Posted on 04/08/2009 11:53:10 AM PDT by 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at features.csmonitor.com ...
The flag and seal of the Transnistrian para-state still uses the Communist hammer and sickle.
...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.
Interesting place.
Of course, no so called journalist would know a damn thing about it.
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