NO DEMONSTRATIONS JUST

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 CHISINAU 000294 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/UMB E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM MD SUBJECT: NO DEMONSTRATIONS JUST CLEANUP, ARRESTS, RUMORS AND RECRIMINATIONS Q April 9 Sitrep Sensitive but Unclassified. Please Protect Accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Demonstrations abated on April 9, with no more than a few hundred gathered in front of the main government building. However, the city continued to be tense with anticipation, as further demonstrations are being planned for April 10 and April 12. The government has been implementing measures to restore order, threatening firings of teachers and expulsions if students participate in demonstrations. Some 192 demonstrators were reportedly arrested, and rumors of additional arrests of both students and various opposition figures are circulating. The CEC has officially announced the election results, which give the Party of Communists (PCRM) 60 seats, rather than the 61 needed to elect a president. The CEC has allowed the opposition to review the voter lists. The Transnistrians have requested that Russia enhance its peacekeeping force from 400 to 2,700 and deploy a helicopter squadron in order to ensure stability. End Summary. No Demonstrations on April 9 -------------- ¶2. (SBU) April 9 passed peacefully in the main downtown square. No more than a few hundred people gathered in front of the main government building, discussing issues among themselves with no orators or other action reported. Traffic was flowing normally on Stefan cel Mare Boulevard (Chisinau's main downtown street which passes through the main square). Cleanup continued at the Parliament and Presidency buildings, with knots of people standing around and watching. The city continues to be tense with anticipation, as further demonstrations are planned for Friday, April 11, and Sunday, April 13. Government Asserting Control Q Threats and Arrests -------------- -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The government has begun implementing measures to restore order. TV channels reported on President Voronin's meeting on April 8 with university rectors and professors, school teachers and local public administration. Voronin told them they had responsibility for their students and warned that there would be actions taken against the school directors and teachers. We have heard reports that at some universities the rector and professors have been warned that any students leaving class would be expelled. Police are visiting schools in Chisinau to identify, based on video materials taken at the rallies, the students present at the protests. These students have not been detained as of this reporting. ¶4. (SBU) Several news outlets have reported that 192 demonstrators were arrested (possibly overnight April 7-8). The opposition has added release of those arrested to its list of demands. On April 9 we received several reports that arrests continued. PRO TV from Bucharest reported that Security Services dressed in civilian clothes were "hunting people" in Moldova and arresting them. A Facebook post CHISINAU 00000294 002 OF 003 reported that between 11:00 A.M. and noon several men in two BMW cars detained a few male students at the Agrarian University and took them away. An Embassy observer saw one person being thrown into a car by unidentified plainclothes individuals a few hundred meters from the main square and driven away. Rumors are also circulating about arrests of various well-known opposition figures and individuals believed to have played a role in organizing the demonstrations. Pro- and Anti-Communist Demonstrations in Other Cities -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The Embassy received reports about various demonstrations that took place in other cities around the country, predominantly on April 8. Over 2,000 young people participated in an anti- Communist rally in Balti on the evening of April 8. Protests also took place in support of the ruling Communist Party and in opposition to the violence in Chisinau in Ungheni, Comrat, Edinet and Balti. We received reports from the region of Gagauzia that the Communist party forced people to attend pro-government rallies. Election Results Announcements -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The CEC announced official election results Wednesday night, and the results were as follows: Voronin's Party of Communists (PCRM),49.48 percent (60 seats); the Liberal Party (PL) 13.14 percent (15 seats); the PLDM, 12.43 percent (15 seats); AMN, 9.77 percent (11 seats). If the protesters and opposition parties should not succeed in overturning the election results, the PCRM would need to convince one opposition member to join its ranks in order to have the required 61 votes to select the next President. The CEC has also announced that the opposition would have access to the voter lists for a period of four days to review them. The opposition will review the lists to determine whether fraud took place. Media reported people voted at more than one polling station, people abroad voted in their home communities, and some deceased people voted. Transnistrians ask for Russian Peacekeepers -------------- -- ¶7. (SBU) The Transnistrians plan to ask Russia to enhance its peacekeeping force in the region from 400 to 2,700 and deploy a helicopter squadron in order to ensure stability under the new circumstances. The Transnistrian request made reference to the 1998 Odessa agreements, which limit the number of Russian peacekeepers at 2,700. An increase in a Russian presence must have Moldovan approval and Ukraine must permit transit through its territory. Though the number has been authorized, Russia has never met this ceiling. Comment -------------- ¶8. (SBU) As students are being warned not to participate, it is more likely that students may come out on Sunday, April 12, when universities are closed. Events CHISINAU 00000294 003 OF 003 are now taking place on several parallel tracks. On one track, the opposition has called the election results into question and is taking steps to investigate election fraud by reviewing voter lists. On another track, Voronin is solidifying his control, and using widespread intimidation to try to limit the size of further demonstrations: police are present in schools probably to prevent students from leaving to attend rallies; people are being rounded up by what are suspected to be plainclothes law enforcement officials and driven off in unmarked cars; borders are closed to foreign journalists; and in the raions, some reports cite that people are being forced to attend pro-PCRM rallies. Romania is an unfortunate casualty of the situation and a useful scapegoat for the PCRM. If Russia were to take advantage of this situation and increase its military presence in Transnistria, this would be a significant step in consolidating greater Russian influence in Moldova. CHAUDHRY