Writers, politicians, functionaries and other persons laid flowers to the monument to Stephan the Great in central Chisinau on July 2, when it is 505 years of the death of the ruler, Info-Prim Neo reports. “Stephan the Great is an example of dignity and of how we should serve our country. He is our symbol that will definitely last long. These flowers are an homage rendered to a great man, a great politician and a true patriot. It is our duty to honor and remember our forerunners that deserve our respect,” said the president of the Liberal Democratic Party Vlad Filat. The vice president of the Liberal Party Dorin Chirtoaca said that Stephan the Great is the symbol of Moldova’s stability and statehood, unlike some of his followers that claim to promote these things. “Stephan the Great had ruled for 47 years and managed to make Moldova a prosperous country recognized as a regional power that could compete with any of the European states. The fact that 500 years after the reign of Stephan the Great we face so many internal problems is serious. We live in a period when the PCRM resorts to crime in order to keep the power and this means that this party recognizes no limits,” Dorin Chirtoaca said. The leader of the Moldova Noastra Alliance Serafim Urecheanu asked Stephan the Great to come back for 2-3 days. “If Stephan the Great was here, many of the traitors of the country and the many villains would have their heads cut. “The country’s and people’s roots come from Stephan the Great – Moldova’s ruler that made our country famous and respected in Europe and the whole world. He established diplomatic relations with all the great countries, especially on the European continent, and preserved our Christian religion and did not allow other religions to extend in Europe. Stephan the Great cannot be compared with those that now expect for the darkness to fall to do their duties and bring a basket of flowers by stealth. We again speak about the ‘destructive’ president of Moldova Vladimir Voronin,” Serafim Urecheanu said. The president of the European Action Movement Anatol Petrencu said that Stephan the Great would not like to see what is happening now in Moldova. “The slogan “Moldovans, Unite” (which was promoted when Moldova fought for independence – e.n.) is now topical more than ever. At least those that are now in front of the monument should unite and run under a joint list in the July 29 elections,” Petrencu said. Academician Mihai Cimpoi, president of the Writers’ Union, said that Stephan the Great will remain an example of a man that knew to defend his country and administer it well. “Stephan the Great also had the European idea as he dreamed that the Christian values will unite all the European peoples,” Cimpoi said. President Vladimir Voronin laid flowers at the monument to Stephan the Great before the festivity attended by anti-Communist parties and officials of the Chisinau City Hall. A communiqué from the presidential press service says that the head of state was accompanied by his advisers and heads of state services and employees of the Apparatus of the Moldovan President. Stephan the Third, also called Stephan the Great, had ruled Moldova between 1457 and 1504.