Republican Party asks to dismiss General Prosecutor

The People's Republican Party (PPR) requires the dismissal of General Prosecutor Valeriu Gurbulea. The party alleges the General Prosecutor's Office tries to liquidate it, using as a pretext an article in Moldavskie Vedomosti newspaper, Info-Prim Neo reports. PPR leader Nicolae Andronic told a news conference on Tuesday the party asks for the dismissal of the general prosecutor because “he involves himself into politics and serves as an oppressing tool against parties.” Andronic has said “the law-enforcement bodies have started the hunt for opposition parties” and added “other parties are going to pass through this sieve, aiming at reducing the number of electoral competitors.” Through a notification signed by Valeriu Gurbulea, the General Prosecutor's Office informed the Justice Ministry that the article “propagates a message which could possibly instigate to radical actions to change the power in the state,” and the author of the article is the PPR deputy president, Victor Josu. The Prosecutor's Office asks the Justice Ministry to ask the party to undertake measures, within a month, to stop this kind of actions. Otherwise, the activity of the party is to be restricted for 6 months through a decision of the Court of Appeals, upon the request of the Justice Ministry. In its turn, the Ministry has asked the PPR to voice its stance as to the statements of its representative. Nicolae Andronic says “PPR has entitled no citizen named Josu to make statements in its name, and the author of the article does not even say he would make the statements on the part of the PPR and does not undersign as a PPR deputy president.” According to Nicolae Andronic, Victor Josu had applied to suspend his work within the party back on 1 March, 2008, as he moved to Moscow. In another context, Nicolae Andronic has said the PPR negotiated last summer with Moldova Noastra Alliance (AMN) on a possible merger, but has not received yet the final decision of AMN. If the AMN's reply had come before September 27, the PPR congress would have decided the dismantlement of the party and the merger with AMN. The PPR leader states he does not pretend to a leading position in the new party. Nicolae Andronic also says he has had several meetings with ex-premier Vasile Tarlev, and established they will still meet. “I have talked with Dumitru Braghis (Social-Democratic leader), and I realized you don't have whom to speak to,” Andronic said. PPR is willing to talk with other parties, short of the Communists the Christian-Democrats and the Social-Democrats. In the local elections of 2007, the PPR got 3% of the cast ballots.