Protesters demand expelling Russian ambassador

About a hundred people protested on Saturday outside the Russian Embassy in Chisinau and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to demand the expulsion of Russia's Ambassador Valeri Kuzmin and the unconditional withdrawal of the Russian troops from Moldova, Info-Prim Neo reports. The protest was organized by a coalition of 30 nongovernmental organizations and initiative groups called the 2012 Action Civic Platform. George Simion, a member of the Platform, said that today's rally and the ones to follow aim to convey a message to the Moldovan authorities that they need to take a stand and undertake concrete actions to remove Russian troops from the country. “In two weeks no one took a stand against the crime at the peacekeeping post near Vadul lui Voda. We demand that the murderer of Vadim Pisari be punished”, declared George Simion. The protesters chanted outside the Russian Embassy “Kuzmin is a liar!”, “Russia go home!” and “Russia, Moldova isn't yours!”. No one from the Embassy came out to talk to the protesters. Twenty minutes later, the group marched to the MFA building, where the protesters chanted “Moldova doesn't need peacekeepers!” and “Vadim Pisari could have been everyone of us!” Today's protest is one of the many manifestations in reaction to an incident on January 1 when a 18-year-old local named Vadim Pisari was shot dead at the peacekeeping post near Chisinau's suburban town of Vadul lui Voda. Commenting on the incident, Russian Ambassador Valeri Kuzmin excused the peacekeeper who shot at Vadim Pisari by saying that the car Pisari was driving had been stolen and the driver himself was drunk, in addition to not responding to the peacekeepers' summons to stop. The Moldovan police later dismissed the allegation that the car had been stolen.