Government coalition and Opposition with contradictory speeches at PACE session

The Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) described the parliamentary elections in Moldova as free and fair despite the hostile speech delivered by Communist lawmaker Grigore Petrenco, who criticized the November 28 elections. The statement was made by the head of the Moldovan Delegation to the PACE, MP Ana Gutu in a news conference given at the airport upon their return from Strasbourg. “I’m sorry that walls appeared between the Opposition and the government coalition. When Petrenco spoke at the PACE and condemned the ruling collation, his speech attained an apocalyptical connotation and it seemed that the situation in Moldova is disastrous. The human rights are violated and the country is on the verge of a war,” said Ana Gutu, of the PL. Another member of the Moldovan delegation, Valeriu Ghiletski, of the PLDM, said Grigore Petrenco’s speech left the impression that the elections in Moldova where worse than in Belarus. The hostile speech of the Communist MP was harshly criticized by the rapporteurs on Moldova Indrek Saar and an Estonian lawmaker. Grigore Petrenco avoided making statements for the press when he returned from Strasbourg. The APCE session took place between January 24 and 28. The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Mevlut Cavusoglu and the leaders of the PACE political groups will pay a working visit to Chisinau early in February, at the invitation of Acting President Marian Lupu. According to Ana Gutu, they will come to encourage the Moldovan politicians to overcome the political crisis.