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5 comentarii:
Un protest spontan...
Abolirea (neo)comunismului in Basarabia este sau ar fi trebuit sa fie de mult timp un deziderat al tuturor romanilor basarabeni.
Inertia, promisiunile demagogice ale partidelor de stanga, presiunile ruse, dezorientarea ideologica, dezradacinarea nationala si multi alti factori au dus la perpetuarea (neo)comunismului in Basarabia pana in prezent.
Speranta inlaturarii (neo)comunistilor de la putere de catre tinerii entuziasti basarabeni mi se pare a fi insa minora. Fortele sunt inegale. Pe de o parte, un aparat represiv, cu o experienta de decenii in reprimarea oricaror miscari de emancipare, iar, pe de alta parte, cateva mii sau chiar zeci de mii de tineri, deja "infiltrati", condusi doar de sentimente si idealuri specifice varstei.
Studentii si elevii protestatari romani ar fi trebuit sa fie "scoliti" de miscarea sarbeasca Otpor (finantata la vremea ei de Soros), aceea care l-a "debarcat" pe Milosevic si de a carei experienta au profitat, la vremea lor, pentru acapararea puterii, Juscenko si Sakashvilli.
In cazul de fata, lipseste finantarea externa...
Re: Un protest spontan...Si totusi
guvernele totalitare se tem cel mai mult de astfel de miscari spontane. Eu cred ca asa cum Piata Universitatii a dus la schimbarea (inca) formala a KGBismului in Romania, tot asa miscarea studentilor basarabeni va duce cu timpul la o schimbare (la inceput formala) in F.R.S.M (fosta republica sovietica Moldova). Rusia trebuie sa-si fi dat seama ca garnitura trebuie schimbata cu una care se va preface (ca si Iliescu si acum Ba'secu) ca da satisfactie dorintelor populatiei de a se integra in lumea civilizata.
April 08, 2009 3:19 am
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As a Moldovan citizen, albeit one who is currently studying at Cambridge, UK, i think i am more than qualified to give a proper assessment of the mob rule and indiscriminate violence that took place yesterday. First of all, the NY Times readership needs to get one thing crisply clear right from the start: the people who looted the President's Palace (yes the name is a relic of our Asiatic past), the people who tried to set Parliament on fire, the people who caused massive damage to both buildings and the sorrounding area, these people are no longer "protesters", for their actions are not ones of protest, but of criminal intent.
It is certainly not an excuse to say that the youths simply needed to "channel their anger". They could have done so, rather reasonably, by engaging in creative workshops or dancing classes, and not by wrecking square meters of pavement in the Moldovan capital's only remaining decent square, not by disgracing their national representative organs, and certainly not by showing themselves to be nothing but the puppets of an angry and dissatisfied clique that seeks to exploit their political illiteracy. These young men and women (many of them as young as 15) have a lot to be angry about. There is a lot of truth in the fact that Moldova, or, more correctly, Bessarabia, is part of an ethnically cogent group of Romanian-speaking peoples. There is certainly the possibility that some administrative tinkering did take place during the elections, the possibility, i say, but it is not yet an established fact. But, my dear friends, this does not give anyone the slighest right to turn the centre of Chisinau into a flaming pigsty, to wreak juvenile havoc on Parliament and to portray themselves as an infantile mob of un-civilized thugs that imagine themselves to be freedom-fighters.
There are issues to resolve, but their resolution has to proceed along well-trodden Western paths of calculated, civilised and respectful engagement with one's political opponents. Instead of seating themselves at the negotiation table these people chose to: a) Stand on the said table and shout horrid obscenities while devouring a fierce amount of alcohol, b) Subsequently proceed to throw this said table out of the Parliament's windows, and c) To set fire to the remaining tables, and all other furniture present in the Parliament.
The "heroes" of this article are the "wizz-kids" of the New Age of the Almighty Internet, but it seems to me that these so-called "national leaders of the Moldovan youth movement" lack political maturity, accuracy of judgement and need a good dose of common sense to restrain their revolutionary urges which no doubt arise from the steady influx of Spring sexual hormones into their nationalist heads. You cannot, i repeat, you cannot bring a crowd of thousands into the streets having pepped them up beforehand with a generous dose of intolerant, violent and abusive propaganda, and expect them to light candles, sing the national anthem and quietly disperse. It is nothing but a sign of political cowardice to disclaim responsibility for the results of a protest instigated by oneself.
Though i support many of the aspirations of the Moldovan youth, i refuse to be associated with the disgrace that took place between 6-7 April on the streets of my home town. I am profoundly embarrased by the behaviour of this drunk and violent mob which the author of this article claims to be the flower of Moldovan youth. If these street thugs have lost all sense of self-respect, let the world know that there are some, including myself, who stand proud and firm and will not respond to any shameful and unwarranted provocations to demeaning violence.
Expressing his indignation from Chisinau, Moldova,
A.E. Muntean.
— Arsenie Muntean, Chisinau
Recommend Recommended by 31 Readers
6.
April 08, 2009 3:31 am
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I am saddened that the feed story emphasizes the so called "Twitter Revolution" and does not focus that much on why the conflict appeared. Those protesters, who are in a large part from high-school or college, fight for their future. Currently, the governmental authorities in Moldova have isolated the outside world from what is happening in PMAN. Till this moment, I was unable to access any of the online news-channel from inside the country(Moldova). The electricity to some areas has been shut, so that people could not get any news either from TV or internet. Isn't this a sign of totalitarianism, an anti-glasnost?
I urge the international community to give their full support to these protesters. Encourage them to protest more, and encourage them to protest peacefully. As a Romanian Philosopher, Petre Tutea, used to say: Within the grandeur of the Romanian Nation I am nothing but an invisible gear. But I am! And this makes all the difference.
Curaj, Frati Romani!
— Stas Sajin, New York
RecommendedRecommended by 22 Readers
7.
April 08, 2009 4:03 am
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My political views aside, I have one question to ask: why do Americans and Europeans think Iraq and Afghanistan cannot live without democracy, but Moldova can?
Romanians were lucky enough to decide they want out of communism in 1990 exactly at a time when the international trend was favorable.
But if it is true that we civilized nations fight for values, not economic or political interests, then why is what happened yesterday in Chisinau less important or correct than what happened in Romania...it started the exact same way ( minus twitter and cell phones).
I would find such analysis a proof of professional journalism on the NYTimes' part.
— Laura Lica, Bucharest,Romania
RecommendedRecommended by 18 Readers
3.
April 08, 2009 2:59 am
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“MOSCOW — A crowd of more than 10,000 young Moldovans materialized seemingly out of nowhere on Tuesday to protest against Moldova’s Communist leadership...”
With all due respect, because I am a Moldovan who reads nytimes., please explain, why MOSCOW? Moscow is in Russia, Moldova is an independent country, the protests happened in its capital city, CHISINAU!!! Excuse me, but that is pure ignorance.
The general coverage of the story is good.
— David, Chisinau, Moldova
RecommendedRecommended by 18 Readers
2.
All Editors' Selections » EDITORS' SELECTIONS (what's this?)
April 08, 2009 2:58 am
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The ability of repressive governments is threatened by technology’s rise and the spread of knowledge.
If young men and women tired of incompetence and lies from government leaders take to the streets to demand change, shouldn’t we, the beneficiaries of similar protests and tea parties, but cheer them on?
Moldova is isolated and unknown in much of the world, but perhaps now the voices of young people will be heard and change will come.
May it be so.
— George Mitrovich, San Diego
Recommend Recommended by 18 Readers
11.
April 08, 2009 4:39 am
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David,
I support your concern: the events took place in Chisinau, Moldova and not Moscow, which is thousands of miles away and there happens to be another country in between them (for those who are less geographically oriented is it Ukraine). It is truly shameful that the New York Times made such a "typo", and an excuse like "the author of the article reported from Moscow" will not work because the events took place in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova.
On another note, to quote Alina-Mungiu Pippidi (a reporter on hotnews.ro) "Revolutia din Moldova se desfasoara pe Internet pentru ca numai Internetul le-a mai ramas" (The Revolution in Moldova is happening on the Internet because it is all they have left). The .md websites were shut down (I cannot access them from the U.S.), some TV channels are out, and cellphone lines are jammed. Talk about freedom of speech in broad daylight in modern Europe. Then again, I am ashamed and embarrassed of what happened to the Parliament building. Was it really necessary to set the Parliament on fire? Stop the violence, it will not change anything and we are still the ones to foot the bill and pay for the damages. We do not have the money and cannot afford to pay $500 per chair (brand new puchased this summer). Yes, this is how much a chair in the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova costs - the country where the average income is $250/ month. Truly a paradox. I wouldn't be surprised if President Obama's chair cost less that that! Everybody is entitled to free speech and opinion, but that does not include you going crazy on the streets and attacking the Parliament, more importantly destroying public property. I did not sign up for a bunch of underage/college level kids to set the Parliament on fire since this was another reason to skip classes and do something fun. Stop the violence and protest peacefully!
Once again, Moldova has inherited huge problems from the Soviet Union, one of them you are witnessing; however we have to fight for our civil rights, as citizens of this country, for fair elections and free speech. "Political illiteracy" (as Mr.Muntean referred to it above) caused violence. We do not need violence, we need support.
Yes, We Can (a la Moldova style)!
— Victoria, Chisinau, Moldova
Recommend Recommended by 15 Readers
28.
April 08, 2009 8:23 am
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I am a Moldovan and I have some serious reservations about the comments to this article. The comments all focus on the violence, and whether this was justified or not. But the real issue is international support. I don't think anyone (whether 15 or 25 years old) set fire to the government buildings in order to destroy property.
The truth is that Moldova has lost its freedom and has been running on total corruption since it became independent in 1991. What people want now is recognition. They realize that they can't fight with the numerous and strong tentacles of the Communist party, which has its fingers in all pies. With the Communist buying votes in the countryside, where people only have access to one TV channel - the Moldova "state" television (where only Communists are represented) - there cannot be any discussion of freedom.
People may have indeed voted Communist. Perhaps the expectations were that Communists would have gotten, say 25-30% of the votes, but not 50%. But the problem is not these votes. The problem is that the Communists have gotten Moldova by its throat, and these votes were cast by people who are systemically misinformed, mislead, and lied to. The peasants in the countryside don't have access to information. And even those in the capital don't have access, as we saw this lovely government has shut down all access to media in these past few days.
Who can withstand all these violations of freedom? The other parties don't have the resources to be buying out votes, and the people have now been weakened and driven into the ground with intimidation, corruption, and the mafia that the Communist party is today. Today, you can't have a business running in Chisinau without "approving" it first with the Communists. There is no freedom of action, there is no justice, there is no recourse.
So, these protests are not about this election. These protests are about wanting someone bigger than the Communist party to pay attention, step in, and save the people. The youth and pro-Western people in Moldova are helpless in front of the giant Communism.
And sadly, without setting fire to the buildings, nobody at NY Times, BBC, CNN, or any other European or American channel has bothered in the last 20 years to report on the persistent failure of democracy in Moldova. These students are not "bad" for protesting, indeed, violence is bad, but violence calls attention. Where are the international initiatives to help Moldova surpass the corruption and mob that is in the government?
This is not a question of one party versus another. Russia is a huge country and has interests in many countries, including Moldova. The Communists in Moldova are not running alone. They are fully supported by the Kremlin. How does anyone expect the Moldovans to fight against the Kremlin on their own?
Instead of criticizing those who had the courage to stand up and call attention to the problem, I think we would all contribute to the greater good of democracy worldwide, if we called attention to this situation and to the need to fix the extraordinary corruption that violates all notions of justice and democracy.
— Liliana, New York, NY
RecommendedRecommended by 14 Readers
1.
April 08, 2009 2:58 am
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Appear out of nowhere? I'm sure there's a genuine reason behind the protests that has little or nothing to do with recent communication technology. Why not report about the reason, instead of how the protests spread?
— Amanda, Seattle, WA
Recommend Recommended by 13 Readers
26.
April 08, 2009 8:22 am
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The Communist Party isn't communist, it needs to change the name to something else. They've privatized major wineries, dramatically cut federal spending, and attracted more foreign investment than all of their predecessors. What's Communist about that?
Moldova already went through a violent discussion about their Romanian heritage in the early 90s - and polls showed that less than 10% of Moldovans at the time wanted to join Romania. We should remember that it wasn't pretty for Moldova under Romania in the inter-War years either, I wish people would stop trying to white-wash history and make it seem like greater Romania has always been the utopia. At least most Moldovans understand that.
Today, it is about survival in Europe's poorest country. The opposition campaigned to "hide Grandma's passport" so she couldn't vote. What kind of democratic plan is that? This isn't about an evil totalitarian dictatorship - this is about who the government is going to pay attention to during the global meltdown. Everybody knows that the economy is going to get worse after the elections. Old people want their pensions, young people want to get out or join Romania so they can legally work in EU. They don't want to work and live in Moldova. According to most opinion polls, the majority of Moldovan youth want to leave, many for good.
This protest is about their frustration. The global crisis has cut off their escape route. The only way left is to join Romania. The Communist Party says they want to join the EU - they have for the past 5 years - but this isn't creditable because the EU is not going to take them. Some of opposition says they can go in through the backdoor with Romanian unification, but Romania isn't going to accept them either.
Finally, who is better? That is the real problem with this election. The country is screaming for a leader who can unite them. Who is it? If anybody thinks that Filat is the voice of Moldovan democracy and youth, they should look up the word mafia and see what it says. It's unfortunate but true that the most talented officials are in the Communist Party. Urchean would sell his soul for a trolley bus. That leaves Chirtoaca - he's young, he's popular because he appears to many to be untainted, but he's more of a symbol for the youth than he is a leader. He's not going to unite the country and he has no plan for the poor, the elderly or the destitute farmer, ie Moldova's silent majority
— Costia, Chisinau
Recommend Recommended by 12 Readers
30.
All Editors' Selections » EDITORS' SELECTIONS (what's this?)
April 08, 2009 9:03 am
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Fair vote for the communist party????
During the communism regime in Romania the vast majority of the population was voting for the dictator. My parents voted for the communists. Of course, there was no real alternative. Plus, the intelligence services would persecute you and your family if you didn't vote for the dictator.
I would recommend those who support the fairness of the vote in Moldova to read some more about life during a communist regime. Of course, NYTimes could also do well adding some more background information to this story.
Also we should research more before making our minds about violent acts during a riot. During the Romanian revolution there were countless accusations of so called "terrorists" fighting the army... apparently this is why so many students without any guns or stones or any other violent means got killed during our revolution.
And for those who condemn rebelling against a legitimate political regime... how would you like to live in a communist country?
Do you know the Moldovan television was broadcasting all day children's shows and classic music concerts while people were beaten in front of the Parliament building? How would you like to live like that?
— Laura Lica, Bucharest,Romania
Recommend Recommended by 11 Readers
25.
April 08, 2009 8:22 am
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If Voronin speaks the truth why he restricted the mass media's access? I have seen the photos on the NYT and BBC News sites, it seems that only one pressman could take pictures and he made this only from behind the policemen. What do the photos show? A drunken mob of 30.000 people? No!, they show only 20-30 uncivilized thugs. Where are the pictures taken from inside the mob? Only the thugs have the right to be visible? The thousands of peoples who peacefully demonstrate for freedom have only the right to remain silent? Are you afraid that the world could see the truth that Voronin and his comunists lie? The rough handling of information and the brutality are their weapons. They cutt off Moldova so they could be free to disperse the protesters by any mean, hidden from the eyes of the West.
— Daniela, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
RecommendedRecommended by 11 Readers
12.
April 08, 2009 4:39 am
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Democracy is not a word to be used lightly. In the modern, nuclear powered and jet-fuelled age it has come to signify the ultimate and most desirable pursuit of any legitimate government around the entire world. Democracy, or more correctly political freedom as embodied in modern representative institutions, demands certain sacrifices, as countless examples from the depths of our common past as a human race have shown us.
What the violent mob on the main square of Chisinau has proven is that Democracy can also be invoked by unprincipled and bribed political provocateurs to institute megaphone-directed criminal brigands of intolerant juvenile stone-throwers. It is a historical desecration to compare the unjustified, unwarranted and pre-planned thuggery of the past days with the glorious fight for freedom, human rights and justice that took place during the 1989 revolution, or indeed, the revolution of 1789 and beyond. I cannot see how the looting of the buildings of our representative institutions, the shedding of police and by-stander blood (a police that has stood by and not fired a single shot) and criminal arson can be considered an act of responsible defence of our democratic principles.
At the very moment of the writing of this message my internet connection is experiencing violent cardiac seizures, and i accept the fact that Mr. Voronin is no stranger to administrative, and sometimes arbitrary, methods. But he is justified in his actions in so far as he is able to prevent the outburst of a bloody civil war and another Bosnian conflict, for, let me remind the particularly militant amongst us that there is an entire Russian Army with a generous suppy of middle-range missiles and combat-ready tanks right accross the river Nistru (Dniester) as well as a numerous population of knife-ready ethnic minorities that will seize upon any possible pretext to declare unilateral secession from Moldova.
I would much rather accept the results of this election, which has not been proven to have been patently falsified so far, than see my country disintegrate into anarchical violence, and i urge my compatriots to restrain themselves in the name of Democracy and Freedom.
God Bless Moldova!
— Arsenie Muntean, Chisinau
Recommend Recommended by 10 Readers
9.
April 08, 2009 4:37 am
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Welcome to the 21st Century, world leaders and your underlings!
The Internet has brought MANY benefits to our lives, but I think one of the less well realised by those in power is its ability to allow ordinary citizens to communicate their disatisfaction with laws and actions made by governments without public consent.
China's leadership is running scared - they don't yet truly understand what they've got themselves into, and even mainstream country leaders from places like the USA, UK and Australia are discovering that that it's harder and harder to hide in the shadows and do things they wouldn't normally like their voting citizens to know about.
Good on the Moldovian citizens for taking action! I for one applaud your bravery and courage. I can only hope that in time, Italys' leadership (if I use that word VERY loosely to describe them) will be overthrown by disgruntled citizens who are no longer willing to put up with their lies and machinations!
Leo from Apartments in Rome
— Leo, Rome, Italy
Recommend Recommended by 10 Readers
10.
April 08, 2009 4:37 am
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I would like to learn more about what motivated the protests in Moldova. I hope the NYT will do a follow up story!
— R Romanelli, Tannersville, PA
Recommend Recommended by 9 Readers
14.
April 08, 2009 7:10 am
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It appears the Communist party won the elections fair and square.
If that's the case, and, so far, we have no reason to believe otherwise, what took place in Chisinau must be duly described as a riot, an outburst of (politically motivated) mob violence.
I'm not surprised to see the NYT cheer for 'pro-western demonstrators', I just hope you'll follow the story long enough to see you've been had.
— aufklaerer, berlin
Recommend Recommended by 8 Readers
37.
All Editors' Selections » EDITORS' SELECTIONS (what's this?)
April 08, 2009 11:09 am
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In 1990 I was living in Romania and I went for a few days in Chisinau, Moldova's capital. At one moment a small truck stopped in front of my car and the driver was making signs to me to stop. When I did it he came to my window and asked :" Are you from Romania ?"
"Yes." Oh my God, I am so happy to see a Romanian! We are brothers, welcome here! Do you need any help , money, anything ?" No, thank you."I responded.
"Just a minute " and he went back to the truck and brought a big box of candies.
"Please take it and tell everybody in Romania we are here, after all these years still speaking Romanian. Don't forget us !"
I will never forget him and them.
Yes, it is difficult for people who never lived under communism to understand how it was. And I don't think there are many who want a return to it.
— Sd, NY
Recommend Recommended by 7 Readers
34.
April 08, 2009 10:48 am
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Moldova's great leader, Mr. Voronin, will use this opportunity to further crack down on the "Romanian elements" in the country. He has already expelled the Romanian ambassador and introduced visas for Romanian citizens. The next step will probably be to arrest anyone who publicly displays a Romanian flag (because that could certainly be construed as a "fascist move"). It's simply too great of an opportunity for him to miss, given his increasing resentment for anything Romanian.
Mark my words, Voronin will use these protests to simply stay longer in power. It's the usual trick - "the country is in crisis, it needs stability of leadership, therefore it needs me".
Once the "Twitter effect" subsides, and once there is no more spectacular news (like a burning parliament building) to report on, everyone will forget about Moldova & its single-party regime.
Sad, but true.
— Doomie, Montreal, Canada
Recommend Recommended by 7 Readers
19.
April 08, 2009 8:09 am
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Are we supposed to feel solidairty with twittering Moldavians? Perhaps we should, but what if it was Washington DC or Los Angeles? Should we embrace civil unrest that materializes and bubbles inside a social computer network? This would be called mob rule by any other name. Whether you deem it favorable or not, governments should note that just because a social network has a pet name and appears docile, it can become a powerful force for social unrest.
Twitters unite, take up thy cell phones and let's burn some things while we are at it. Download the new iPhone app Riot Act, its not just a game, its for real.
— thawley, reston
Recommend Recommended by 7 Readers
23.
April 08, 2009 8:09 am
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The issue here should not be about Twitter at all. The issue here is that if something is not done to diffuse the situation, we will have a bloody civil war in the South of Europe with hundreds of thousands of refugees and another failed state. The issue here is one of political responsibility and maturity. The issue here is one of intellect, which appears to have been left behind by the so called "revolutionaries" with all their self-proclaimed agenda.
Has the opposition presented a coherent document, a white paper or any direct evidence which would show that the elections in Moldova have indeed been falsified? No. Has the opposition constructed a detailed programme of action in the event that they and their supporters seize control of the country in a state of emergency? No. Has the opposition presented any legal claims whatsoever that would warrant the barbarity (only in a discussion about Moldova is it possible to have "legal" and "barbarity" in one sentence) that occured on the streets of Chisinau? No.
What are these youths unhappy about? The economy cannot be suddenly fixed by just changing the governing party, and it is politcally immature not to realise that. The widespread corruption and official illegalities that flood Moldova today will NOT stop once the opposition takes power, and it is immeasurably naive to declare otherwise. Union with Romania will not take place the day, or the month, or the year after the "Communists" leave their Parliamentary seats, and it is irresponsible to believe in nationalist pulp-fiction fairy tales.
Until these youths realise that only they, and not their imagined "heroes" can effect the changes necessary to bring Moldova in line with the international community, there can be to talk of patriotism, but only of a glaring lack of civic common-sense.
What drives these hooligans other than a lack of decency and respect for their own country? Alcohol and hatred.
— Arsenie Muntean, Chisinau
Recommend Recommended by 6 Readers
13.
April 08, 2009 4:58 am
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Having worked in Moldova this is a great country with wonderful people. The comunist party have always and will continue to minupilate all movement within the country. This has always fustrated the youth and the result evident. The people are great and I hope the suittuation gets resolved with mininum dammage as the authorities can be brutal. These photos will be used with others people will be identified and dammage will be done if there is no change in the ruling authority.
— Anthony, Lesotho
Recommend Recommended by 6 Readers
8.
April 08, 2009 4:37 am
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Moldova is a part of Romania that was seized decades ago by the communist regime run by Moscow. The protests are a legitimate attempt to break away from communist influence.
At the same time however, protests should be taking place in Bucharest to address the neo-communist justice system which is still very much in control. Recently a Romanian businessman, Gigi Becali, was arrested on the charge of kidnapping the criminals who stole his car. His bodyguards tracked the perpetrators, and in a bold commando raid rammed their car, forced them in the trunk of an SUV, and transported them to Becali which had a talk with them about not stealing cars in the future. The scene was broadcast widely on Romanian TV and the identities of the car thieves are known, however it is Gigi Becali who is in prison for kidnapping, and not the car thieves for grand theft auto! According to widespread Romanian press reports, the thieves are part of a crime syndicate headed by the notorious criminal Sandu Geamanu whose resume includes killing a 2 year old girl with a ninja sword. He too is a free man because of deals he made with the Romanian justice system to set up Becali for a fall. Corrupt Romanian prosecutors did not put him in jail for killing a 2 year old girl with a ninja sword, invoking the argument that "he does not present a public risk"! As incredible as this may seem, unfortunately it is very true.
Gigi Becali is being targeted because he made public details of a corrupt business deal which implicates a Romanian-American businessman, high level Romanian government officials, and the US embassy in Bucharest. Becali himself was involved in widely known corrupt business deals but the justice system is not going after him on those charges because doing so will automatically implicate high level army and government officials which would also have to take the fall. So instead, the so called justice system is using this grand theft auto episode to arrest the victim of the car theft and not the actual thieves.
This is communism at its finest and unfortunately is a very real plague which is preventing Romania from moving away from its communist past.
dangiurca.4t.com
— Dan Giurca, New York
Recommend Recommended by 6 Readers
24.
All Editors' Selections » EDITORS' SELECTIONS (what's this?)
April 08, 2009 8:22 am
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The fact that there was, among the thousands who coordinated online, not a single informer who could have tipped off the authorities, should really give pause to dictatorships and authoritarian regimes (Russia and China come to mind) where internet access is regulated but nonetheless available.
One can only speculate how these online communication tools could be used by marginalized segments of society in democratically elected governments, should the recession we are in the thick of develop into a depression and ordinary people reach a level of desperation not seen since, well, the early 1930s.
— David, washington dc
Recommend Recommended by 5 Readers
21.
April 08, 2009 8:09 am
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An unarmed people is helpless. They have no alternative to futile demonstrations. (Not quite true, perhaps a general strike?) Once criminals take control of a government, only revolution can resolve the situation. The biggest problem the people of Moldova have is not the Russians, who have always supported authoritarianism, but European leaders eager to enable illegitimate authority.
— Fred Bauder, Crestone, Colorado
Recommend Recommended by 5 Readers
15.
April 08, 2009 7:10 am
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The subject is worth a better title than this!
— David, Chisinau, Moldova
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54.
April 08, 2009 6:36 pm
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Romanians have always had to tread carefully under the watchful eye of Russia; and hope of help from any of the western powers is all but gone. It is then extremely worrying to learn how quick Vladimir Vorodin (Moldova’s contested president), closely followed by the Russian authorities, were to blame Romania for the events unfolding in Moldova.
Having lived trough the Romanian “revolution” of 1989, I know how muddied the waters can get. What and how events unfolded in Romania in December of 1989 remains largely unclear even after 20 years, and repeated attempts to investigate those events.
Then, the main focus of the major news organizations was how the Romanian revolution was the first televised revolution in the history of humans, and how technology is changing the way people organize, get their information, and protest against governments.
What goes on in Moldova rings very familiar.
I hope Romania will not be dragged into this.
If Moldova is ever to become part of Romania again, this is not the way to go about it.
Romanians know this; but we cannot blame the people of Moldova if, in desperation, they cling to their brothers.
I hope NYT will have the perseverance and wisdom to cut trough the spin and give us the real story (hopefully not from Moscow, but from Chisinau), and not try to turn the struggles of a country into yet another technology story.
— Ramona, Chicago
Read the full OSCE preliminary statement on the elections before writing. While election day may have been "largely" free and fair, the campaign environment was not. If the opposition parties had limited TV and radio time, were intimidated when campaigning and every time they hung campaign materials, they were taken down, how could the election be fair at all?
— Concerned with the coverage, Kyiv
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36.
April 08, 2009 10:49 am
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For those who believe that the NY Times made a mistake by confusing Moscow as the capital of Moldova ... I believe Moscow represents the location of the reporter who is writting the story. I doubt the NYT has a correspondant in Chisinau.
— Ileana, Bucharest, Romania
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April 08, 2009 7:10 am
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All those anti-Twitter people have to realize that Twitter has it's good uses too. Talk about a global community. Twitter allows people to talk directly to each other without a media filter. It's because people can connect directly and find out the truth about what's really going on with each other is the reason the media and the government world-wide, not just in Moldova is decreasingly trusted.
— cartoonmayhem, Canada
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April 08, 2009 3:16 am
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The precursor and early signifier was Iceland, where the Government was overthrown by Folk throwing toilet roll and Ice cream.
It is as plain as day that the compact between those in Power and those on whose behalf they apparently exercise it, has never been so fragile. The Larders are for the most part empty and Economies are finding themselves at a tipping point.
The c21st is set to be acknowledged as the Knowledge Economy. The new communication tools mean the Ruled can organise, scale and protest with breath taking speed. One suspects many Governments are simply not equipped for this New Age. Governments are facing empty larders and the ability to monopolise and exercise violence seems curtailed.
Aly-Khan Satchu
www.rich.co.ke
— Aly-Khan Satchu, Nairobi Kenya
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43.
April 08, 2009 11:45 am
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How can Costia from Chisinau claim that the Communist Party isn't communist?
Open your communist eyes and realize that that is a big difference between the politics in the West and what is called politics in Moldova
— reader, UK
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April 08, 2009 11:45 am
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I read the comments already posted here. It is incredible how easy it is to spot the communists. Someone said that OSCE's report tells that the elections were fair - but Russia is an important member in OSCE, and Russian politicians are known to take the communists side.
Also, the countryside was not really monitored. It is, of course, the opposition leader's fault that they did not produced a full report to support the claim that the elections were stolen yet. Sill, I read at 15:30 GMT that this report is being created.
People who lived all their life in democracy don't know how hard is to live under communists. Don't judge them to quickly for rioting - it appears that they were manipulated by communists so Mr Voronin be entitled to close the borders and the communications and to freeze the relationship with Romania and with the West. They were lied to their whole lives! The young were so eager to change the world, to change the awful regime that never gave them a hope for a better future, that they turn the march into riot.
But at least the world is looking now at Chisinau and realizes that Moldovans were forgotten for so many years because it was easier than to try to help them.
— reader, UK
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April 08, 2009 8:09 am
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There is an earlier example still of text messaging being used to organise protests - the so-called "People Power II" in the Philippines in 2001, that ousted Estrada and brought Arroyo into office. At the time, and it may well still be the case, the amount of text messages sent per capita in the Philippines was higher than any other country in the world.
— Will, London
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April 08, 2009 7:03 pm
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We lived in Moldova 1996-98 and have a strong attachment to the country and the people there. The two NY Times stories seem to us to be pretty accurate based on our time there and on continued relationships with Moldovans. Some of the previous comments really miss the mark, e.g., that democracy doesn't exist in Moldova. That is what is ironic--as far as I know Moldova is the only country to vote in (in reasonably free elections) a Communist government. The problem is that the opposition is too fragmented and disorganized; if you can imagine America with only Republicans (or Democrats, name your poison!) plus a Libertarion party, Nader party, Green party and other marginal parties, that is something like the situation in Moldova. Also, it is hard to understand Moldova if one is unaware of the deep divide and distrust that exists between the Romanian-oriented population and the Russian-oriented population. All are Moldovans, but generally speaking neither group wants to work with the other side.
— Gary, Columbus, Ohio
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55.
April 08, 2009 6:36 pm
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In fact, Moscovici is wrong, or he did not stay on the square - I was there for few hours on the first day, and there were not several hundred, but close to 2 thousand young people. The reason behind the protests is simple - we want our votes back, PCRM has stolen the elections. Even some of the ODIHR's observers accepted they had a very strong feeling that manipulations took place. On the top of it, by having control over the media, and using administrative resources you just fool, intimidate, force the Soviet-educated population to vote for you, or buy their votes, that is exactly what has happened in Moldova. See on this topic "The Virtual Politics" by Andrew Wilson.
— Dumitru, Chisinau, Moldova
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51.
April 08, 2009 2:44 pm
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WHEN GOVERNMENT CAN FLIP THE SWITCH
Don’t you find it alarming that the sitting government, obviously the target of many protests, has the "secret weapon" -- the ability to shut down the internet? This was the case in Moldova. I'd like to see the NY Times article elaborate on that, rather than just brush over it with the line, "when Internet service was shut down, Mr. Moscovici said, he issued updates with his cellphone." Also, according to Radio Free Europe, at least one cell-phone network was shut down for a period of time. On rferl.org see “The Revolution Will Be Tweeted.”
Preventing internet access and/or cell phone use cuts off people’s access to information on the issue and the protest itself, thwarting individuals from participating in political action. Of course, this effort at controlling communication and knowledge is nothing new. There have been multiple instances of authorities in China shutting down citizen access to YouTube in an attempt to prevent the exposure of Tibetan protests against the communist rule. The NY Times covered this incident in March.
It's refreshing to see social networking sites, twitter, txt msg, blogs and the like being utilized for political action -- to mobilize large #s of people, particularly young folks, who share the same political views. We should continue using these tools to reach and mobilize one another for political causes, but we can't solely rely on electronic modes of organizing. The internet is not our magic bullet when it can simply be shot down. So let's keep alive our active community groups fighting for justice. Let's keep engaging, organizing, peacefully protesting and chanting, not just t-y-p-i-n-g, POWER TO THE PEOPLE…
— Cady, Detroit, MI
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46.
All Editors' Selections » EDITORS' SELECTIONS (what's this?)
April 08, 2009 12:01 pm
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Moldova is a part of Romania that was seized decades ago by the communist regime run by Moscow. The protests are a legitimate attempt to break away from communist influence.
At the same time however, protests should be taking place in Bucharest to address the neo-communist justice system which is still very much in control. Recently a Romanian businessman, Gigi Becali, was arrested on the charge of kidnapping the criminals who stole his car. His bodyguards tracked the perpetrators and in a bold commando raid rammed their car, forced them in the trunk of an SUV, and transported them to Becali who had a talk with them about not stealing cars in the future. The scene was broadcast widely on Romanian TV and the identities of the car thieves are known to the police, however it is Gigi Becali who is in prison for kidnapping, and not the car thieves for grand theft auto! According to widespread Romanian press reports, the thieves are part of a crime syndicate headed by the notorious criminal Sandu Geamanu whose resume includes killing a 2 year old girl with a ninja sword. He too is a free man because of deals he made with the Romanian justice system to set up Becali for a fall. Corrupt Romanian prosecutors did not put him in jail for killing a 2 year old girl with a ninja sword, invoking the argument that "he does not present a public risk"! As incredible as this may seem, unfortunately it is very true.
Gigi Becali is being targeted because he made public details of a corrupt business deal which implicates a Romanian-American businessman, high level Romanian government officials, and the US embassy in Bucharest. Becali himself was involved in widely known corrupt business deals but the justice system is not going after him on those charges because doing so will automatically implicate high level army and government officials which would also have to take the fall. So instead, the so called justice system is using this grand theft auto episode to arrest the victim of the car theft and not the actual thieves.
The Romanian press is now asking half-joke, half-serious questions such as if someone is raped, should they try to go after the rapist and risk having the police arrest them instead of the rapist?
This is communism at its finest and unfortunately it is a very real plague which is preventing Romania from moving away from its communist past. Those in Moldova who think joining Romania would mean being in utopia, should think twice.
http://dangiurca.4t.com
— Dan Giurca, New York
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April 08, 2009 11:55 am
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To Ashley from NY: you say this: "And unless Muldova is prepared to cut off both cellular and internet service, the groups cannot be prevented from communicating, and through communication, organizing."
Read some more stories covering the event and you will find that internet was cut yesterday in Chisinau and in the central area of the city there was no cellphone coverage either. This was done for the sole purpose of breaking the communication between those participating at the protests.
To whom may be interested, the best coverage for this events is on english.hotnews.ro.
— reader, UK
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29.
April 08, 2009 9:03 am
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Politics is a dirty business. This age-old maxim has not lost an ounce of its potency and validity since being uttered now more than one hundred years ago. In fact, politicians are a lying and cunning bunch of self-interested bureaucrats who will use any form of back-stabbing methods to get at the goal they desire, which is, suprise, surprise: POWER!
The people on the streets today have been deluded and used by the corrupt forces claiming to represent the so-called "liberal alliance". These people, all of them, the strange Moldavian surnames sounded out around the globe, the likes of Chirtoaca, Urecheanu, Filat want only one thing: power. The Moldovan populace have entrusted their quite rightful aspirations towards reintegration with the European family of peoples into the hands of a scheming clique.
The opposition, inlcuding the people who have been writing in this very comment section about the injustices of the Communist regime, have not posted a single factual link in support of their claims, have not provided a single verifiable document that outlines their grievances in legal form and have made no coherent strategical propositions whatsoever apart from the rallying cries of "We are Romanians!" and "Down with Communism!".
What Communism? Look around you, and unless you are suffering from the currently widespread symptom of political blindness you will be able to clearly see that these are "Communists" in name only. The market is free and so is the press, there is ample freedom of movement and there are widespread opportunities to do whatever comes to your brain without any kind of state supervision whatsoever. The notion of a dictatorship is a comfortable illusion that is needed so that these impoverished people in this ruined country can find a common enemy on which they can lay the blame for the miserable economic state they are currently in. Voronin is not Stalin, Chirtoaca is not Obama and today is 2009, not 1989. I think the US government should release a statement condemning these acts of violence that endager the lives of those taking part as well as the self-esteem of the vast majority of the population.
Those who went out on the streets had the courage to get drunk, had the courage to throw stones at innocent people and had the courage to completely, utterly pillage the national Parliament. Yes, let us be proud of our brave nation! We have stood up to the tyrannical regime of the bloodthirsty Communists who want to kill us all!
It is not because of a lack of freedom, but by lack of intellect, that the crowds filled the squares in the Moldovan capital. I rest my case.
— Arsenie Muntean, Chisinau
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27.
April 08, 2009 8:22 am
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This is the only chance to reach a CHANGE MOLDAVIAN people need !!!!!
— Val, New York
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Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
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