Protest mounted in front of Russian Embassy

About 20 persons, mainly activists of the NGO Hyde Park, protested in front of the Russian Embassy in Chisinau, demanding pulling out the Russian army from Moldova’s territory. The protest was staged following the incident that happened at the trilateral peacekeeping post No. 9, where a Russian officer shot fatally a young man, Info-Prim Neo reports. Ghenadie Brega, a member of Hyde Park, said those who pretend to be peacekeepers should be sent home. “Why didn’t they fire warning shots? Why did they fire at the car with civilians who posed no threat to those working at the post? We thus consider that they acted unjustifiably and without legal reason,” he stated. According to the protester, the central authorities must take measures to obtain the withdrawal of the Russian army from the Republic of Moldova, no matter how the Russian military men call themselves, peacekeepers or some other way. “All the foreign citizens who hold guns in Moldova should be dealt with. They must not be allowed to use them as the situation will get out of control. We do not want this as Moldova chose the path to European integration,” said Ghenadie Brega. Moldovan of African origin John Onoje said a foreign army shouldn’t be present in Moldova. “We should bring here the body of the person who was killed,” he stressed. Protester Vasile Sinigur said the Russian authorities and the authorities of the Transnistrian region are to blame for all the crimes and incidents that happen in Moldova. “Tomorrow they will come to mistreat our children. Should we wait to see the day when they will enter our homes? We demand pulling out the Russian army and holding accountable terrorist Igor Smirnov and terrorist Vladimir Putin for all the crimes that they committed the last few years. Kuzmin (the Russian Ambassador) should go out now and provide explanations why that young man was shot,” he said. Mircea Sula said the Moldovan authorities do nothing to protect the rights of the people. “Our authorities do not have willpower to demand the withdrawal of the Russian army. They do only what the Russian authorities tell them to do,” said the protester. None of the representatives of the Russian Embassy went out to make statements. The institution’s telephonic robot said the employees were on leave. On January 1, a Russian peacekeeper shot mortally an 18-year-old man driving a car, who did not stop at the peacekeeping post. He died in the hospital several hours later.