Except for the fact that we learn about the totalitarian repression currently going on, there is not much positive at the moment.
Political opponents are put under house arrest for the fact that they organized the protests. N.B. the protests were legally announced according to Moldovan law, and later turned into riots. What use could a democratic state have for house arrest?
Anyway, let's forget any mumbo jumbo about Moldova being a democratic state...
The information below comes from Cotidianul.ro. ON this arrest there are som very nasty pictures of maltreated youth.
The following is a letter that reched me through the facebook group Defend Moldova Pride
Elena Gordon translated the Romanian better than me, and gives a good sum up of the situation:
Dear Friends,
I apologise for messaging you three times in 2 days but Moldova is having a tough time right now and that can only impact badly on LGBT people.
Basically the communists won the vote which seemed to be a fair vote but after weeks of misinformation. To make things more interesting the Communist President Voronin is about to get to the end of his term but doesn't really want to stand down (the Putin scenario).
What is being called a "Twitter" revolution happened with mainly young people mobilising via the internet and going onto the streets. The "communists" are blaming unrest on Romania with backing from Russia and this revolves around the whole issue of whether Moldova will integrate within Romania (Romanian is the language of Moldova).
I barely understand the ins and outs of this myself but I urge non-Moldovans if you can spare the time, to contact your Foreign Ministry expressing grave concerns about the situation in post election Moldova to ensure that politicians in the west can't get away with the idea that "nobody cares about this tiny country".
If you can't spare the time, spare them a thought...as people seem to be being stopped in the streets by Police, especially at night, to be asked how they voted. Many of the demonstrators are in jail, many of them injured by beatings by the Police according to....
"Edwin Berry, Human Rights Adviser to the UN in Moldova has managed to visit the prison nr.13 on Saturday and talk to at least 40 of the young people arrested during the protests. «I have never seen anything like this», said Berry.
UN adviser claims he has seen at least 40 youngsters who are detained in various cells. «They all have traces of beatings and injuries,» Berry said, adding that practically all the prisoners are aged between 18 and 24.
The prisoners complained they were beaten in the different police sections or at the headquarters of the Commissioner General of Police. They claimed that between 25 and 28 people were held in small cells of 8 square meters. They were given very little water, and virtually no food. Also, most of them complained about the fact that they were not allowed to see a lawyer.
«I have seen doctors in the Penitentiary, but the prisoners say they do not receive all appropriate medical assistance», said the UN representative. He told the press that he had taken photographs of the signs of torture which these young people bear on their bodies. He also requested to set up a meeting with the Moldovan Ministry of Interior Affairs. Also, the data that he collected during his visit will be used to document the cases and to inform the international community about what is happening.
«From what I saw and heard from those 40 young people, I can say that there are serious human rights violations, namely the practices of inhuman and degrading treatment and preventing the right to legal advice, fair court proceedings and appropriate conditions of detention, «said the UN official.
Berry believes it is important there is the "Committee for complaints" in Moldova, which made it possible for him to visit the prison.
source: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://garda.com.md%2Fstiri%2Freprezentantul-onu-in-moldovacate-28-de-tineri-batuti-intr-o-celula-de-8-metri
Other sources:
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://blogs.euobserver.com%2Fpopescu%2F2009%2F04%2F07%2Fan-eu-response-to-moldova%25E2%2580%2599s-%25E2%2580%2598twitter-revolution%25E2%2580%2599%2F
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://news.bbc.co.uk%2F1%2Fhi%2Fworld%2Feurope%2F7989360.stm
--------------------
I apologise for messaging you three times in 2 days but Moldova is having a tough time right now and that can only impact badly on LGBT people.
Basically the communists won the vote which seemed to be a fair vote but after weeks of misinformation. To make things more interesting the Communist President Voronin is about to get to the end of his term but doesn't really want to stand down (the Putin scenario).
What is being called a "Twitter" revolution happened with mainly young people mobilising via the internet and going onto the streets. The "communists" are blaming unrest on Romania with backing from Russia and this revolves around the whole issue of whether Moldova will integrate within Romania (Romanian is the language of Moldova).
I barely understand the ins and outs of this myself but I urge non-Moldovans if you can spare the time, to contact your Foreign Ministry expressing grave concerns about the situation in post election Moldova to ensure that politicians in the west can't get away with the idea that "nobody cares about this tiny country".
If you can't spare the time, spare them a thought...as people seem to be being stopped in the streets by Police, especially at night, to be asked how they voted. Many of the demonstrators are in jail, many of them injured by beatings by the Police according to....
"Edwin Berry, Human Rights Adviser to the UN in Moldova has managed to visit the prison nr.13 on Saturday and talk to at least 40 of the young people arrested during the protests. «I have never seen anything like this», said Berry.
UN adviser claims he has seen at least 40 youngsters who are detained in various cells. «They all have traces of beatings and injuries,» Berry said, adding that practically all the prisoners are aged between 18 and 24.
The prisoners complained they were beaten in the different police sections or at the headquarters of the Commissioner General of Police. They claimed that between 25 and 28 people were held in small cells of 8 square meters. They were given very little water, and virtually no food. Also, most of them complained about the fact that they were not allowed to see a lawyer.
«I have seen doctors in the Penitentiary, but the prisoners say they do not receive all appropriate medical assistance», said the UN representative. He told the press that he had taken photographs of the signs of torture which these young people bear on their bodies. He also requested to set up a meeting with the Moldovan Ministry of Interior Affairs. Also, the data that he collected during his visit will be used to document the cases and to inform the international community about what is happening.
«From what I saw and heard from those 40 young people, I can say that there are serious human rights violations, namely the practices of inhuman and degrading treatment and preventing the right to legal advice, fair court proceedings and appropriate conditions of detention, «said the UN official.
Berry believes it is important there is the "Committee for complaints" in Moldova, which made it possible for him to visit the prison.
source: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?
Other sources:
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?
--------------------
I just finished reading the first book in Solzjenitsyns GULAG archipelago. It is really spooky to read almost the same phasing used in Berry's report. No doubt were the Moldovian Police were educated...
Vladimir Voronin has also accused Serbia for helping Romania organising a Coupe d'Etat in Moldova... Take it as a compliment of the Serbian government. I don't know anything about Serbian politics, but to think that they would be involved in the Chisinau uprising is bizarre, to say the least.
Bulgaria has not yet been accused by mr. Voronin. I wonder why...
Moscovici reccomends this site for russian readers. I am not one of them, so I can't judge it, but I trust Moscovici's judgement.
Vladimir Voronin has also accused Serbia for helping Romania organising a Coupe d'Etat in Moldova... Take it as a compliment of the Serbian government. I don't know anything about Serbian politics, but to think that they would be involved in the Chisinau uprising is bizarre, to say the least.
Bulgaria has not yet been accused by mr. Voronin. I wonder why...
Moscovici reccomends this site for russian readers. I am not one of them, so I can't judge it, but I trust Moscovici's judgement.
No comments:
Post a Comment