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Romania blamed over Moldova riots Romania blamed over Moldova riots
(10 minutes later)
Moldova's president has accused neighbouring Romania of stoking the protests that erupted into violence in the capital Chisinau on Tuesday.Moldova's president has accused neighbouring Romania of stoking the protests that erupted into violence in the capital Chisinau on Tuesday.
Vladimir Voronin said the Romanian ambassador would no longer be welcome.Vladimir Voronin said the Romanian ambassador would no longer be welcome.
Thousands of young protesters thronged Chisinau, fighting police and ransacking parliament, in protest at the results of Sunday's election.Thousands of young protesters thronged Chisinau, fighting police and ransacking parliament, in protest at the results of Sunday's election.
Official results gave the ruling Communist Party about 50% of the vote in the former Soviet republic.Official results gave the ruling Communist Party about 50% of the vote in the former Soviet republic.
President Voronin, a Communist, said the protests "cannot be described as anything other than a coup d'etat".President Voronin, a Communist, said the protests "cannot be described as anything other than a coup d'etat".
Russia's foreign ministry said they were a plot aimed at undermining "the sovereignty of Moldova", and pointed to "plenty of Romanian flags in the hands of organisers of these outrages".Russia's foreign ministry said they were a plot aimed at undermining "the sovereignty of Moldova", and pointed to "plenty of Romanian flags in the hands of organisers of these outrages".
Some of the protesters on Tuesday had called for the unification of Moldova with Romania, its bigger neighbour.Some of the protesters on Tuesday had called for the unification of Moldova with Romania, its bigger neighbour.
Summoned on Twitter
UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for calm and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said violence against government buildings was "unacceptable".
The streets of Chisinau were quiet on Wednesday morning. Protesters had left the scene of the rioting on Tuesday night, and police retook control of parliament.
But opposition leaders said protests would continue.
Vlad Filat, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, called the demonstrations "a spontaneous action by protesting young people".
He said the opposition had tried to prevent excesses, like the attacks on parliament, but said: "We are not scared of arrests or intimidation. The people do not want to live like this and want to live free and without fear."
Word of the demonstrations was spread by text message, via the internet, and on social networking tools.
"We sent messages on Twitter but didn't expect 15,000 people to join in. At the most we expected 1,000," Oleg Brega, of the activist group Hyde Park told the Associated Press news agency.
Chisinau Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca, a member of the Liberal Party, said: "The elections were fraudulent, there was multiple voting."
A report by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe said Sunday's vote was "generally free and fair".
But a British member of the OSCE's observation team questioned that conclusion.
Baroness Emma Nicholson said she found it "difficult to endorse the very warm press statement from the head of the OSCE.
"The problem was that it was an OSCE report, and in the OSCE are, of course, the Russians, and their view was quite different, quite substantially different from my own," she told BBC News.