The Declaration of independence of the Republic of Moldova was decided on very quickly, taking by surprise many Moldovans. The statement was made for IPN by Anatol Plugaru, MP in the first Parliament and signatory of the Declaration of Independence, former minister of security. He also specified that this was not a previously planned action.

“Before us, many countries from the former USSR had declared their independence. A version of the declaration of independence was circulating among the members of the Parliament. But then the language issue came up: part of us wanted the Moldovan language, while the other part - the Romanian language”, declared Anatol Plugaru.

The former MP mentioned that some of the MPs who advocated for independence threatened not to sign the declaration if the Romanian language was not written down. "We discussed it and, as there was no difference, I agreed to write Romanian and not Moldovan, I agreed to this, although the Moldovan language was more correct," said Anatol Plugaru. According to the former MP, this moment was a turning point in signing the Declaration of Independence.

Anatol Plugaru said that voting the Declaration of Independence in the Parliament was the expression of the general ideal of the people, with a few exceptions amongst the Russians, Ukrainians and Bulgarians living in the Republic of Moldova. "It was a general wish to proclaim our independence. I don't think many of us realized what we were doing, but we acted by analogy, taking the example from others,” said Anatol Plugaru.

The former MP mentioned that, after the Declaration of Independence had been signed, a general state of euphoria followed. "Ion Hadârcă and a few other MPs proposed that the anthem be Desteapta-te Romane/Awaken, Romanian. The whole room applauded, but I assure you that very few people knew who was the author of the lyrics and the music. But in the general atmosphere of enthusiasm, Desteapta-te Romane was voted as the national anthem," stated Anatol Plugaru.

--- On August 27, 1991, 28 years ago, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova adopted the Declaration of Independence, a document signed by 278 deputies. This founding act is marked every year as Independence Day. The original declaration burned during the 2009 protests in Chisinau, but was restored in 2010.