Head of state continues to accuse Opposition and Romania of putsch

Moldova’s President and the leader of the Communist Party (PCRM) Vladimir Voronin held a briefing in the hall of the devastated building of the Presidential Office on Friday. Numerous journalists from Moldova and abroad took part in the meeting. In his speech delivered in Russian, Voronin reiterated the accusations that the Opposition parties and Romania are to blame for the protests held in the center of Chisinau this week, Info-Prim Neo reports. Vladimir Voronin told the reporters that the three Opposition parties that passed the election threshold in the April 5 legislative elections staged a putsch. “Put together, the facts show that the events are not connected with the elections. A coup was attempted in Moldova on April 6-7. It was aimed against the current government and the democratic institutions of Moldova and against the European standards and values,” Voronin said. “The responsibility for what happened in downtown Chisinau is borne first of all by the political parties that challenged not only the election outcome but also the conclusions of all the international observers,” the head of state said. Voronin also reiterated the accusations against Romania. “It is very important for us to conduct a competent investigation and establish the forms and methods of participation by Romanian citizens in the preparation of the April 7 events. The facts that we already know constitute important relevant proofs. They include: the political consultation of the three political parties by the Embassy of Romania at all the stages of the election campaign; mobilization of large groups of students and their transportation to Moldova to take part in street events; participation of Romanian citizens and specialists in the April 7 events; the active information support provided by all the Romania media outlets and their interpretation of the events as veridical and revolutionary,” Vladimir Voronin said. On the same day, 21 well-known representatives of the civil society issued a joint statement, expressing their concern about the inadequate interpretation of the events that followed the April 5 elections. “The leveling of extremely serious accusations by the head of state at political leaders and the labeling of the events as putsch, coup, anti-constitutional overthrow, etc. before carrying out investigations and before the courts passed judgments escalate the situation and polarize the society. By shifting the blame onto the Opposition and Romania, there are created by an internal and external enemy that could be used to justify the failures of the government,” the statement says. The representatives of the civil society consider that preconditions are created in Moldova for establishing a police and dictatorial regime. The protests against the election outcome started on Monday, degenerating into riots. The buildings of the Presidential Office and the Parliament were devastated. About 200 young persons were arrested afterward. The authorities said the damage caused is estimated at 300 million lei, not including the destroyed furniture and equipment. The ruling party accused the Opposition and Romania of staging the protests. The Romanian authorities categorically deny the accusations, while the Opposition says that it was a scenario devised by the Communist Party with the aim of distracting attention from vote rigging.