President Maia Sandu promulgated the law that bans the use of symbols that promote military aggression and the new provisions will take effect when they are published in the Official Gazette. President Sandu said the amendments to the Moldovan legislation by which signs and letters used by the Russian army in the war against Ukraine are banned do not affect the historical memory. The people will be able to further commemorate the heroes of World War II, IPN reports.

“We remember the sacrifice of heroes. We know how high the price paid for peace then was. At least 100,000 people in Moldova sacrificed their lives for us to leave in peace. That’s why the speculation on the victory of 1945 for promoting today the military aggression against Ukraine is an offense to the memory of our parents and grandparents who sacrificed their lives for us to leave in peace,” noted Maia Sandu.

In a press briefing, the official said the symbols change their meaning depending on the context and realities. “The symbols we banned are not about the war that occurred 77 years ago. They refer to the current war taking pace in Ukraine. We cannot tolerate the promotion of images and actions that are associated with the war in Ukraine, with the killing of thousands of people, with the sufferings of millions of refugees and that encourage terror, destruction and rape. We cannot allow messages that distort information about the war. It is revolting and inhuman to accuse the victims of the own sufferings,” said President Sandu.

She noted that the current atrocities should not be associated with the memory of the heroes of World War II. “Dear citizens, there is no glory in destruction and death. The war is not peace and the lie is not truth,” underlined the official.

“The dissemination of messages that promote false values should be harshly penalized as these represent a real danger to our safety, to our conscience, to the resistance of our collective mentality. “We must say a firm “No!” to the war and its symbols, to insist on their exclusion from our communities. The place of these symbols is near other barbarous symbols of destruction and death, in the ash heap of history.”

A bill to amend the Contravention Code bans the use in Moldova of symbols and signs that promote acts of military aggression, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Among these are the black-and-orange ribbon of Saint George, the letters “Z” and “V”. The persons who will disseminate the banned symbols, including online, will be fined.