EU bezorgd over protesten tegen de uitslag van de parlementsverkiezingen in Moldavië (en)
EUOBSERVER/BRUSSELS – The EU on Tuesday (7 April) expressed concern over the riots in the Moldovan capital, Chisinau, where protesters stormed the parliament and the presidential palace denouncing Sunday's Communist election victory and claiming the elections were fraudulent.
"I am very concerned over the situation in Chisinau, following the 5 April parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova," EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana i said in a statement.
"I call on all sides to refrain from violence and provocation. Violence against government buildings is unacceptable. Equally important is the respect for the inalienable right of assembly of peaceful demonstrators," he stressed.
The EU presidency, currently held by the Czech Republic i, also expressed concern and called for "restraint on all sides."
Thousands of protesters, mainly students and young people, took to the streets on Tuesday, the second day of protests over the results of the Sunday parliamentary elections, which saw the Communist Party consolidate its power and win enough seats to elect their own candidate as the country's president.
The protesters, waving EU and Romanian flags, called for a ballot re-run. The ground and the first floor of the parliament building were set on fire, following a series of explosions heard in the area, local media reported.
Tear gas and jets of water were blasted at protesters by security forces defending the parliament building. The presidential office was also attacked.
President Vladimir Voronin, who was supposed to step down on Tuesday, at the end of two consecutive mandates, is set to address the nation later in the evening. The newly elected parliament is due to start the election process of the new president on Wednesday.
The mayor of Chisinau, Dorin Chirtoaca, who is deputy head of the opposition Liberal Party, said the protests were justified "because people did not vote for the Communists in such large numbers".
The Communists won 50% of votes in the election, followed by the centre-right liberal Party with almost 13% of the votes, and the Liberal Democratic Party with 12%.
Local television stations are off-air and the national radio station is broadcasting folk music, the BBC reports.
Sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, Moldova is Europe's poorest country and home to another frozen conflict involving Russia, in the eastern region of Transnistria, similar to the Georgian disputes with the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Some two thirds of the population is of Romanian descent and speaks a virtually identical language, the rest is made up of Russian and other minorities.
Russian vice-minister for foreign affairs Grygory Karasin said the events were "a provocation" and that they were casting doubts about the political future of the country.
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