CHISINAU (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th March, 2023) Members of Moldova's Movement for the People opposition group blocked a road in the north of the country on Sunday after police made them get off the bus they were riding to join an anti-government protest in Chisinau, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
A massive anti-government rally is expected to take place in Chisinau on Sunday as part of the Movement for the People's protest action, which will be joined by the Moldovan opposition party Sor. Protesters are calling on the government to pay for their winter heating and electricity bills, and demanding the country's leadership resign.
Local police detained the bus with protesters near Glodeni as it was on its way to the second largest city of Moldova, Balti, and made all passengers get off the vehicle. The protesters blocked the road and demanded that the police do not prevent them from reaching the Moldovan capital, according to a video published by the opposition group.
Sources in the Sor party told Sputnik that 14 buses that were supposed to transport protesters to Chisinau had been forced to turn around.
Marina Tauber, Sor's vice-president, told Sputnik that the police were stopping buses with protesters throughout Moldova and did not provide citizens with the opportunity to defend their constitutional rights.
"Police provocations take place everywhere, detaining vehicles with people who went to a peaceful rally in Chisinau in all regions of the republic. The authorities, the police violate the rights of the citizens, build all kinds of obstacles, do not give the opportunity to express their position or defend their constitutional rights. In more than three decades since Moldova gained independence, such abuses against its own people, citizens of our country, have never been observed," Tauber said.
The lawmaker added that Sor intends to contact foreign embassies in order to convey violations of democratic rights and freedoms in Moldova.
Meanwhile, Moldovan law enforcement agencies said they detained a Russian citizen on suspicion that he allegedly coordinated groups preparing mass riots during the opposition rally.
"A citizen of the Russian Federation has been detained... The man coordinated the actions of groups that were supposed to provoke riots at the opposition rally in Chisinau. Moldovan citizens involved in destabilizing the situation were also detained. Their connection with the opposition party has been established," Viorel Cernauteanu, Moldova's police chief, told a briefing in the Moldovan capital, adding that the Russian national is allegedly connected with Russia's special services.
Anti-government protests began in Moldova in the spring of 2022 amid high food and energy prices, historic inflation and dropping living standards. Moldova's government has been repeatedly accused of failing to cope with political, security, energy and economic crises. The inflation hit a 20-year record of 33.5% year-on-year in mid-summer of 2022 and affected many sectors of the country's economy. An Intellect Group poll has shown that almost 83% of Moldovan citizens support the National Movement for the People's initiative on the need for the government to fully pay utility bills for the winter months.
On Saturday, Moldovan President Maia Sandu made an appeal to citizens, calling on the organizers and participants of the Sunday riot to comply with the requirements of the law and prevent actions that could pose danger to people, as well as to the country's security.
