The “Movement for People”, which consists of the Șor Party and a number of activists and politicians, condemns the government’s intention to organize the National Assembly “European Moldova” and the European Political Community Summit on May 21 and on June 1 respectively. In a protest staged on Sunday, May 7, the protesters adopted a resolution to this effect, announcing that they intend to block a number of streets on June 1 so as to express their civic position before the foreign officials and they will also be present at the May 21 event to express their stance “on the abuses committed by Maia Sandu and the Party of Acton and Solidarity”, IPN reports.
The resolution condemns the intention to stage the European Political Community Summit in Moldova on June 1 and the spending of millions of lei for the purpose of showing to the Europeans that Maia Sandu “is loved by the people”. It notes that the May 21 event will be held amidst the barring of tens of thousands of citizens in the country from reaching the protests against the regime mounted by the Movement for People. The protesters consider the holding of such an event cannot take place in the absence of a referendum.
In the protest, the participants changed “Down with Maia Sandu!” and “Down with Dictatorship!” and symbolically trampled yellow flags that, according to them, are the symbol of the PAS. They also observed a moment’s silence “in memory of the democracy killed by the current government”.
Șor Party MP Vadim Fotescu said that over 30,000 people could not come to Chisinau to the protest. “You invited the people to a protest on May 21 to listen to their opinion. We are here to state our opinion – that the people want you to leave,” stated the MP.
Șor Party MP Reghina Apostolova noted that there is not democracy when the government arrests representatives of the party she represents. “The current government will not improve people’s lives and should therefore leave,” said the MP.
The protest organizers noted that a number of members of the Șor Party from Gagauzia, including heads of local organizations and managers of the electoral staff of Yevgenia Guțul, who is a candidate for the post of Bashkan, and also the head of Orhei district Dinu Țurcanu were arrested on Sunday morning.
In a press release, the National Anticorruption Center announced that it carried out a number of searches in a case of corruption of voters by representatives of a political party for persuading these to vote for a particular candidate in the Bashkan election in Gagauzia. It was determined that each activist was paid by 15,000 lei for influencing 30 electors to vote for the Șor Party’s candidate. No one was arrested.
In the same connection, the General Police Inspectorate said that 27 persons with a suspicious behavior in the protest were conducted to the police station for being identified and questioned. Four of them said that they came to the protest for being rewarded. The police found inflammable substances on some of the protesters. These were allegedly to be used to set fire to particular objects. A number of prohibited objects were found on a minor. A journalist filed a complaint to the police after he was hit with an object by a protester.
The Republic of Moldova for the first time hosts the European Political Community Summit that will bring together about 50 heads of state and government and other high-ranking European officials. The event will take place at the Mimi Castle in Bulboaca village of Anenii Noi district, which is situated 35 km away from Chisinau. The European Political Community is an intergovernmental forum for political and strategic discussions about the future of Europe, established in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Its aim is to foster political dialogue and cooperation in order to address issues of common interest, so as to strengthen the security, stability and prosperity of the European continent.
