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Moldova protesters pledge tougher action if demands ignored

Left-wing organizers threaten to enter the parliament building and picket politicians’ homes

CHISINAU, September 29. /TASS/. Protesters who set up a tent city in Moldova's capital Chisinau said on Tuesday they would escalate their action if the government did not respond to calls for the president's resignation and early elections after a $1 billion banking scandal.

Left-wing organizers of the demonstration pledged "tougher action" unless their demands were met, threatening to enter the parliament building and picket politicians’ homes.

Renato Usatii, head of left-wing Our Party, told TASS: "We are trying to observe the law but people cannot protest forever. If the authorities continue to ignore them, it is highly probable that the demonstrators may enter the parliament building and picket politicians’ houses."

"The protest may spin out of control," said Usatii, camped out near parliament with the demonstrators.

The center of Chisinau is divided between supporters of the civic platform Dignity and Justice (DA), who have erected hundreds of tents in the city’s main square, and Moldova’s opposition Party of Socialists and Our Party members camping out near parliament and agriculture ministry buildings.

On Sunday, Moldova’s Socialists alongside Our Party staged a mass rally in Chisinau’s national square. They called Nicolae Timofti a "puppet" president and leaders of the ruling Alliance for European Integration "chief oligarchs".

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched down the capital's central boulevard to parliament demanding the resignation of President Timofti and Prime Minister Valery Strelets, early parliamentary polls and dismissal of top officials at the central bank and the prosecutor general's office.

They also called for the resignation of heads of the prosecutor general’s office, the Information and Security Service, the Supreme Court of Justice, the National Anti-Corruption Center, the Audit Chamber, the Central Election Commission, the Coordination Council on Television and Radio and the Moldova 1 national television station.

Demonstrators said they were giving the government time before Friday evening to begin responding to their demands.