu Tofilat, the protests mounted by the Platform “Dignity and Truth” contributed to annulling the Furdui amendment, which is a small victory of those who struggled and protested, of the experts who explained in public the consequences of this amendment.
Tofilat said the authorities have known about the frauds committed at “Moldovagaz” for three years. “In 2012, the National Agency for Energy Regulation carried out inspections at “Moldovagas” and there are five decisions on all the identified frauds published on the Agency’s website. The materials were sent to the Prosecutor’s Office, Parliament, Government and the National Anticorruption Center in 2012. The Agency established that over 200 million lei was stolen from the money we pay,” he stated.
In the November 29 event, the protesters adopted a new Resolution, which says: “We, the participants in the protest, support the initiative group registered at the Central Election Commission for collecting signatures with a view to holding a referendum on the election and dismissal of the head of state by the people, reduction of the number of MPs and limitation of the parliamentary immunity.”
The document says that Moldova became a subject for discussion at foreign media outlets and international organizations, while the foreign partners have to ascertain that the Moldovan politicians during six years used the European flag to commit abuses and enrich themselves.
“We consider it is unacceptable to transform the billions of lei stolen from the banking system into state debt so that it is settled by the already impoverished population. We demand that the given money should be returned as a result of a rapid and competent investigation that will involve international rule of law institutions,” it is said in the Resolution.
Other provisions of the Resolution say an alternative people’s political force should be built to strictly implement the Association Agreement and reestablish the relations with Russia, including the economic ones, the intermediary firms of Plahotniuc and Shevchuk operating in the energy sector should be immediately and unconditionally withdrawn, a framework law on the principles and methods of naming the administration of the rule of law and regulatory institutions should drafted, the media outlets should be de-monopolized and de-concentrated, all the proposals put forward by the farmers should be immediately fulfilled so that these could prepare for the new agricultural season.
Another provision calls on the international institutions to open an investigation into the raider attacks, laundering of US$18 billion from Russia through corrupt judges, stealing of billions of lei from thnational banking system and other crimes committed by the oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc-Ulinici, who is monitored by Interpol, so that this could be held accountable and the money could be restored to the state.
Earlier, the Civic Platform “Dignity and Truth” announced that it will found a political party and one of the points of the Resolution invites the upright persons with professional capacities to govern and develop the country socially-economically to join the political alternative proposed by the Platform by leaving CVs on the website implicare.md.
The Civic Platform “Dignity and Truth” has staged six large-scale protests so far – on April 5, May 3, June 7, September 6, October 4 and this last one, on November 29.
