Moldovans erupt in protest after decades of silence

Christian Science Monitor ^ | 4/8/09 | Fred Weir

[americanophile]

MOSCOW – Twenty years ago, as Romanians were overthrowing their despotic Communist ruler Nicolae Ceausescu in an explosive discovery of freedom, their ethnically Romanian brethren in next-door Moldova – then still part of the USSR – were quiescent.

In recent years, as nearby Georgians and Ukrainians launched pro-democracy “colored revolutions” that brought down their bureaucratic regimes, the citizens of now-independent Moldova, having elected Europe’s only Communist Party government in 2001, remained conspicuously calm and silent.

But on Tuesday, thousands of young Moldovans surprised the world by erupting into the streets of the capital Chisinau to protest alleged fraud in Sunday’s elections, which saw the ruling Communist Party returned with 50 percent of the votes.

The protesters moved rapidly through the city, telegraphing their plans to supporters via text-messaging, Facebook, and Twitter, and succeeded in trashing several government offices and the president’s headquarters and setting fire to the Parliament before riot troops clawed back control by early Wednesday.

Nearly 100 police were injured, more than 200 protesters were hurt during the riots, and 193 were arrested, according to Moldova’s Interior Ministry. A few hundred demonstrators were reportedly regrouping Wednesday, but experts said the worst was probably over for now.

[americanophile]

Good for them. Of course, not a word of coverage from the insular American MSM.

[BenLurkin]

sounds like Moldova has a case of ACORN style election fraud.

[GeronL]

They need to keep at it.

[anniegetyourgun]

Nobody in the U.S. even knows where Moldova is....which means our journos know even less.

[anniegetyourgun]

I await our president to comment on how he’d like to address them in “Moldovian.”

[anniegetyourgun]

Their ACORN units are actual commies.

[tpmintx]

How long will it be before 0bama sends US troops to help the Moldovan government to “keep the peace?”

[meadsjn]

Their ACORN units are actual commies.

So are the ACORN people in the US.

[mia]

Scary. This could be us if Obama continues to move to the left and the MSM convinces the “undecided” that Obama is the Messiah.

[anniegetyourgun]

Not gonna happen. He’ll be too busy standing by to blame both parties as Russia rumbles through this tiny state....via Romania.

[ZULU]

How do you say ACORN in Moldovan?

[anniegetyourgun]

Actually, the demonstrators are the good guys here. The commies are in the government buildings. This is more like a teaparty on steroids....

[ZULU]

I know. The ACORN reference was to the crooked elections which put the commies in power in the first place....
just like.......HERE!!!

[FroggyTheGremlim]

“Their ACORN units are actual commies. “

So are ours.

[Hawk1976]

I’ve got a couple of Moldovan friends. I wrote them when I heard about this but haven’t heard back yet.

The younger one was very emphatic that she wanted the communists gone.

[meadsjn]

Actually, the demonstrators are the good guys here. The commies are in the government buildings.

I think we're all in sync.

Here, the ACORN commies are also in the government buildings (in addition to their thugs on the streets).

[Verginius Rufus]

There is a language sometimes called Moldovian or Moldovan--it's essentially identical to Romanian but is sometimes written using the Cyrillic alphabet (as it was in the Moldovian SSR before the break-up of the Soviet Union, and still is in the breakaway region of Transnistria which has a Slavic majority [Russian and Ukrainian]).

So Obama wouldn't necessarily be showing ignorance if he were to refer to the Moldovian language, but he might be showing support for the Communists in the breakaway region.

[anniegetyourgun]

It’s Moldovan....not Moldovian. It’s Moldova...not Moldovia.

[Tailgunner Joe]

Europe wary of new Russia tensions over Moldova - April 8, 2009 - Moscow's move on Wednesday to join President Vladimir Voronin in blaming neighbour and EU-member Romania for stoking the violence -- an accusation denied by Bucharest -- highlighted the risk of escalation. "The EU should go and it should go now," said Andrew Wilson at London's European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), urging EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana to go to Moldova and act as a mediator between the government and opposition. "But, yes, that would annoy the hell out of Russia."

[rmlew]

Just in case you were somewhat knowledgeable, but still confused, Chişinău is the Romanian name for Kishnev.

Personally, I think Transdniestra should be given independence and the rests of Moldova should join Romania.