Demonstrators organized by the National Movement for the People, which includes several political parties, gathered in central Chisinau on Tuesday to ask the government to pay their energy bills for the winter months. Organizers claim that 10,000 people attended the protest, while another 40,000 were prevented by the police from reaching Chisinau.

The Shor Party, which spearheads the Movement, announced that people came from all over the country to ask the government to pay their bills, and also to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Dorin Recean.

“The Gavrilița Cabinet brought us to disaster. The situation we have reached is like a sour borscht with too much salt. What did they do? Instead of throwing away the spoiled borscht, they replaced the pot – they gave us Recean. Sadly, we see that the Chisinau mayor Ivan Ceban is complicit in the government’s crimes. He blocked the city center every time, under different pretexts – exhibitions and fairs with just a few people – so as to prevent us from demonstrating peacefully”, said Dinu Țurcanu, a local leader of the Shor Party.

MP Marina Tauber, also of the Shor Party, claimed that the government’s abuses against people who want to peacefully express their opinion are intensifying. “Every day the government proves that it is not on the side of the people. They violate all our rights”, said the lawmaker.

Tatiana Bordeianu, vice-president of the PACE party, conveyed messages in English and Italian to foreign officials. “The rights of Moldovan citizens are violated by the Maia Sandu regime. Free us from this government, which has condemned the people to poverty and hunger. The people of the Republic of Moldova want peace, not war and manipulation”, declared Tatiana Bordeianu.

Concluding the rally, the participants adopted a resolution complaining of the current “disastrous situation” in Moldova. The organizers claim they have collected half a million signatures in support of the initiative to have the Government pay household bills for the winter months.