“Parliament 90” demands that government open dialogue with Opposition and civil society

The public association “Parliament 90” asks that the Communist government should immediately initiate a political dialogue with the Opposition and the civil society by releasing businessman Gabriel Stati and the other persons detained and restoring the society’s hope for a democratic future in Moldova. The statement was made in light of the European Parliament’s resolution on the situation in Moldova issued on May 7, Info-Prim Neo reports. “Beyond sterile statements about European integration by the Communist leader Vladimir Voronin, Moldova during the last few months has considerably regressed in such areas as independence of the judicial system and the press and observance of the human rights,” sad Pantelei Sandulachi, president of “Parliament 90” and MP in the first legislature of Moldova. According to him, the resolution is the European Parliament’s most critical and hard-hitting document applying to a country with aspirations for European integration. Lawyer Alexandru Arseni, member of the first Parliament, said that the resolution is a remarkable success of the civil society. “The parliamentary Opposition has a clear duty – to make sure that the legislative body observes this resolution.” “One of the major steps towards fulfilling the conditions stipulated in the resolution is to set free businessman Gabriel Stati,” say members of the association. The president of the Bar Association of Moldova Gheorghe Amihalachioaie, who is a lawyer for Gabriel Stati, said that the case was planned long ago and the April 7 events served as a suitable moment. “There is no proof showing that Gabriel Stati had been involved in the April 7 protest. The accusations made are general. The right to defense is violated. For the European Union, his release could mean that things in Moldova can return o normality,” Amihalachioaie said. According to him, the application over Gabriel Stati’s and Aurel Marinescu’s arrest was filed to the European Court of Human Rights. “We hope that this case will be examined as an emergency as the persons are under arrest.” “Regardless of the political situation in the future, the Electoral Code’s stipulations about the election threshold and drawing up of electoral rolls should be modified,” said Petru Munteanu, member of the first legislature and vice president of the Bar Association of Moldova. Businessman Gabriel Stati and the head of the guard of Ascom Grup Aurel Marinescu are held at the Penitentiary No. 13 in Chisinau, accused of organizing and financing the April 7 protests. They were arrested at the airport in Odessa on April 8 and were then extradited to Moldova.