A week in Moldova. A first class trip into dictatorship...(part 4)

APRIL 8, 2009

Protests continued. Thousands of people gathered in the National Square. The atmosphere was calm, however, athletic guys, in black sports uniforms move within the crowd of people and provoke the protesters. Any attempt to film or to photograph them is not successful as they hide their faces. The police well equipped are protecting the Government. Around 6 pm, more protesters come. It is obvious that two groups of protesters
participate: those who are very active and aggressive and peaceful people. The police are ready to react in case of any provocation. The first line of protesters is very active, shouting anti communistic and nationalistic slogans. Behind the Government, many police are dislocated. They are changing in plain clothes and walking into the crowd to provoke it. Late in the evening, some of the protesters are detained by men dressed in plain black cloths, put in cars and transported into unknown directions.

During the night from April 7 to April 8, a deceased person has been brought to the Emergency Hospital by a private car. According to Liviu Vovc, the chief of the City Emergency Station, during the night from April 7 to April 8, a car of Niva model brought in the trunk a dead body and declared that this is a person from protest. The persons who brought the body reported that it has been put in their trunk and they have been told to bring it to the Hospital. According to Vovc, the body was immediately taken by Police for further investigation. There
are no other dead persons as follow up of the protests.

Many parents have signaled that they can not find their children. They declared that the Emergency Service reported that almost 200 young people with traumas have been taken to City Police Station on Tighina 6. The Police Station says that the children have been taken out of the city.

Strasbourg, 08.04.2009 - Josette Durrieu (France, SOC) and Egidijus Vareikis (Lithuania, EPP/ CD), corapporteurs on Moldova for the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), who were present in Moldova to observe the elections of Sunday 5 April 2009, today called for “an end to violence and provocation” in the capital city, Chisinau.“We are concerned about the deterioration of the situation in a European country which nevertheless benefits from our attention and our support. Moldova needs to achieve political stability in the context of a democracy which will be able to assert itself only through elections, and not through violence”, they declared. The co-rapporteurs stated that they would continue to monitor the situation in the country closely so that they can report to the members of the Monitoring Committee in Strasbourg during the spring Session of the PACE (27-30 April 2009).

Emma Nicholson, member of the EU Parliament, on Moldovan Elections: “When we stoped the count at about 1 a.m., it looked as though the Communists were going to have 35%, and the combined opposition would be about 40 to 45%,” baroness Emma Nicholson, a member of the European Parliament, has told the BBC. She monitored the elections as part of the OSCE team. And by 8 a.m. the figures were really very very different
indeed. It was 50% for the Communists and something tiny, very small indeed for the other opposition
parties,” Emma Nicholson said. “But we had no proof,” said the European parliamentarian.

The Goverment endorsed a decision to impose visas to Romanian citizens. The Visa regime will be applied starting from Thursday, 9 of April. Moldovan uthorities have declared Filip Teodorescu, romanian ambassador, persona non-grata in Moldova. The airport customs did not permit to the correspondent of Radio Romania Actualitati to enter Moldova at the international airport Chisinau.

Today, President Vladimir Voronin held a speech for 15 minutes at the national television at the main news
bulletin of the country. He accuses Romania for trying to organize a “coup d’etat.” Also today, Vladimir Voronin had a meeting with universities rectors why he criticizes them for letting students to participate at the protest (at the end rectors applauded).