Over 90,000 protesters protest against gov't in Chisinau - Organizers
The vice president of the Sor opposition party, Marina Tauber, says that "authorities and law enforcement agencies are at war" with them, and the exact number of protesters is not known as police dispersed the groups.
More than 90,000 people participated in a protest against Moldova's government, although it was not possible to know the exact number as police cordons separated people into two files, the vice president of the Sor opposition party, Marina Tauber, said on Sunday.
"More than 90,000 people came to protest against the authorities," Tauber said at the event.
Read: Thousands in Moldova protest, urging gov't to resign amid inflation
The organizers have demanded permission from the authorities to hold an indefinite protest outside the government house on the Great National Assembly Square. However, since an agricultural fair has been set up at the location, they were advised to move near the parliament. Protesters were preparing for clashes and provocations, the police warned in a statement.
The protesters tried to march along Chisinau's main avenue to the square, but the police blocked them two blocks before reaching their destination. As they were unable to break the cordon, they decided to rally right where they were stopped.
"Representatives of the authorities and law enforcement agencies are at war with us, Moldovan citizens. We don't want to be bad, we don't want to sow hatred, but it is unacceptable that we are met by police officers with guns and batons," Tauber said.
It was not possible to know the precise number of participants as the police blocked both groups of people who were coming from two different locations.
The Sor party has been staging rallies in Chisinau since mid-September in cooperation with the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova.
The police dispersed a peaceful demonstration on October 16 and dismantled the opposition's tent camp outside the parliament.
Demonstrators say they are angered by the increase in prices for energy and food, which is considered a first in the country, as well as by soaring inflation, which they blame on the government.
Polls reveal that nearly 60% of Moldova's population doubts that the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity is able to stay in power for three more years until the next parliamentary elections.
The polls also show that roughly 70% of Moldovans are dissatisfied with the authorities' policies and about 65% want a change in the government.