Two protest rallies overlap in Chisinau

A group of farmers from five districts of the country have picketed today the Parliament headquarters protesting the low prices offered for their products. Just a couple of meters from them another group of protesters – meat vendors – were again demanding to be allowed to further use their patents, Info-Prim Neo reports. Valentin Dubceac, the director of a Hancesti-based association of farmers, who introduced himself as an organizer of the rally, said that if the Government had decided to buy wheat for 4.5 lei a kilogram, and not for 2.2-3 lei as it was planned, the peasant farmers would have had the opportunity to invest the returns in new production. One of the protesters, Tudor Saharneanu, says the 3 percent share of wheat that the government stocks in the reserve fund is influencing the selling price. The peasant farmers are concerned that they will not be able to get a good price from bakeries and other categories of buyers. The farmers also demand that the government annuls all the restrictions on export. According to them, although officially no restriction exists and the producers have all their papers in order, the customs officers, as a rule, a looking for various pretexts not to allow them out. A number of parliamentarians, including Serafim Urecheanu, Vitalia Pavlicenco, and Vlad Filat, came out in the street to show solidarity with the protesters. The MPs have stated their numerous initiatives concerning farmer subsidies are killed by the Communist lawmakers. The protesters have replied they are always ready to negotiate their claims with the parliamentarians. If their voices remain unheard, they promise to resume the protests. A few meters away, the meat vendors were also protesting. They gathered again in front of the Presidential Palace, armed with posters, bullhorns and plastic bottles filled with sand and gravel to make themselves heard. Their slogans haven't changed – We'll never give up! – they cried. Asked what is the good of their protests knowing that that the Patent Bill has been already signed by the President into law, the chairman of the Small Business Association Eugen Roscovan told Info-Prim Neo that they will not give up until the Parliament changes a single word so as to allow the sale of meat on a patent basis. He also said the protesters have chosen the Presidential Palace as a location for their rally because “they are very angry with the fact that the President offended and slandered the meat vendors on the national television”. The meat vendors have been holding regular protest rallies since late May.