Go to the media bankParticipants of a protest action against price increases in the center of ParisCHISINAU, Oct 16Police officers do not allow anti-government protesters to enter the main square of Chisinau, traffic in the city center is blocked, RIA Novosti correspondent reports. An indefinite protest action of supporters of the Shor party has been held in Chisinau since September 18, the demonstrators live in tents in the square in front of the parliament and opposite the palace president. However, on Sunday the action moved to the central square of Chisinau — to the government building. The organizers announced their intention to gather about 100,000 participants. A week earlier, the Shor party delivered an ultimatum to the authorities, demanding that they compensate for the increase in gas and electricity tariffs and provide material assistance to the population. The authorities were given seven days to comply with these requirements, but there was no response.The opposition of Moldova started a protest action in the center of ChisinauTwo columns of protesters gathered in the center of the city to hold a demonstration in the Great National Assembly Square, as agreed with the local administration, but the police do not let people into the square. «We demand that law enforcement agencies allow us go to the square to hold the protest action as planned. Otherwise, we are talking about a violation by the police,» one of the organizers, representative of the Shor party, Dinu Turcanu, said. Traffic in the center of the capital of Moldova was blocked on several streets at once . The organizers said that they did not intend to occupy the area where the stage still remained after the celebration of the City Day. MPs from the Shor party are also negotiating with the police.In Moldova, they announced their readiness to create a National Salvation Committee This week, the authorities of the republic adopted new rules for holding protests during the state of emergency in the country since February 24. Blocking roads during protests is possible only on non-working days, the protest must end in a maximum of four hours. In the event of a violation of public order, the police have the right to remove the violators from the crowd without coordination with the protest action. If the violations become too serious, the police may demand that the organizers stop the demonstration immediately. The protesters are outraged by the unprecedented increase in gas prices, other energy resources and food, as well as high inflation and falling living standards. The protesters accuse the authorities of failing to cope with the crisis, point to a record inflation over the past 20 years, which in September amounted to 33.97% on an annualized basis. The country's leadership is criticized for its unwillingness to negotiate better gas prices with Russia, as well as for political pressure on opposition representatives. Numerous polls show that about 60% of the country's population doubt the ability of the ruling Action and Solidarity party to stay in power for another three years before the next parliamentary elections. Also, about 70% of Moldovans are disappointed with the policy of the authorities and almost 65% support the idea of a change of government.
