Bethan Jenkins AC/AM Blog

Here are a few links to the news articles on the protests in Moldova against the election results and the use of twitter by young people who attended the protest. I’ve been following what is happening by following twitterers in Molodova- Mihai Moscovici amongst others. They also have a searchable tag on twitter (hash pman) so that you can see instant updates, uploads of videos and pictures from the scene- ranging from furniture and books on fire outside the parliament building, to protestors standing on the ledge of the Presidential Palace, to information on possible political negotiation amongst leaders, and calls for more action. I am fascinated about how it has happened, and how it seems to have had little mainstream media attention. This is despite the fact that the blogosphere is buzzing with news on events, and how young Moldovan people who are based in other European countries are stating that they are being blocked from entering Moldova. Two youth movements, Hyde Park and ThinkMoldova are thought to be the organisers of the protests, and it was all organised online in one shape or form.

From what I can see now from the live updates, there are pro and anti communists protests being initiated in other parts of Moldova- in a nothern town called Sorco. Voronin meanwhile has reportedly blamed Romania for speerheading the protest, and has told the Romanian ambassador to leave the country, although Romanian leaders have been quick to deny such accusations, stating, ‘ It is not acceptable that the communist power in Chisinau transfers responsibility for the Moldovan Republic’s domestic problems onto Romania’.

The BBC has also reported today that Baroness Emma Nicholson who was on the OSCE panel monitoring the elections, has said that she has found it “difficult to endorse the very warm press statement’ by the OSCE as this does not reflect her experience. Again, events continue, and I will keep an eye on the ins and outs…

I realise that lots of bloggers have linked to this video already, but I think it’s important that as many of us show this video as possible, and reiterate the need for an inquiry into the actions of the Metropolitan Police in this instance. News programmes today reporting further on the incident suggest that Ian Tomlinson was ill, and that the ‘excitement’ of the event, as Sky News describes it, may have led to his heart attack. Whether this is the case or not, this does not however excuse the police for acting in the way that they did. Ian Tomlinson had his hands in his pockets, and did not pose a threat to the them from what I have seen from the videos. Even if Ian Tomlinson was on the protest, and was exercising his right to campaign, this does not mean that the police can treat citizens in this way. Even when he fell to the ground, not one police officer went to offer him support. People will be put off from using their democratic rights to protest peacefully in the future.

The police have been filming protestors at rallies and demos to use for intelligence purposes for a while now. But they must be aware that with the rise of applications like twitter, youtube on mobile phones and cameras, protestors and the public at large can now film events as they happen, and such behaviour by the police, who command the respect of the public, cannot be tolerated. Evidence from such videos will be key in the case of Ian Tomlinson- changing the way that such investigations would have happened ten years ago.