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Organized Online, Students Storm Gov't. Buildings In Moldova

Posted by timothy on from the no-emoticon-for-what-I-feel dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Reacting to allegedly fraudulent election procedures, students are storming the presidency and parliament of the small eastern European country of Moldova. It is reported that they used Twitter to organize. Currently twitter and blogs are being used to spread word of what is happening since all national news websites have been blocked. If the 1989 Romanian revolution was the first to be televised, is this the first to be led by twitter and social networks?" Jamie points out this interesting presentation (from March 2008) by Ethan Zuckerman about the realities of online activism, including how governments try to constrain it.

18 of 199 comments (clear)

  1. Hmm... by KingAlanI · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...So Twitter is *occasionally* filled with useful material. :)

    --
    I listen to both RIAA and non-RIAA stuff if I like the music, tangential business/politics nonwithstanding.
  2. The revolution ... by dkleinsc · · Score: 5, Funny

    will not be televised, but apparently it will be twittered.

    --
    I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
    1. Re:The revolution ... by ionix5891 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      pitty any future historian who will have to dig thru all the LOLs to follow historical events

    2. Re:The revolution ... by snowraver1 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Future researcher 1: We've almost decoded the ancient English language. FR2: Yes, we are very close. We just need a definition for this "LOL" word. FR1: Best I can tell, it seems to be a sign of mental retardation.

      --
      Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. This comment may not be copied in any way including, but not limited to caching.
  3. Twitter by koterica · · Score: 5, Funny

    Tomorrows CNN: "According to Twits from the Moldovian front...."

    Maybe after this, twitting will sound a little less stupid.

    Maybe.

  4. Wow by Rik+Sweeney · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm really surprised they managed to send so many messages without Twitter displaying the Fail Whale.

    --
    Summation 2
    1. Re:Wow by JCSoRocks · · Score: 5, Funny

      That's actually how it all started. People got the Fail Whale and thought that was the signal to rush the government. Oops!

      --
      You are using English. Please learn the difference between loose and lose; they're, there, and their; your and you're.
  5. What's the story here? by Em+Emalb · · Score: 5, Insightful

    People use communication tools available to them to organize and carry out tactics?

    Oh, it's because it's twitter it's a novelty.

    --
    Sent from your iPad.
  6. Re:Is this the first? by Thanshin · · Score: 3, Funny

    If it isn't, Slashdot ain't doin' its job.

    If Slashdot was doing its job it would be the FRIST REVOLUTION!.

  7. Europe... by hkz · · Score: 5, Interesting

    From my time in Moldova with native students, all they want is to join up with the rest of Europe and get the show on the road. They're really frustrated at "the Man". There's the Romanians who don't want to reunite the countries (since Moldova is poorer), the Russians who keep feeding the border conflict with Transnistria (fascinating read about that tin pot narco/weapons state: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transnistria ), there's the EU that doesn't even want to consider Moldova as long as there's an unsolved border conflict, there's the communists in power, and so on. Doesn't surprise me much that they're going the same way as the Orange Revolution in Ukraine -- which was much the same circumstances.

    Totally OT: Moldova has the BEST wine and the CRAZIEST Nightclubs. Gotta believe me on that one ;-)

    1. Re:Europe... by Cyberax · · Score: 3, Informative

      Russians work as peacekeepers in Transnistria.

      Also, you should try to read Wiki article you're quoting:
      ======
      On August 31, 1989, the Supreme Soviet of the Moldavian SSR adopted Moldovan as the only official language, with Russian retained only for secondary purposes, returned Moldovan to the Latin alphabet, and declared a shared Moldova-Romanian linguistic identity. As plans for major cultural changes in Moldova were made public, tensions rose further. Ethnic minorities felt threatened by the prospects of removing Russian as the de facto official language, the possible future reunification of Moldova and Romania and the ethnocentric rhetoric of the Popular Front. The Yedinstvo (Unity) Movement, established by the Slavic population of Moldova, pressed for the equal status given to both Russian and Moldovan.[73]
      Soviet symbols are still used in Transnistria

      The nationalist Popular Front won the first free parliamentary elections in the Moldavian SSR in the spring of 1990[citation needed], and its agenda started slowly to be implemented.
      =======

      That pattern was repeated several times during the USSR collapse (in Georgia and Armenia). Russian peacekeepers were able to stop these conflicts before they turned into full-scale civil wars.

      Also, Transnistria's reputation as a drug haven is exaggerated.

    2. Re:Europe... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Most Romanians want to reunite with Moldova(and I'm talking here about 99.9%), there are thousands of Moldavians in every major University in Romania, in mine too, we speak the same language and share the same culture and history. We even offered to enter the EU together with Moldova as a single country, which we wore before the USSR ripped it away.

      Let me put this clear for you: Romania and Moldova used to be the same country until WWII, The Republic Moldova is just a part of the historic region of Romania called Moldova(since 1359), a big part of it still lies in Romania. The USSR performed ethnic and cultural clensing there, the comunists even went so far as to trying to forbid the teaching of the Romanian language.

      Since before the ellections, Romanian citizens woren't allowed to enter Moldova, and now Moldovan citizens that are currently in Romania aren't allow to go back into their own country !

      There is probably going to be a millitary intervention this night, since the students even assaulted the national television while the president was there in the studio.

      In Romania we went trough something simillar in 1989, it started in the city I'm studying in, Timisoara. A simillar student protest ended in the millitary shooting in the mass of students and killing not only students but everyone who was on the streets. It was a real horror show troughout the country.

      If something simillar happens in Moldova I can only hope it's going to come to a millitary intervention from Romania or NATO. The revolution in Romania ended with over one thousand dead and thousands wounded, most of which wore students. I really hope other countries won't just stand by and let the same thing happen again. It's only come so far because romanian officialls allways wore big cowards afraid to say anything that would upset their Moldavian counterparts, or anyone else for that matter. If they won't do anything this time eyther, we're going to start protesting in the same manner.

    3. Re:Europe... by gr8dude · · Score: 3, Informative

      You can't speak for everyone else. I'm from Moldova and I can tell you that there are a lot of people here who are still able to reason clearly.

      The people want it, but the leaders find it against their "business interests". It is not _us_ who came up with the stupid Moldovan-Romanian dictionary, it is not _us_ who told the Romanian government to "keep out of our internal matters", it is not _us_ who don't even speak Romanian nor bother to learn it.

      What happens now is that the people are trying to get rid of these incompetent leaders.

      I am ashamed every time I watch the news and see how our politicians refuse to cooperate with the Romanian government - which has tried numerous times to offer us a hand of help.

      In this context it is evident why there are people in Romania who don't see Moldovans as "brothers" anymore.

      --
      The saddest poem
  8. Fax, Internet, Same Thing by QuincyDurant · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The Soviet Union was crushed by fax machines. Twitter is just sort of a chickenshit fax machine for people who like to run their mouths.

    BTW, good for the students.

  9. Example Tweet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Alright, we've got to overthrow those assholes running this country. And we've got to do it in 140 characters or less. So I want everyone to

    1. Re:Example Tweet by mike260 · · Score: 5, Funny

      brb rvltn

  10. Twitteriffic! by geekmux · · Score: 5, Funny

    Tomorrows CNN: "According to Twits from the Moldovian front...." Maybe after this, twitting will sound a little less stupid. Maybe.

    Somehow I doubt it. Somewhere, the twits will be twoted as twaying something or other about how these tweettacks are a violation of their twitful rights...

    But don't twote me on that...

    1. Re:Twitteriffic! by Hognoxious · · Score: 5, Funny

      [twitation needed]

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."