PHOTO // 17 years since 7 April 2009: Protests that changed country’s development path, still shrouded in uncertainty

A banner reading “What happened on 7 April 2009?” was displayed on Tuesday in the Great National Assembly Square by Amnesty International Moldova, as part of an action meant to bring the violent events of 17 years ago back into the public eye and to encourage discussions about truth and justice.

Thus, throughout the day, between 07:00 and 19:00, passersby are invited to write thoughts, memories, and opinions about the 7 April 2009 protests, one of the most controversial pages in the recent history of the Republic of Moldova.

Representatives of the organization emphasize that the initiative aims to preserve collective memory and to demand justice for the victims of the abuses committed during that period.

“Through this action we want to create space for public discussions about memory, truth and justice,” they said.

The 7 April riots erupted after the Central Electoral Commission announced the victory of the Communist Party in the parliamentary elections. Young people, mobilized on social networks, took to the streets, accusing electoral fraud and demanding a new vote. On April 7, more than 8,000 protesters gathered in the center of Chișinău. Initially peaceful, the protest quickly escalated into violence. The buildings of the Presidency and Parliament were vandalized, looted, and set on fire.

The circumstances of the escalation of violence remain unclear. Well-organized groups were observed among the protesters, acting with suspicious discipline. State buildings were defended by young students from the Police Academy, completely unprepared for the scale of the events. Moreover, the hoisting of the Romanian flag on the Presidency building fueled suspicions of a possible provocation.

In the evening, after the protesters withdrew, the police launched a large-scale operation, detaining around 200 people, many of whom were subjected to violence and torture. Valeriu Boboc, a young demonstrator, died as a result of the blows he received. Dozens of protesters were summarily tried in police stations, without legal procedures and without the right to a defense.

Then-president Vladimir Voronin, accused Romania and the EU of involvement, expelled the Romanian ambassador, and imposed visas on Romanian citizens. Russian blogger Eduard Baghirov was detained, accused of having orchestrated the events, but was later released and left the country without consequences.

Although a parliamentary commission documented the abuses, no one from the former leadership was held accountable. The only people convicted for the violence of that day were then Minister of Internal Affairs Gheorghe Papuc, the former general commissioner of Chișinău municipality, Vladimir Botnari, and the police officer who killed Valeriu Boboc.

Seventeen years after those events, the citizens of the Republic of Moldova still have questions about what happened that day, about the investigation of the causes that led to the escalation of the demonstrations, and above all, about punishing those responsible for the deaths of the four young people and the injuries of several dozen others.