Chisinau, 8 December 2000 (RFE/RL) - Moldovan police sealed off a government building that was seized last night by more than 100 war veterans in the capital Chisinau. The veterans are accompanied by widows and children of soldiers killed fighting in Afghanistan and the breakaway Transdniester region. The occupied building, which is still under construction, is intended to be used by lawmakers.
A spokesman for the veterans, Serik Nurtazin, says they have been promised housing for years and are just as entitled to use the building as the deputies.
Nurtazin says the authorities have deprived the veterans of practically all their benefits, and that they have nowhere to live.
Moldovan Prime Minister Dmitru Dyakov told reporters he believed the veterans possessed fire arms and called for a peaceful resolution to the standoff.
But Nurtazin indicates the veterans are armed only with rocks and clubs.
A spokesman for the veterans, Serik Nurtazin, says they have been promised housing for years and are just as entitled to use the building as the deputies.
Nurtazin says the authorities have deprived the veterans of practically all their benefits, and that they have nowhere to live.
Moldovan Prime Minister Dmitru Dyakov told reporters he believed the veterans possessed fire arms and called for a peaceful resolution to the standoff.
But Nurtazin indicates the veterans are armed only with rocks and clubs.