#1 Police retake Moldova parliament
Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 6:53 pm
BBC
The total population of Moldova is just under 4 million.
Moldova is a small nation wedged right between the Ukraine and Romania. The count of the crowd has been in the thousands and most of them are young in their late teens or early 20s.Riot police in the Moldovan capital, Chisinau, have regained control of the parliament building that had earlier been stormed by protesters.
The protests followed Monday's re-election of the Communist Party.
Thousands of anti-communist demonstrators stormed parliament, smashing furniture, throwing computers through windows and lighting fires.
More protests, which President Vladimir Voronin said amounted to an attempted coup, are expected on Wednesday.
In a televised address on Tuesday, he said he would protect Moldova from a handful of fascists drunk on anger.
State TV quoted police as saying one woman had died from carbon monoxide poisoning during the protests.
Coup d'etat?
Trouble first erupted on Monday when the election results were announced amid claims from opposition parties that the poll was rigged.
Opposition leaders have backed the protests, saying the election result was fraudulent, while condemning the violence. They have said the protests would continue.
The total population of Moldova is just under 4 million.