The Chisinau City Hall has reacted to the announcement of the police to apply to the court to force the Chisinau City Hall to suspend the demonstrations organized by the “Shor” Party in front of the Parliament and the Presidency, in the context of the violation of the law by the protesters. Mayor Ion Ceban’s spokeswoman, Natalia Ixari, says that “it is the responsibility of the police to ensure public order and, if necessary, to apply sanctions”, and that “several meetings were held at the Chisinau City Hall” with the participation of “the parties involved and responsible, where the obligations of the organizer who must act within the legal framework were made known”.

“It is the responsibility of the police and other law enforcement bodies to ensure public order and public security, and in certain circumstances, if necessary, to apply sanctions. And the municipal services have ensured and will ensure according to their competences the sanitation of green and public spaces. For the time being, various attempts are being made to force the City Hall to stop or prohibit the protest in front of the Parliament and the Presidency.

Several meetings were held at Chisinau City Hall, where all the parties involved and responsible were brought together, where the obligations of the organizer were made known, who must act within the legal framework,” reads a message sent to the press by the spokeswoman of Mayor Ion Ceban, Natalia Ixari.

Representatives of the General Inspectorate of Police (IGP) announced that on October 4, they have applied to the court with a request to force the Chisinau City Hall to suspend the demonstrations organized by the political party “Shor” in the center of the capital. The police say that they are in the process of documenting a criminal case for threatening or violence against a person in a position of responsibility, and that 40 contravention proceedings have been registered concerning violations of the law by protesters brought by the “Shor” Party.

The police have submitted six complaints to the Chisinau City Hall about violations allowed in the public space, pointing out “numerous violations and requesting the modification of the meeting programme or, if necessary, their suspension”.

“(…) The police asked the local authorities to intervene and take action to prevent such irregularities, including those related to environmental protection and maintaining a clean climate in the public space. However, the LPA’s subdivisions (Sanitation, Green Spaces) are directly responsible for maintaining a clean environment in the capital, including at such events. At the same time, we would like to point out that, according to Law 26 on meetings, the Local Public Administration is responsible for the proper organization of events, and in this regard, we note the total lack of involvement and intervention.

On 30 September this year, the Police addressed a preliminary request to the Chisinau City Hall to stop this type of meetings, to which the City Hall did not react. On 4 October, the police applied to the court requesting that the local public authority be obliged to suspend these meetings (…),” an IGP press release said.

According to the IGP, the 40 misdemeanour proceedings relate to “disobedience, hooliganism (urinating, smoking, vomiting, drinking alcohol in a public place), outraging employees of law enforcement agencies, presence of persons with criminal records among the protesters, violation of legislation on special protection of children at risk, intentional blocking of the roadway, limiting access to the press and assaulting journalists during the media coverage of the events”.

“The police do not aim to restrict citizens’ right to free expression, but it is to be assumed responsibly, without infringing on the rights and freedoms of others,” the statement added.

Earlier, the IGP announced that it had repeatedly notified the Chisinau City Hall about the violations committed by demonstrators, but “no action was taken”.

Several thousand people took part in the protests organised by the “Shor” party in front of the Presidency and Parliament in recent weeks. They marched through the streets of the capital, shouted slogans against the government, cheered Ilan Shor and Marina Tauber, and some of them are still freezing in the party’s tents in the so-called “City of Change”. 

Four Ziarul de Gardă reporters infiltrated the ranks of the Shor Party protesters on the eve of the September 18 rally in Chisinau. The reporters, for several days, documented from the inside how they are mobilised, transported organised and paid to demonstrate their “civic attitude”. Three of the reporters, a few days after taking part in the protest, were paid 400 lei each by the people responsible for recruiting the protesters, the so-called “patratiste”. The money was received in various locations in Orhei and the whole process was filmed and documented by ZdG.