Moldovan president Vladimir Voronin has blamed EU neighbour Romania for staging post-election riots and announced he would expel Bucharest's ambassador and reintroduce visas for Romanians. Some 2,000 protesters were gathering for the third day on Wednesday (8 April) in Chisinau, after police took over the control of the parliament and presidential palace a night before.
Mr Voronin decided to expel the Romanian ambassador and reintroduce mandatory visas for his neighbours, despite a visa facilitation agreement with the EU. Under the agreement, Chisinau lifted visas for all EU member states at the end of 2007, including for the EU's newest members Romania and Bulgaria. Moldovan authorities also interrupted the broadcasting of Romanian TV channels on cable networks, which were the only ones reporting live on the events.
Russian support for the current government
Russian interests are still very much present, as the separatist region of Transnistria, in Moldova's eastern part bordering Ukraine, is home to some 2,000 Russian troops and military equipment. Russia's foreign ministry, in a statement on Wednesday, said the riots were a plot aimed at undermining Moldova's sovereignty and pointed the finger to forces which favour a reunion with Romania. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who had earlier congratulated Mr Voronin on his party's election win, called for a speedy and calm resolution of the crisis.
Some representatives of Moldovan civil society were disappointed at the EU's reaction and the OSCE judgement that the Sunday elections were free and fair.
"The declarations of OSCE observers and EU officials calling the elections fair proved that the EU feels nausea about the Republic of Moldova. These statements untied the hands of the Voronin regime," Oazu Nantoi from the Institute for Public Policy, a Chisinau-based think-tank, told EUobserver. He said that the elections were grossly manipulated by the state institutions, who only serve the Communist party and its leader. Mr Nantoi, who participated in the demonstrations from the first day on, said that on Monday, people gathered spontaneously, protesting peacefully about the Communist leadership.
Euobserver
Mr Voronin decided to expel the Romanian ambassador and reintroduce mandatory visas for his neighbours, despite a visa facilitation agreement with the EU. Under the agreement, Chisinau lifted visas for all EU member states at the end of 2007, including for the EU's newest members Romania and Bulgaria. Moldovan authorities also interrupted the broadcasting of Romanian TV channels on cable networks, which were the only ones reporting live on the events.
Russian support for the current government
Russian interests are still very much present, as the separatist region of Transnistria, in Moldova's eastern part bordering Ukraine, is home to some 2,000 Russian troops and military equipment. Russia's foreign ministry, in a statement on Wednesday, said the riots were a plot aimed at undermining Moldova's sovereignty and pointed the finger to forces which favour a reunion with Romania. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who had earlier congratulated Mr Voronin on his party's election win, called for a speedy and calm resolution of the crisis.
Some representatives of Moldovan civil society were disappointed at the EU's reaction and the OSCE judgement that the Sunday elections were free and fair.
"The declarations of OSCE observers and EU officials calling the elections fair proved that the EU feels nausea about the Republic of Moldova. These statements untied the hands of the Voronin regime," Oazu Nantoi from the Institute for Public Policy, a Chisinau-based think-tank, told EUobserver. He said that the elections were grossly manipulated by the state institutions, who only serve the Communist party and its leader. Mr Nantoi, who participated in the demonstrations from the first day on, said that on Monday, people gathered spontaneously, protesting peacefully about the Communist leadership.
Euobserver
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