Camp in Chisinau center grows to 100 tents
CHISINAU. Sept 7 (Interfax) - Protesters spent the night in a camp set up in the center of Chisinau and their ranks doubled by morning. Armed conflict veterans who sympathize with the opposition are helping to maintain peace.
About 30 tents were set up on the central square of the Moldovan capital city on Sunday evening and yet more tents, food, water and warm clothes were brought to the square during the night, an Interfax correspondent has reported.
The camp, dubbed by the protesters as "the camp of dignity and justice," grew to nearly 100 tents by Monday morning.
The tents occupy approximately a quarter of the central square of Chisinau; they are situated not far from the main entrance to the government building. About 200 people stayed on the square for the night, and about the same number of people joined them in the morning.
A co-leader of the Civil Platform DA (Demnitate si adevar - Dignity and Justice), Andrei Nastase, told Interfax that the night was quiet, and that police and volunteers were providing order in the square.
"We are protecting Great National Assembly Square in order to avoid provocations. We are being assisted by veterans of the Dniester armed conflict and the Afghan war and police veterans who sympathize with our protests," Nastase said.
In his words, the protest will continue non-stop.
Contact with the government has been established but negotiations have not begun, he said.
"We think there is no need for negotiations. It is necessary to meet the demands rather than try to bargain. Bargaining is happening there, inside the authorities. They are bargaining positions, assets and the country. And all we want is to give the country grabbed by the oligarchs back to the people. There is no point in holding negotiations; we are not selling the country. It belongs to us, which was clearly stated yesterday by 100,000 people in the square. We understand that the authorities are frightened but we cannot help them," Nastase said.
On Monday the DA platform leaders dissociated themselves from Red Bloc, which held its own protest on Sunday, and provoked clashes with police near the Prosecutor General's Office building.
"The action of the left-wing radicals had nothing to do with ours. Our struggle is civilized and our protests are peaceful. We keep the possibility of provocations in mind, so we have asked the police to keep the peace and we are taking care of this as well," the activist said.
Tens of thousands of people gathered on the square in the center of Chisinau on Sunday for the most massive protest in years, an Interfax correspondent reported.
They passed a resolution to demand early parliamentary elections, the resignation of the president, universal presidential elections, a reshuffle of the administration of law enforcement authorities, and the return of one billion euros stolen from the banking system.
The left-wing party Red Bloc held its protest on Sunday. Several hundred protesters marched down the central streets of Chisinau with the intention of joining the demonstration. Yet they decided at the last moment to picket the building of the Prosecutor General's Office and attempted to break in. Several people were lightly injured and seven, including party chair Gheorghe Petrenko, were detained for 72 hours in clashes with the police.
The detainees were charged with the criminal felonies of disobedience to persons in authority and organization of mass disturbances. They are facing a fine from 4,000 to 10,000 lei (from $200 to $500), 180-240 hours of community service or a prison term of up to two years.