April 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election protests

2009 Moldova civil unrest
Riots in the capital of Moldova
Location	Chişinău, Cahul, Orhei, and Bălţi, Moldova
Date	April 7, 2009 – present
Deaths	1
Injured	270
Perpetrators	Anti-communist demonstrators, including supporters of opposition parties, pro-West, pro-Romanian and pro-EU activists
No. of participants	Protesters: around 50,000

The 2009 civil unrest in Moldova began on April 7, 2009, in major cities of Moldova (including the capital Chişinău and Bălţi) after the results of the 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election were announced. The demonstrators claim that the elections, which saw the governing Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM) win a majority of seats, were fraudulent, and variably demanded a recount, a new election, or resignation of the government. In the capital Chişinău the number of demonstrators rose above 15,000, and on April 7, attacked the parliament building and presidential office, breaking windows and setting furniture on fire and stealing property. Similar demonstrations took place in other major Moldovan cities, including the country's second largest, Bălţi, where over 7,000 people protested.

Background

The riot began as public protest after the announcement of preliminary election results on April 6, 2009, which showed the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova victorious, winning approximately 50% of the votes. However, final results on April 8 showed that the PCRM garnered 49.48 percent of the vote, gaining 60 parliament seats – one less than the three-fifths required for the party to control the presidential election. The opposition rejected the election results, accusing the authorities of falsification in the course of counting the votes and demanded new elections. The Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova has been in power since 2001.

An OSCE report declared the elections generally free and fair, although it also reported that the comparison of data on the voting age population provided by the MID with the number of registered voters provided by local executive authorities revealed a discrepancy of some 160,000. Furthermore, a member of the observation team, Emma Nicholson, Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, voiced concern over this evaluation, stating that it is "difficult to endorse the very warm press statement" from OSCE, and concluded that she, and other observers, had a "very, very strong feeling" that there have been some manipulation citing unusual change of the proportions of running tally of count during nighttime, when few observers were around. She also declared that at the numbering of the votes that at 1:00 the PCRM had 35% of the votes and the 15-16 parties from the opposition 40-45% altogether while shortly later, at 8:00 the situation changed radically and the PCRM had 50%. She suggested that the discrepancy between her assessment and OSCE report was due to members from Russia influencing this report. Nicholson, who was one of 280 OSCE observers, blamed Russia for Moldova's problems and called on the West to intervene and help the protesters so that Moldova won't "sink back on the dependency of Russia", which, according to Nicholson, "would be a deeply unhappy prospect."

There have also been cases of fraud reported by voters, with deceased and nonattendant persons reportedly voting.

Demonstration, riot, and government response

Map of central Chişinău with the main official buildings highlighted

The first demonstrations organized as a flashmob by a 25-year-old Moldovan journalist, Natalia Morar, began in Chişinău on April 6, 2009, with a larger number of demonstrators arriving on the next day, April 7. The demonstration, numbering over ten thousand, mostly students and young people, gathered in the city center, on the Ştefan cel Mare boulevard. The protest against the announced election results turned into clashes with the police, who used tear gas and water cannons. However, the police were soon overwhelmed by the number of the protesters. Rioters broke into the nearby parliament building and the office of president. Entering the building through broken windows, demonstrators set parts of the building on fire, using documents and furniture both inside and outside. The building was retaken by the police later in the evening.

The protesters chanted pro-Western, pro-Romanian and anti-government slogans such as "We want Europe", "We are Romanians", "Down with Communism" and "Down with Russia" and replaced the Flag of Moldova at the Presidential building with a Flag of Romania and a Flag of Europe.

The ambulance hospital of Chişinău reported treating over 78 injured police officers and protesters, while the Moldovan president claimed the far higher number of 270 injuries. Moldovan opposition called on the authorities to carry out new elections, and the demonstrators to stop violence. Moldovan national television had initially reported that a young woman died of carbon monoxide poisoning due to the fires within the parliament building set off by the rioters. However, it was later reported that the woman was saved by a team of medics.

On the evening of April 7, some protesters organised a National Salvation Committee, which consists of student and civic representatives, but no politicians. Writer Nicolae Dabija, a vice-president of the Committee said that the intended purpose of the Committee is to organise new elections.

On the night after April 7, around 1 AM, police forces routed the remaining crowds and arrested 193 participants. On the following day, more arrests were issued, with demonstrators beaten and transported away in police cars. Similarly, footage showed demonstrators getting dragged away and beaten by what appears to be plain-clothes police officers.

On April 7, Serafim Urechean, leader of the Party Alliance Our Moldova, told President Voronin during a meeting that the protests were orchestrated by the security services. "Are you saying this seriously?" Voronin asked. "Yes, this is very serious," Urechean said. "I am strongly convinced that this was organized by the special services. Which one? I don't know. You are in charge of the country and you have to answer this." However, former Moldovan President Petru Lucinski sees the violence as the actions of spontaneous, leaderless youths who are frustrated with the waning of Moldovan democracy. He said that there is no need to look further to explain the unrest and the movement "didn't have any leaders, one part went in one direction, a peaceful one and another part took a violent turn."

On April 9, the Moldovan Prosecutor General's Office asked Ukraine to extradite Gabriel Stati, a Moldovan businessman whom the Moldovan government accused of being involved in the organization and financing of the civil unrest. Stati was in Ukrainian custody along with another suspect, Aurel Marinescu, for their alleged "involvement in organizing an attempt to overthrow the Moldovan government."

On April 11, the Moldovan Ministry of Internal Affairs announced it arrested in Chişinău 295 people for their involvement in the Chişinău protests.

Following his arrest, a 23-year old protester, Valeriu Boboc, died in police custody. The police claims he died of smoke poisoning which he inhaled during the protest, but his family claims that he was beaten to death by the police, his body being allegedly full of contusions.

Government reaction

Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin, in an address on April 7, 2009, described the events in the capital as a coup d'état organised by "a handful of fascists drunk with anger" and declared that the Moldovan authorities will defend themselves against the "leaders of the pogrom". The President also urged the West to help restore order and resolve the conflict.

The border between Romania and Moldova was closed on April 7. Moldovan students studying in Romania and international journalists were not allowed to enter the country. The following day, train connections between Romania and Moldova were cancelled for undefined period, because of "technical" issues.

On the morning of April 8, President Voronin accused Romanian nationalists of being the force behind the riots in Chişinău. He instituted visa requirements for Romanian citizens and declared the Romanian ambassador in Moldova, Filip Teodorescu, persona non grata, requiring him to leave the country within 24 hours.

Following the escalation of the riots and the burning down of the parliament building, Voronin said "we tried to avoid bloodshed, but if yesterday's situation will be repeated, we will respond accordingly".

Later on April 8, Voronin made the following statement: "For the first time, the Moldovan people saw the opposition openly betray their own people and their own country by taking the path of provoking open civil war. The whole country saw that there is no opposition whatsoever in Moldova — neither anti-Communist, nor anti-Voronin. There is only opposition to the state." The President also commented on the displaying of Romanian flags: "What happened yesterday brought indelible shame on our politicians, on the whole of our democracy. The entire Moldovan nation witnessed the greatest humiliation of its own sovereignty and its own democracy when the state standards were ripped from the flagpoles of Parliament and the President's Office and replaced with the flags of Romania."

Romanian sources claimed that the Moldovan authorities intimidated Romanian journalists from Antena 3, TVR, and newspaper Gândul. On April 10, the same authorities arrested journalist Rodica Mahu (Editor-in-Chief of "Jurnal de Chişinău") and Romanian journalist Doru Dendiu, the permanent correspondent of TVR in Moldova, for their alleged involvement in organizing the riots. However, Mahu and Dendiu were released from police questioning later that day. [3] [4]

On 10 April 2009, Voronin called on the Constitutional Court to authorise a recount of the votes, as demanded by the protesters; as the court consists mainly of Voronin's supporters, it is likely that his request will be heeded. The court stated it would consider the request on 12 April 2009. On 12 April 2009, it decided that there would be a recount.

International reaction

• European Union's Czech presidency expressed deep concern about the developments in Moldova, calling "on the Government of Moldova, the opposition and the people of Moldova, to refrain from any action that could lead to further escalation of the tensions in the country". EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana called on all parties to the conflict to refrain from violence and provocation. He argued that "violence against government buildings is unacceptable." He added that "international election observers noted in their preliminary findings that the elections met many international standards and commitments, but that further improvements were required." The Party of the European Left expressed its solidarity to President Voronin, stating that "The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) itself admits the conformity of this election to international standards. Being of course understood the legitimacy and everyone's right to manifest his/her opinion freely, there is though no reason for such violence and destruction inside the parliament building." [5]
• Romania also backed the European Union assessment and urged a cessation of violence. Several thousand Bucharesters gathered in the University Square to show support for the Moldovan protesters. Hundreds of people also mobilized in the major Romanian cities of Iaşi, Timişoara, Cluj-Napoca, Braşov, Galaţi, Craiova, Ploieşti, Arad, Suceava and Bacău, as well as in Petroşani. Romania has condemned as "arbitrary and discriminatory" new measures brought against Romanian nationals in Moldova, following Tuesday's violent protests and has stated that the visa scheme was "reckless" and broke a Moldova-EU pact. Romania has announced it would not reciprocate.
• Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Grigory Karasin, said that Russia is concerned about developments in Moldova, while Alexey Ostrovsky, the Chairman of the Committee of the State Duma for CIS, accused Western secret services of trying to destabilise CIS countries in order to attract them towards NATO. He also claimed that Romania helps the process in order to swallow Moldova and create a new unified country. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent out this statement on April 8: "Judging by the slogans shouted in the squares, plenty of Romanian flags in the hands of organizers of these outrages, their aim is to discredit the achievements in strengthening the sovereignty of Moldova. The Russian foreign ministry hopes that common sense will prevail, public and constitutional order will be restored in the next few days and the choice of the Moldovan citizens will be confirmed by all politically responsible forces."
• Ukraine's Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko announced an increase in patrols along the state border with Moldova. "Right after the events in Chisinau, the Ukrainian police significantly increased its presence along the Ukraine-Moldova state border in Odesa region to prevent the trespassing of armed extremist groups on the territory of Ukraine." [6] Ukrainian police and customs officers arrested two Moldovan citizens for their alleged "involvement in organizing an attempt to overthrow the Moldovan government."
• United States State Department spokesman Robert Wood said "we’re calling on the parties to refrain from further violence and resolve their differences peacefully and through peaceful means." In regard to the way the election was handled, Wood declared that the State Department is "still assessing" and that, at the moment of the briefing, "he thinks [...] we basically share that assessment that the OSCE gave."

Images

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  Demonstrators on Ştefan cel Mare boulevard
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  Demonstrators on Ştefan cel Mare boulevard
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  Police guard the entrance to Parliament
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  Furniture is taken through broken windows
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  Burning desks on the steps of Parliament
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  Demonstrators and police forces
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  Demonstrators in front of Presidential Palace
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  Flag of the EU on the Government building in Chişinău

External links

• "Protests in Moldova Explode, With Help of Twitter" article by Ellen Barry in The New York Times, April 7, 2009
• "Protesters Again Grouping in Moldovan Capital" article by Ellen Barry in The New York Times, April 8, 2009
• "Emma Nicholson: These are the voices of despair, deprived of the right to vote" article in The New York Times] April 9, 2009
• "Russia furious with EU over Twitter revolution", in The New York Times April 9, 2009
• "Moldova Underscores Failed Russian Policy", article in The Moscow Times, April 9
• "Fearing people power, Russia slams Moldova protests", analysis by Conor Humphries, Reuters UK, April 10