Danero, who is in Chisinau to conduct political research, spent most of the day at the scene of the dramatic events following the contested elections held on Sunday (EurActiv 08/04/09). He said that until 11am, when the police tried to contain protesters, the demonstration was quiet. But following the police push, the situation degenerated, with some protesters appearing next to buildings, forcing the police to recoil before starting the rampage.
"I think that those who went on the rampage were troublemakers. Even the opposition parties could not control the developments in any way. They were making speeches nearby, and all the speakers, politicians and young people, were making appeals for calm, saying that the EU would recognise the protests only if they were peaceful," Danero said.
The Belgian researcher was categorical in saying that the majority of the protesters only wanted the elections to be repeated, because they considered them to have been rigged. He said people he had spoken to said that the fraud was not massive, but could have influenced the results by 4-5%.
"I heard rumours of ballot boxes being substituted in the periphery of Chisinau; that there have been strange things happening in the region of Balti, the second-largest city, where apparently all the farmers had come, strangely, to vote after 7pm, while farmers usually vote early in the morning," Danero said.
The researcher added that although the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe had issued statements considering that the elections had been fair in broad terms, the Moldovans on the streets are saying that this is not true.
Danero also said that according to rumours, Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin, who must step down after having completed two terms, could seize the opportunity to declare a state of emergency and continue to stay in office.
Other rumours suggest that the Communist party may now blame the opposition and call them bandits and fascists in an attempt to legitimise its power.
