CHISINAU. Jan 26 (Interfax) - Vladimir Voronin, a former Moldovan president and the leader of the opposition Party of Communists, has told prosecutors his version of the events that happened in Chisinau on April 7, 2009.
Voronin was testifying for about three hours at the Moldovan Prosecutor General's Office on Monday.
"The prosecutors wanted to know all that I know about the April 7 events. I told them about this. What I was saying is considered classified information. I can say only that I told them all I knew. I had ordered the law enforcement bodies not to use force against the demonstrators so as not to allow bloodshed. I believe such discontent should be resolved by using political methods rather than force," Voronin told journalists following his questioning.
Voronin said the authorities had known nothing on April 6, 2009, about the upcoming events.
"The Interior Ministry had certain information indicating that people unhappy with the results of the elections could provoke mass demonstrations. But this did not mean anything yet. The elections passed freely and democratically. And if there had been vote rigging, information on this could have appeared only three days later. But these guys were ready and did not want to wait," he said.
Asked whether he still insisted that Romania had been behind the protests in Chisinau in April 2009, Voronin replied that this was for the investigators to find out.
"I am sure that this was a coup attempt, and the investigation should find out who behind it," he said.