Pro-Russia organizations demand expelling Romanian ambassador

A group of about 20 people, representatives of the Russian Youth League and the Patriots of Moldova Party, gathered on Wednesday outside the Romanian Embassy in Chisinau to protest against the Sunday's incident at the border with Romania where a Moldovan young man was shot by a Romanian customs officer, Info-Prim Neo reports. The protesters in particular requested the banishment of Ambassador Marius Lazurca because Romania failed to apologize for the incident. The protesters also compared Romanian President Traian Basescu with the infamous WWII Marshal Ion Antonescu. “We don't want to see bloodshed in Moldova. We want peace and prosperity for our country”, said Natalia Livadari, a young Moldovan Patriot. Igor Cosar, of the Russian Youth League, claimed that the Romanian customs officer shot the 23-year-old on purpose. “The young man shot in Vadul lui Voda was an accident, but in this case the Moldovan citizen was shot of purpose”, said another protester. A Moldovan young man was hospitalized on Sunday after being shot and wounded at a Romanian customs checkpoint as he resisted a search and attempted to flee the site. The officer reportedly aimed at the tires. The search eventually revealed a batch of cigarettes which the man apparently attempted to smuggle into Romania. Moldovan acting President Marian Lupu and Prime Minister Vlad Filat regretted the incident, saying the use of arm was unwarranted. The incident happened two weeks after another young man was shot dead by a Russian peacekeeper at a checkpoint near Vadul lui Voda.