About 500 old men and women gathered in front of Chisinau City Hall today to protest the City Council's decision to increase fees for water consumption and public transportation. Retirees also cannot use public transportation for free anymore.
The protesters blocked traffic on Chisinau's main street for a few hours. At one point, mayor Dorin Chirtoaca stepped out to speak with the crowd, but was assaulted by some of the protesters. Mr. Chirtoaca was punched by someone in the crowd and later had to withdraw into the city hall building. City counsellor Oleg Cernei was also pushed and shoved.
Maia Laguta, head of the Salvgardare Association and one of the organizers of the protests, demanded that the City Council decisions be cancelled and threatened that if her requests weren't fulfilled she would organize protests every day until they were.
Mr. Chirtoaca met with Ms. Laguta, after which protests were ceased for the day. Mr. Chirtoaca accused Ms. Laguta of staging a political rally since she said the City Council's decision to up fees was an attempt to punish Communist voters. Most elderly people vote for the Party of Communists.
After talks, mayor Chirtoaca decided to call an urgent City Council meeting on September 30 to reanalyze the decisions. A few hours ago, Chisinau City Hall also released a press statement saying it would increase subsidies for retirees, people with disabilities, and the unemployed.
The press release added, however, that the Chisinau city budget is overwhelmed by social welfare demands since more than 100,000 people can use public transportation for free.
In a related story, Unimedia posted a hidden-camera recording by journalist Petru Terguta in which one of the protesters says that the demonstration was organized by a Communist M.P. whose name is Ereomenco. The woman may be referring to Vladimir Eremciuc. Whatever the case may be, the protest seems to have taken on a political nature as some of the retirees carried Communist banners and said times were better when the Communist Party was in power.
h/t www.unimedia.md
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