A proposed restriction on street protest sites in Moscow could lead to a rise in unauthorized rallies, a lawmaker said on Wednesday.
"If we impose the restriction there will be an increase in protests," Moscow deputy regional security chief Vasily Oleinik told the Moscow government on Wednesday.
Plans to restrict protests to just one downtown site similar to Speakers' Corner in London's Hyde Park have caused outrage among opposition leaders and rights groups who say the location would invariably prove too small to share with numerous pro-Kremlin movements.
Despite allowing two opposition rallies since he came into office in November, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has cracked down on rallies involving motorist protests, including those by the Blue Bucket Society over the misuse of flashing lights by state officials and bureaucrats.
MOSCOW, March 16 (RIA Novosti)
