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Moldova protests

Protests continue in Moldova's Chisinau demanding resignation of authorities

Despite the arrest of Moldova’s ex-PM and a leader of the ruling pro-European coalition Vlad Filat, protests will be continued and pressure on the authorities would only be augmented, activists say

Protest in a main street of Chisinau demanding the dismissal of country’s top officials EPA/DUMITRU DORU

Protest in a main street of Chisinau demanding the dismissal of country’s top officials

© EPA/DUMITRU DORU

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CHISINAU, October 23. /TASS/. Anti-government protests continue in Moldova, with several thousand activists of the Dignity and Truth (DA) Civil Platform staging a picket in front of the presidential residence on Friday to demand resignation of the authorities wallowed in corruption.

"We demand the president sign a decree to dismiss director of the National Anti-corruption Center Viorel Chetraru who has failed to cope with his duties," DA leader Andrei Nastase told journalists. He said despite the arrest of Moldova’s former Prime Minister and a leader of the ruling pro-European coalition Vlad Filat, "protests will be continued and pressure on the authorities would only be augmented."

Protesters also demanded President Nicolae Timofti refrain from handing over the National Anti-corruption Centre to the parliament’s control and said they were beginning a signature collection campaign for nationwide election of president.

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Mass protests have been held in Chisinau for more than a month. The opposition, which calls Moldova "a country seized by oligarchs," demands resignation of the country’s top officials and insists on early parliamentary elections and direct elections of the president. Central Chisinau has literally turned into a tent camp divided between two opposition forces, the Party of Socialists and Our Party on the one hand, and the Dignity and Truth (DA) Civil Platform on the other. Both demand resignation of the country’s leaders and early elections. The DA Platform however stands for European integration and accuses the current authorities of discrediting this slogan by large-scale embezzlement. The Party of Socialists and Our Party stand for Eurasian geopolitical vector and closer relations with Russia. The opposition leaders are refusing to pool their efforts but agreed not to hamper each other. Moldova’s authorities have been refusing to step down and talks with the protesters have been to no avail.

Large-scale protests erupted in Moldova in the spring 2015 after the media had reported a theft of about one billion US dollars from three Moldovan banks, which nearly went bankrupt. Back then, Moldova’s ruling Alliance for European Integration coalition came under severe criticism from foreign donors, including the European Union and the World Bank, which subsequently suspended their financing of the republic.

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