Representatives of the government said the citizens from districts are dissatisfied with the protests staged in central Chisinau and such paid events do not encourage the employment of people. MP of the Party of Action and Soldiery (PAS) Vitali Gavrouc noted the police acted in accordance with the law when they took away the tents pitched in front of the Parliament Building and the Presidential Palace and dispersed the protesting crowd. It happened when the protesters started to flagrantly violate public order, IPN reports.
PAS MP Vitali Gavrouc said the protests mounted in central Chisinau by the Shor Party only discredit the notion of protest. Most of the citizens are dissatisfied with the fact that the government does not ban these protests.
“If they have clear demands, we are ready to discuss them but the protests are actually mimicked. The people protest when they are dissatisfied and they protest without being paid to do this. I took part in many protests. Once I came from New Zealand to take part in a protest and no one paid my tickets or accommodation or something else. And the whole country did so. We have MPs who are responsible for districts. We travel to districts and see that the people there are frustrated because of these protests. They are encouraged to stay in the central square and to receive money and these persons who do not work will yet get benefit. We need to value more the working people,” Vitali Gavrouc stated in the program “Reflection Points” on Vocea Basarabiei channel.
The PAS MP noted that the police obeyed the Commission for Exceptional Situations’ decision when they scattered the protesters downtown. Earlier, the Ombudsman and a number of human rights NGOs said the police actions were abusive, while the decision to take the tents away was disproportionate.
“Observing public order, at least hygiene and sanitary norms, was the only condition that was to be fulfilled by the protesters. They were allowed to stay there for a long period of time but when these norms started to be violated, they were dispersed. I do not see any destabilization risk. We communicate with the people and see that they are angry with these protests and with the fact that they are not stopped. We, on the contrary, should explain to the people that the right to protest is respected. As long as there is no relevant court decision, the police can intervene only when public order is disrupted,” stated the PAS representative.
The General Police Inspectorate said that 37 contravention cases were started after the October 23 protests staged by the Shor Party. There were identified four cases when protesting persons possessed banned objects and pyrotechnic products were intentionally thrown under police cars.
