Liberals complain of being intimidated

The Liberal Party (PL) accuses the authorities of intimidating its supporters and members. “There are policemen who come to the citizens’ residences to ask them if they have signed for PL, or if they are PL members,” Liberal leader Mihai Ghimpu stated on Wednesday, December 3, at a news conference, Info-Prim Neo reports. “I supposed that the Justice Ministry (MJ) could state, on the eve of the elections, that the signatures collected by the PL are false, and, before the parliamentary elections, it may happen to make a decision saying that the lists are not valid and to hinder PL to participate in the elections,” the politician said. Mihai Ghimpu is bewildered why these checks happen after the MJ registered the modifications in the PL statute, on November 3, as required by the new law on parties. “We have not falsified anything. If they want to check the authenticity of the signatures, they can do it by the means of the Ministry of Informational Development,” Ghimpu stated. “The PL sign resembles the signs of the Council of Europe, the European Union, as the European Reforming Liberal parliamentary group. The new PL sign has 28 stars, 27 of which representing the UE member states and a star in the hands of two people, which represents the PL's commitment to help Moldova join UE,” Mihai Ghimpu has explained. Asked by Info-Prim Neo, the head of the Interior Ministry's press service, Ala Meleca, stated that the Liberal Party had not lodged some complaint as to the intimidations invoked at the news conference.