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Multumesc,
Alexandru-Murad Mironov
University of Bucharest
Ph.: (40) 723 313582
Declaration regarding the escalating social and political situation in Moldova
after the parliamentary elections of April 5, 2009
Expressing our concern regarding the worsening social and political situation
after April 5, 2009 parliamentary elections and, being worried that inadequate
interpretations of these events serve as justification for decisions and
actions that threaten to further polarize the Moldovan society, we declare:
On April 7, 2009 spontaneous and peaceful demonstrations took place in the
center of Chisinau. This generally peaceful event was used to provoke violent
and criminal acts resulting in the devastation of the Parliament and
Presidential buildings. The law enforcement bodies through their actions were
not capable to prevent the acts of violence and vandalism.
We categorically condemn such outrageous acts of violence and vandalism.
However, we consider it inadmissible to present all protests through the prism
of these criminal acts. In particular, it is utterly unjustified to shift
responsibility from a small group of violent persons onto a far larger
gathering of peaceful protesters or onto the political leaders, some of whom
have tried in fact to stop the violence. The peaceful protests didn’t have an
anti-state nature.
While the acts of violence cannot be justified in any way and should be
investigated by the competent authorities, we believe that those peaceful
protests were fueled by doubts regarding the fairness of elections and distrust
in public institutions, including those that administrated the electoral
process. Those events were largely triggered by the dissatisfaction of young
people with the social and economic situation and the feeling of uncertainty
about their future prospects in the Republic of Moldova .
The post-election statements made by the head of state have only contributed to
inflaming such suspicions and provided an extra motivation for people to get
onto the streets.
These regrettable acts of violence and vandalism are now fully exploited by the
authorities to intimidate the opposition and civil society and further restrict
the already fragile fundamental rights and liberties of the citizens. The
authorities have further restricted access to the public radio and TV, Internet
and other media. The authorities have launched a massive brain-washing campaign
to discredit the participants of the peaceful protests, the opposition and
those having different opinions.
The head of state is making extremely grave accusations against some political
leaders, describing their actions as a “coup d'etat”, “anti-constitutional
plot” etc., even before any investigations or court rulings in this regard.
Such statements tend to further heighten the tensions and polarize the Moldovan
society. By placing all the responsibility for the recent events on the
political opposition and Romania, the authorities are creating an internal and
external enemy, which may be used to justify the government's failures.
We believe that preconditions are being created for the establishment of a
police and dictatorial regime in the Republic of Moldova .
A reversal of the current disturbing trends is absolutely essential in order to
avoid any further exacerbation of the political and economic crisis, prevent
the international isolation of the country similar to that of Belarus and avoid
compromising the European future of Moldova . It will be impossible for the
country to get out of the crisis without the engagement of a broad spectrum of
political actors and stakeholders, civil society and international
organizations.
The authorities of Moldova have a special role to play in overcoming this
crisis and therefore, we ask them to:
- Refrain from any actions or declarations which could
deteriorate the situation further;
- Give up any virulent messages, as necessary to create an
enabling environment for political dialogue to help overcome this conflict
situation;
- Act strictly within the limits of the law in order to prevent
any new acts of violence;
- Make public the lists with names of arrested persons and,
provide these persons with access to lawyers and human rights organizations;
- Avoid any politically-motivated persecutions;
- Initiate a comprehensive and transparent investigation, with
international participation, into the causes that led to the acts of vandalism:
identify persons who have maneuvered a part of the otherwise peaceful
protesters towards the Presidency and the Parliament compound; identify persons
who have instigated the acts of violence and crime; review whether the actions
of law enforcement troops were proportionate to the situation and in accordance
with their mandate;
- Safeguard the freedom of movement for the citizens;
- Assure the freedom of opinion and speech, safeguard the
inviolability of individual freedoms, personal safety and security;
- Actively contribute to the elimination of all suspicions
related to the fairness and accuracy of election results.
We call on all media institutions, and particularly on the Public Broadcasting
Company „ Tele-Radio Moldova ", to cover correctly and impartially the
political and social developments after parliamentary elections of April 5,
with the equal and non-discriminatory participation of all parties concerned.
Chisinau, 9 April 2009
Signed by:
Arcadie Barbăroşie, Director, Institute for Public Policies (IPP)
Igor Boţan, Director, Association for Participatory Democracy (ADEPT)
Viorel Cibotaru, Director, European Institute of Political Studies (IESPM)
Nadine Gogu, Interim Director, Center of Independent Journalism (CIJ)
Vlad Lupan, Independent Expert
Ion Manole, Director, Promo-Lex
Igor Munteanu, Director, Institute for Development and Social Initiatives
(IDIS-„Viitorul”)
Sergiu Ostaf, Expert, CREDO
Andrei Popov, Executive Director, Foreign Policy Association (APE)
Valeriu Prohniţchi, Economic Expert
Victor Ursu, Executive Director, Soros Foundation Moldova
Alexandru Canţîr, Director, Committee for Freedom of Press
Vitali Catană, Expert, Institute for Public Policies (IPP)
Victor Chirilă, Programs Director, Foreign Policy Association (APE)
Antoniţa Fonari, Director, „Young and Free”
Mircea Eşanu, Anticorruption Alliance
Veaceslav Ioniţă, Expert, Institute for Development and Social Initiatives
(IDIS-„Viitorul”)
Vlad Gribincea, Lawyer
Iurie Pintea, Program Director, Institute for Public Policies (IPP)
Eugen Revenco, Programs Director, Foreign Policy Association (APE)
Alexei Tulbure, Director, „ Helsinki ” Citizens Assembly
