Moldovan police take back parliament from protesters

MOLDOVAN AUTHORITIES cracked down on anti-government demonstrators yesterday, arresting some 200 people, threatening to use guns to quell unrest and accusing neighbouring Romania of orchestrating the protests.

Police retook control of parliament and the president’s office and arrested 193 people who had allegedly been involved in storming the buildings on Tuesday in protest at an election victory by the ruling Communist Party which they claimed was riddled with vote-rigging and fraud.

Communist president Vladimir Voronin accused his critics of staging a coup and said Romania was behind the unrest, prompting the expulsion of the Romanian ambassador to Moldova and the recall of Moldova’s envoy in Bucharest.

While Mr Voronin and his communist allies have sought to balance relations between Russia and the EU, and enjoy the support of many older Moldovans, the younger generation looks solely to the EU for its future and is deeply suspicious of the local communist elite and of Moscow.

Many of the young demonstrators who ransacked parliament and the president’s office waved the flags of the EU and of Romania, which shares strong linguistic, historical and cultural links with Moldova, a tiny, impoverished country that was part of Romania between the world wars.

“When the flag of Romania was raised on state buildings, the attempts of the opposition to carry out a coup became clear. We will not allow this,” Mr Voronin said.

“The influence of Romania is felt very strongly here, as is the hand of Romania’s secret services,” he added. “Our patience has its limits.”

Moscow backed Mr Voronin (67) and state-run Russian media suggested the unrest was part of a western-backed plot to undermine a Russian ally, like the so-called Rose Revolution in Georgia in 2003 and the Orange Revolution in Ukraine a year later.

“We all saw under which flags these outrages have been carried out and hope that the European Union will make most serious conclusions,” said Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.

Romania, which complained that Moldova was restricting traffic across their shared border yesterday, flatly rejected Mr Voronin’s claims. “This accusation is a provocation aimed at the Romanian state,” Romania’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

“It is unacceptable that the communists in power in Chisinau shift the blame for internal problems in Moldova onto Romania and the Romanian people.”

After more than 10,000 people rallied on Tuesday, only about 3,000 gathered outside parliament yesterday, after tough warnings from Mr Voronin and his ministers.

While the president vowed to deal “strictly” with anyone breaking the law, interior ministry spokeswoman Ala Meleca said: “The police intend to uphold public order. If necessary, they will use special means, including firearms.”

Opposition leaders called for calm after being caught out by the size and strength of Tuesday’s protests, which were organised by various little-known youth groups, angered at what they saw as a rigged election and Moldova’s dwindling hopes of joining Romania in the EU.

One opposition leader, Vlad Filat, denounced the street violence and said it allowed Mr Voronin to paint his critics as thugs, raising the spectre of “some very serious repression”.

Preliminary results from Sunday’s election gave the ruling communists a crushing victory, and predicted that they could win enough seats in parliament to ensure that their presidential candidate succeeded Mr Voronin, who must soon step down after serving two terms in office.

Observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe said the election met most democratic standards, but opposition groups allege widespread fraud and demand a recount or another ballot.

Amid contrasting reports of whether a recount would be allowed, Russia’s position was unequivocal. “Any demands to hold new elections, to review the results of the vote that took place, are absolutely groundless,” said Mr Lavrov.

Russia still holds great influence in Moldova, a former Soviet republic which it regards as being within its natural sphere of influence. Moscow is also the main supporter of Transdniestria, a sliver of land that broke from Chisinau’s rule in a brief but bloody war during the collapse of the Soviet Union, and which is run by a clique of pro-Russian politicians and is still home to a huge stockpile of Soviet weapons.