Transnistrian refuges block City Council’s meeting

About 100 internally displaced people from the eastern districts of Moldova blocked the meeting of the Chisinau Municipal Council (CMC) on January 31, accusing the capital city’s administration of delaying the distribution of apartments in the building intended for them. At the same time, the municipal authorities say that the refugees did not even come to take their permits for the apartments and their protest has a political character, Info-Prim Neo reports. The refuges gathered near the Chisinau City Hall first. At 10:00, they entered the hall where the CMC was to hold its meeting. Several of the protesters headed by the leader of the Movement of Transnistrian Refugees Anatol Bazgu approached deputy mayor Igor Lupulciuc and accused him of incompetence and non-observance of the legislation, seeking his dismissal. The refugees say that the municipal authorities intentionally delay the allocation of apartments because they have certain interests and impose them to join the Liberal Party if they want to receive the flats. Later, the CMC chairman Mihai Ghimpu came up to the protesters. They accused him of incompetence, misuse of power and of having political interests. The protesters demanded that he resign too. Anatol Bazgu said that the officials in charge should hold an ad hoc meeting in the presence of the refugees and the press and explain why the permits have not been distributed yet. The CMC chairman did not accept his proposal and asked the protesters not to tell him what to do. He told the reporters that the refugees’ protest is political. Ghimpu and some of the municipal councilors tried to leave the meeting hall, but the protesters blocked the door. Several councilors became involved in altercations with the protesters. One of them was pushed by the refugees. Mihai Ghimpu asked the protesters to go to the round hall of the City Hall and examine every case apart in the presence of the reporters. But the refugees refused. The Mayor General of Chisinau Dorin Chirtoaca came to the meeting at 11.00 accompanied by the head of the General Housing-Communal Division Dionisie Boaghie. The refuges began to chant “Down with Chirtoaca”. The two were stopped at the door by several protesters and accused of delay. Boaghie explained to them that five families of refugees have already received apartments. He said that to get the permits, they must only present an application and a certificate showing that they paid the public utilities. The refuges said that this is not true as some of them presented the given documents, but were not issued with permits. At 12.30 (when this news story was broadcast), the contradictory discussions were going on and the Council could not yet start its meeting.