The government and protesters should communicate in the interests of society, should express their wishes and should suggest solutions for remedying the situation. The early elections as a solution are treated differently by the two sides, but both of them agree that the pressure exerted by the protests on the government in the process of overcoming the crisis is beneficial in character, on condition that it does not generate dangers to the country and society. Such conclusions were formulated in the public debate entitled “Political communication in periods of crisis: between public interest and narrow political interest”, which was staged by IPN News Agency in co-production with Radio Moldova.
Vice director of the Institute of Legal and Political Research of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova Victor Juc, expert within the debate, said that in general the protests represent a democratic right, a mechanism for expressing opinions because the lack of communication leads to protests. The peaceful protests are an inherent phenomenon in society. In particular, the permanent protests in Moldova, launched on September 6, are absolutely legitimate because the protesters, in their previous demonstrations, were sincere with the government and announced that they will continue to protest if their demands are not taken into consideration. The protests were thought as a factor of pressure for solving the acute problems. It is important that the protesters should work out long- and medium-term strategies.
Igor Botan, executive director of the Association for Participatory Democracy (ADEPT) and a member of the Civic Platform “Dignity and Truth”, said the protest movement started when the people were taken by surprise by the ‘theft’ that became a public debt. This information was like an impetus for the people who knew that the politicization of the law enforcement bodies represents the root of evil. The current government should resign to confirm its mandate as it came to power by cheating, hiding the ‘theft of the billion’ before the parliamentary elections. The protesters radicalized their message because the government ignored the demands formulated in the previous protests.
Dumitru Diacov, MP of the Democratic Party, is convinced that the current political class mainly shares the people’s concern and is ready to stay alongside Igor Botan and to demand investigating the theft of the billion. “I, as Mister Botan, have nothing to do with this theft and I also want this case to be clarified as soon as possible and to find out why the institutions do not work efficiently and how we can restore the money. But we must understand that we live in a state that still builds its institutions. Everyone says that the people have the right to protest and that this protest is legal and motivated. But the question is if we want to solve these problems or to create other, more serious problems,” he said, adding that the government and protesters must discuss openly.
Vadim Pistrinciuc, MP of the Liberal Democratic Party, stated that the role of the politicians is to hasten particular processes inside the government, overcoming the resistance points generated by a coalition government. “We have many questions to ourselves and to the institutions that had to prevent the difficulties. Now the protests are staged by a civic platform, which is an innovation, but this platform puts forward also political demands, besides social ones. Such events must be like a catalyst for further determined actions,” he said, noting that the government must identify solutions to show society that it can solve the problems.
The public debate “Political communication in periods of crisis: between public interest and narrow political interest” is the 41st of the series of debates “Developing political culture by public debates” that are organized with support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
