CHIŞINĂU (Imedia) - The Party of Communists (PC) is currently getting ready to organize street protests against the current Government, says Stirea Zilei.

The same media outlet quotes „sources within the PC, according to whom the first mass manifestation will take place on May 1," which over 10,000 people could attend.

„Members and supporters will join us. May 1 is, for us, a day of solidarity, a day that unites everyone who disagrees with this regime. It will be an absolutely peaceful action," Communist M.P. Mark Tkaciuk said.

Stirea Zilei adds that on May 1 the PC is trying verify its forces in order to truly mobilize on June 16, when the current Parliament's mandate expires.

„We are waiting for Mihail Fiodorovici Ghimpu's decision [Imedia: to dissolve the legislature]. If it is not forthcoming, I don't know what's going to happen. Political forces have to reach a consensus and not get stumbled by first-grade problems. We can get along and not make fools out of ourselves," Mr. Tkaciuk noted.

Commentary:

Petru Bogatu: This is going to be like a storm in a glass of water

Petru Bogatu, a political commentator, says that „the PC doesn't really have many other options beyond street protests."

„They have been very noisy until now, trying to show the democratic Government's lack of legitimacy and its inability to manage the country. I don't think they were very successful. On the contrary, they have lost some power considering the fact that some M.P.s have left the Communist faction. So now they have to be more forceful. This is their spring offensive. They probably think that the time is ripe for renew their forces - the beginning of May is a time when part of the population still has the instinct of getting out into the street like they did during the Soviet period. 

It looks like the Communist leaders want to convert this picnic disposition of its supporters, who are celebrating during this period anyway, into a protest or a demonstration. Of course, they still have enough resources to get some people out into the street, but I don't think they'll make a hole in the sky with these protests. The PC is, if you will, a left-wing party and, by definition, it has to honor its status. Protests have been their weapons for decades. Moreover, by organizing protests on May 1, the PC could be joined by other such parties who organize manifestations. I think this decision by the Communists was predictable and not original at all. It should not ignored, but we should not be expecting a social earthquake. It will more likely be a storm in a glass of water," Mr. Bogatu adds.

Igor Botan: It is difficult to imagine the Party of Communists (PC) organizing non-stop protests

Igor Botan, executive director of the Association for Participatory Democracy (ADEPT), says that „the PC is already organizing flashmobs and pickets, and is doing so more and more insistently."

„The Communists could, of course, call a larger demonstration in May. But it is difficult to imagine the Party of Communists (PC) organizing non-stop protests, and that is a problem for them because they can place efficient pressure on the AEI only when the PC proves that it can organize non-stop protests. Large, but sporadic, manifestations will be an element that will show that the PC has organizational force, but this is not a dramatic issue for the Alliance. The ruling coalition will say that this is a free country and that anyone can protest according to the law," Mr. Botan adds.

He stresses that „the plan to hold protests could have the goal of hiding another Communist initiative - the collection of 350,000 signature to organize a referendum to give a no-confidence vote to the current authorities."

„I think that the real organizational problem the Communists have has to do with collecting these signatures, which will be replaced with these protests," Mr. Botan concludes.

File:

According to legislation, the Moldovan Parliament needs to be dissolved on June 16 and new early legislative elections need to be announced because M.P.s have failed to elect the head of state.

But the Constitution does not set very exact terms for dissolving Parliament.

Interim President Mihai Ghimpu has previously said that he will only dissolve Parliament after Article 78 in the Constitution is changed, which regulates the election of the head of state, in order to overcome the constitutional stalemate that ensued after the legislature's failure to elect a President.