The large-scale protests in the center of Chisinau will be resumed if the demands stipulated in the resolution of the Civic Forum held last week are not satisfied. In a news conference at IPN on February 4, participants in the Forum said the authorities should assume the consequences if they do not fulfill the people’s demands enumerated in the resolution as their inaction can generate harsh protests.
“In a democratic society, any government would have left. Protests will be mounted in order to exert direct pressure. In the Parliament’s first sitting of the spring session, the people will come to exert pressure from outside if the rulers do not show good will,” said Vasile Nastase, one of the leaders of the Civic Platform “Dignity and Truth”.
Platform member Chiril Motpan said the current government has 30 days to satisfy the demands stipulated in the resolution. The timeframe was set in accordance with the law and the people’s requests. “If the government does not take action, as until now, the revolt will intensify and the protests will become much harsher and larger,” he stated.
Transparency International Moldova president Lilia Carasciuc said the rulers invoke the tense situation and ask to be allowed to govern so as to show what they are able to do. “Some think that these demands are severe, while others think they are rather plain. During the protests I saw many elderly people saying “Don’t give them financing as they will steal the money”. The people reached the limit,” she stated.
The resolution says the dialogue with the government should be mediated by foreign partners. Director of the Institute for Public Policy Arcadie Barbarosie noted that the Council of Europe is the most indicated institution in this regard. “We will continue to monitor the implementation and wil formulate a set of demands for the next period. We cannot stop monitoring them. There is the pressure of society on the government and the conditions of the foreign donors. These two key factors should force the government to accept to do at least minor reforms,” he stated.
Former deputy minister of education Igor Grosu does not rule out the possibility that the government will try to simulate the fulfillment of some demands. “Our task is to analyze attentively all the legislative initiatives and to every time reveal the schemes. The appetite and wish to further control the state institutions that must fight corruptions will persist,” he said.
The authors of the resolution demand that the government should amend a series of legal acts, should dismiss a number of institution heads and should identify solutions for electing the next head of state by direct vote and for holding early parliamentary elections.
