A man is detained by riot police after scuffles broke out during a rally demanding the reunification of Romania and Moldova, in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016. More than 2,000 people have marched through the Romanian capital demanding that their country reunites with neighboring Moldova and blocked traffic on a main boulevard in the Romanian capital after scuffles with riot police. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
The Associated Press
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - More than 2,000 people marched through the Romanian capital Saturday demanding the country's reunification with neighboring Moldova.
Demonstrators waved the virtually identical Romanian and Moldovan flags as they filed down the city's main streets. They shouted "Bassarabia is part of Romania," using the historical name for Moldova.
Some briefly scuffled with police. A photographer for The Associated Press saw police detain two people after fights broke out. Riot police said five were briefly detained and fined.
Organizer George Simion said protesters wanted political parties running in Romania's December parliamentary elections to make reunification "a national project," and take steps to integrate the neighbors, such as developing energy links and a joint currency.
Some protesters remained in a central square Saturday evening after the march ended.
Moldova was part of Romania until 1940, when it was annexed to the Soviet Union, and declared independence in 1991.
Some four-fifths of Moldovans, an Eastern European country of 4 million, are of Romanian descent. Romanian is the official language in Moldova, while Russian is widely used.
However, the reunification cause does not have much support in either Romania or Moldova.
Riot police blocks protesters after scuffles broke during a rally demanding the reunification of Romania and Moldova, in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016. More than 2,000 people have marched through the Romanian capital demanding that their country reunites with neighboring Moldova and blocked traffic on a main boulevard in the Romanian capital after scuffles with riot police. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
The Associated Press
A riot policeman attaches flowers, received from protesters, to his uniform after scuffles broke out during a rally demanding the reunification of Romania and Moldova, in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016. More than 2,000 people have marched through the Romanian capital demanding that their country reunites with neighboring Moldova and blocked traffic on a main boulevard in the Romanian capital after scuffles with riot police. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
The Associated Press
A riot policeman looks up after scuffles broke during a rally demanding the reunification of Romania and Moldova, in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016. More than 2,000 people have marched through the Romanian capital demanding that their country reunites with neighboring Moldova and blocked traffic on a main boulevard in the Romanian capital after scuffles with riot police. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
The Associated Press
A riot policewoman holds flowers received from protesters to her uniform after scuffles out broke during a rally demanding the reunification of Romania and Moldova, in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016. More than 2,000 people have marched through the Romanian capital demanding that their country reunites with neighboring Moldova and blocked traffic on a main boulevard in the Romanian capital after scuffles with riot police. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
The Associated Press
Riot police push demonstrators during a rally demanding the reunification of Romania and Moldova, in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016. More than 2,000 people have marched through the Romanian capital demanding that their country reunites with neighboring Moldova and blocked traffic on a main boulevard in the Romanian capital after scuffles with riot police. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
The Associated Press
A riot policeman restrains a protester during a rally demanding the reunification of Romania and Moldova, in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016. More than 2,000 people have marched through the Romanian capital demanding that their country reunites with neighboring Moldova and blocked traffic on a main boulevard in the Romanian capital after scuffles with riot police. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
The Associated Press
A man is detained by riot police after scuffles broke during a rally demanding the reunification of Romania and Moldova, in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016. More than 2,000 people have marched through the Romanian capital demanding that their country reunites with neighboring Moldova and blocked traffic on a main boulevard in the Romanian capital after scuffles with riot police. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
The Associated Press
People break through riot police lines during a rally demanding the reunification of Romania and Moldova, in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016. More than 2,000 people have marched through the Romanian capital demanding that their country reunites with neighboring Moldova and blocked traffic on a main boulevard in the Romanian capital after scuffles with riot police. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
The Associated Press
A riot police officer shouts as protesters push to go through police lines during a rally demanding the reunification of Romania and Moldova, in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016. More than 2,000 people have marched through the Romanian capital demanding that their country reunites with neighboring Moldova and blocked traffic on a main boulevard in the Romanian capital after scuffles with riot police. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
The Associated Press