GRENADE EXPLOSION DURING CHISINAU

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CHISINAU 000801

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/UMB, DS/IP/EUR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/15/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR PBTS EAID PINR MD
SUBJECT: GRENADE EXPLOSION DURING CHISINAU
FESTIVITIES

Classified by: DCM Marcus Micheli for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: On the evening of October 14,
while some 50-100,000 people were in the town
center celebrating the Chisinau Day holiday, a
grenade exploded, injuring over 40 persons. No
lives were lost. Minister of Interior Catan told
the Ambassador October 15 that he believed that
this incident was the work of "Bolshevik elements"
inside Moldova, possibly based in Transnistria.
At about the same time as the explosion, the
office of Prime Minister Filat reported having
received two threatening phone calls demanding
that the GoM stop all political and economic
reforms. The Minister said a separate incident on
October 15, in which a man threatened to explode a
grenade, was unrelated and involved a personal
matter. At this point it is still too early to
say who was to blame for the blast, and what their
motivation was. The Minister welcomed the
Ambassador's offer to provide FBI agents to assist
with the investigation of this incident. End
Summary.

Grenade Explosion at Chisinau Festivities
--------------


2. (SBU) While some 50-100,000 people were in the
town square on the evening of October 14
celebrating Chisinau Day, a grenade explosion went
off at 10:08 P.M. The blast injured over 40
persons, of whom 37 were taken to the hospital.
Most were only lightly wounded with scratches and
bruises, but 12 remained in the hospital
overnight, of whom three were more seriously
wounded and one required surgery. No lives were
lost nor are any in danger now. The crowd was
listening to a rock concert which continued
uninterrupted. Mayor Chirtoaca and police
officials later explained to the press that the
concert was deliberately allowed to continue in
order to avoid mass panic among the large crowd
assembled.


3. (SBU) The Minister of Interior, SIS Director
and Procurator General gave a press conference on
the morning of October 15 to discuss the
explosion. While both Procurator General Zubco
and Minister of Interior Catan acknowledged that
they were still investigating and that the
perpetrators had not been identified, both
referred to the incident as "possibly a terrorist
act." They reported evidence that an RG-42
military grenade was used. Zubco noted that the
RG-42 has a blast radius of about 20 meters, and
said that it was not clear yet if the explosion
was carried out by an individual or a group.

Man with Grenade Threatens Explosion
--------------


4. (SBU) In a separate and apparently unrelated
incident, a man with a grenade walked up to the
Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) at about 11:00
on October 15 and threatened to blow himself up
together with the prosecutor. The two events are
linked only in that the man appeared outside the
PGO building a half hour before the scheduled
press conference about last night's blast. The
man, who has been identified as Leonid Zubin,
demanded the release from jail of his son, Denis
Zubin, who has been imprisoned for seven years for
homicide. Police blocked traffic, isolated the
individual and defused the incident, after which
journalists were allowed into the PGO building for
the scheduled press conference.

Threats to Prime Minister Filat's Office
--------------


5. (SBU) On the evening of October 14, at around
the same general time as the grenade explosion in
the central square, the office of Prime Minister
Filat reported receiving two threatening phone
calls from unknown persons. The threat calls
were received by the security officer on duty and
the information was sent to the investigators
handling the explosion case. At the October 15
press conference, Minister of Interior Catan

CHISINAU 00000801 002 OF 002


reported that the telephone threats referred to
stopping government reforms.

Minister of Interior Blames "Bolsheviks"
--------------


6. (C) In a meeting with the Ambassador on October
15, Minister Catan opined that the grenade
incident was likely the work of "Bolshevik
elements" internal to Moldova, possibly youth
organizations based in Transnistria who were
trying to destabilize Moldova. He gave no
concrete evidence to support such a link to
Transnistria, only indicating that he supposed
such elements were the most likely for such an
attack. Catan stated that this opinion was shared
by SIS director and PGO. Catan noted that if the
investigation proved that the event was purely
criminal with no political motivation, then he
would reclassify it as "hooliganism."


7. (C) Catan further told the Ambassador that he
told the press conference the grenade attack was
considered more terrorist than criminal because it
was linked with the fact that the same evening
Filat's office had received two threatening calls
demanding Filat stop all political and economic
reforms. Catan said that even before the new
government took over the organs of power they had
begun receiving "threats," such as that, "the Prut
River will be full of bodies." He noted that
Moldova had extreme organizations, with
Transnistrian origins, trying to destabilize the
situation.


8. (C) Catan also suggested a link between the
explosion and the recent protests of pensioners in
front of City Hall, who he blamed for blocking the
streets. Catan said that these people would "do
anything" to find fault with the current
administration. He reiterated that transnationals
were not involved, just "domestic political
extremists."


9. (C) Catan definitively ruled out any
connections between the grenade explosion October
14 and the incident in front of the Prosecutor
General's Office the morning of the 15th. He
noted that the grenades involved were similar, but
that they were of different generations, and hence
different origins.

Catan Welcomes USG Assistance
--------------


10. (SBU) Catan welcomed the Ambassador's offer of
USG assistance in investigating this incident.
Following the meeting, the RSO contacted LegAtt in
Bucharest, who will contact FBI headquarters in
Washington regarding assistance.


11. (SBU) On a separate matter, Catan was also
receptive to a proposal to bring in a consultant
to review the Ministry of Interior operations.

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


12. (C) It is too early to say whether the holiday
grenade attack was hooliganism or a terrorist
act. Some observers have noted that political
forces unhappy with the Alliance would stand to
benefit from the fear created, but at this point
no on can say who organized the attack. In a
situation that is already politically polarized,
both the explosion and the Minister's comments may
further the divide.

CHAUDHRY