GOVERNMENT USING INTIMIDATION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 CHISINAU 000296

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/UMB

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM MD
SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT USING INTIMIDATION
TO REGAIN CONTROL Q April 10 Sitrep

Sensitive but Unclassified. Please
Protect Accordingly.


1. (SBU) Summary: President Voronin's
crackdown on student rioters,
journalists, and other outspoken critics
of the government over the last two days
has created a sense of fear among
potential demonstrators. Cyberspace
messages cautioned demonstrators not to
go downtown because they risked arrest.
The main square remained calm throughout
the day, with a crowd in front of the
main government building of several
hundred protesters chanting for the
release of the approximately 200
demonstrators who have been arrested
over the last few days. There was a
considerable police presence assembled
behind the main government building,
while small groups of non-uniformed
thugs, presumably from the security
services, watched from across the street
and also circulated around the city.
Protesters have demanded that the
Central Election Commission publish all
voter lists in the official governmental
register. President Voronin has
requested the constitutional court to
allow a complete recounting of the
ballots cast. End Summary.

Smaller Crowd in the Square Remains
Peaceful
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---


2. (SBU) Small crowds of several hundred
protesters gathered in the main square
and peacefully listened to speeches.
They chanted slogans calling for the
release of protesters who had been
detained. People posted messages on
Facebook warning demonstrators not to
participate in today's protests, as
provocateurs would be ready to take
advantage of the situation.
Many websites appear to be blocked in
Moldova by Moldtelecom, the government-
owned Internet provider, including
unimedia.md, unimedia.info, jurnaltv.md,
hotnews.md, protv.md (news sites),
Facebook.com, Odnoklassniki.ru,
Twitter.com, though the blockages appear
to be intermittent.

Government Using Intimidation to Reassert
Control
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--------------


3. (SBU) The government has been actively
cracking down, arresting some of those
suspected of participating in the protest
violence earlier in the week and
arresting opposition journalists. They
are threatening school administrators and
students, closing borders, and installing
police checkpoints around Chisinau. We
have heard first-hand accounts of
widespread intimidation of students in
classrooms. In one account, a student at
the College of Informatics and Economics
reported that police were at the college
today and had pictures from the protests
with them. The police checked all
classrooms and the grounds, grabbed two
students and took them away. In another
instance, the student reported that
school authorities locked the gates to
the school grounds to ensure that
students did not leave. In yet another
example, a college director informed
students that the school would dismiss
anyone who participated in the protests.
The director of a village school in the
north received a cable last night signed
by Prime Minister Greceanii saying that

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he has a personal responsibility to
ensure that his students remained in
classes today and not participate in the
protests. The same message was sent to
other heads of educational institutions
throughout the country.

Opposition Journalists Harassed
--------------


4. (SBU) Threats against journalists have
become more strident in the last twenty-
four hours. The editor-in-chief of
Jurnal de Chisinau, Rodica Mahu, was
reportedly kidnapped this morning when
she was walking to her office; her staff
is concerned that she was arrested.
Other journalists from Ziarul de Garda
reported being followed this morning by
persons, presumably from the security
services, dressed in civilian clothing.
Ziarul de Garda, a Moldovan independent
newspaper, claims to have evidence that
would identify the principal actors in
the destruction at the Parliament and
Presidency buildings. The police have
destroyed cameras, beaten and intimidated
several journalists, including Romanian
reporters, over the past few days, and
denied entry to foreign journalists who
attempted to enter Moldova early this
week. The government is protecting the
state-run Moldova 1 TV station
headquarters, which demonstrators earlier
threatened to take over. Dozens of
policemen and military personnel armed
with Kalashnikovs are present, and
snipers from the roof of the building are
watching the entrances.

"Conspiracy with Romanians" Pretext for
Arrest
--------------
--------------


5. (SBU) In addition to the students
arrested for involvement in the
demonstration violence, we have heard
several stories that police have arrested
people and charged them with conspiring
with the Romanians. An independent
Romanian news portal reported that a
raion (district) chairman and member of
the Our Moldova Alliance (AMN) party
claims he was "invited" yesterday to the
Intelligence and Security Service,
accused of being a Romanian spy calling
on people to support unification with
Romania, and threatened with 25 years of
imprisonment. The Prosecutor General's
Office released a communique today
stating that Moldovan law enforcement
apprehended a Romanian citizen in his
temporary residence in Chisinau and found
maps of Chisinau, pictures of Moldovan
governmental facilities, including the
Parliament and Presidential
Administration, as well as Molotov
cocktails.


6. (SBU) Press has reported that some 200
people have been arrested. An embassy
officer observed today some 20-30 family
members waiting outside the detention
center where detainees are held pre-
trial. A list of 135 names of people in
detention was posted on the front wall of
this police station. One couple told the
embassy officer that their son's name was
not on the list, but he had not come home
last night, so they were waiting in hopes
of further information about him.

Travel Restrictions
--------------


7. (SBU) Even though borders appear to be
open today, we have heard reports that

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the police are restricting travel around
Chisinau. On April 10 police set up
checkpoints on roads leading into
Chisinau from Hincesti, Leuseni, and the
airport. The police are stopping all
vans and buses and asking the occupants
where they are going and what they are
planning to do. The police are not
stopping passenger cars. External
borders might be closed if, according to
one border control officer we spoke with,
busses with students from Iasi, Cluj or
Bucharest (Romanian cities) arrive at the
border. Those entering Moldova from
Romania will be subject to the new visa
requirements implemented yesterday; the
cost for the now-mandatory visas is 35
Euros. There were no changes at the
Chisinau Airport and flights are leaving
and arriving without problem.

Voronin Orders a Recount
--------------


8. (SBU) President Voronin has asked the
Constitutional Court to pass a decision
to carry out a complete recount of the
ballots cast during the April 5
elections. CEC Secretary Iurie Ciocan
told Infotag that the work would require
about ten days. On election day ballots
were counted by some 20,000 people
working simultaneously at polling
stations throughout the country, whereas
the re-count would be done only by
members of the constituency election
commissions. Protesters have demanded
that the Central Election Commission
publish all voter lists in the official
governmental register. They believe that
if all the 2.55 million names were
published, it will be easier to uncover
violations committed during the April 5
elections.

Comment
--------------


9. (SBU) The government's widespread use
of intimidation might be enough to tame
or cancel future protests. Voronin's
willingness to carry out a recount
should address some of the grievances of
the opposition. However, a recount will
not address questions of faulty voter
lists, and which need to be checked
separately, and some Moldovan citizens
will likely remain unconvinced.
Additionally, arrests of protesters and
opposition members are creating a new
set of grievances, as demonstrators
chant for their release. Though the
streets are quieter, the electoral
crisis will not end until after the
voting concerns are settled, the new
parliament convenes, a president is
elected and a new government put in
place.

CHAUDHRY