The head of the General Police Inspectorate Viorel Cernăuțeanu said that no matter how high the number of participants in the events that will be held to celebrate the May 9 holiday is, the police will identify and penalize the citizens who will wear the ribbon of Saint George. The ban continues to generate contradictions between representatives of the opposition and those of the government. PAS MPs consider the symbols of the Russian military aggression used in Ukraine do not have a place in Moldova, while representatives of the opposition believe that by this ban the government tries to distract society’s attention from the economic problems of the state, IPN reports.

Viorel Cernăuțeanu noted that on May 9, when Europe Day and Victory Day are celebrated in Moldova, the police will patrol the streets to ensure the law that bans the spreading and promotion of the symbols of the Russian military aggression is obeyed.

“Regardless of the number of citizens, these violations will be documented and examined as contraventions. We call on the citizens to obey the law and what was adopted by Parliament. We hope there will be no provocations and tense situations. We already inform the citizens about the legal responsibility that those who will commit such a violation will bear,” Viorel Cernăuțeanu stated in the talk show “Thursday with Liliana Barbăroșie” on the public TV channel.

PAS MPs said the ribbon of Saint George is associated with the atrocities committed by the Russian army in Ukraine and Moldova firmly condemns the inhuman war in the neighboring country. Oazu Nantoi explained the behavior of PAS MPs Natalia Davidovich and Ana Racu, who decided not to vote in favor of this law.

“The ribbon is the symbol of the regime of Putin that today, ahead of Easter, kills people on the territory of Ukraine. Each MP has the right to the own opinion. The discussions in our party are often heated. If these two mates decided not to vote in favor, it is their constitutional right. We need communication with the citizens for them to realize that one cannot kill people while wearing the ribbon of Saint George and then to go to a parade,” said the PAS MP.

The opposition considers the ban on the use of the ribbon of Saint George is an attempt by the government to camouflage the incapacity to manage the economic and emergency crises experienced by Moldova.

“PAS is unable to deliver plausible results to faster bring the so-called good times. As they cannot offer bread, they offer circuses. They invent weird initiatives. Did the socioeconomic situation improve if they banned the ribbon of Saint George? Did the tariffs and fuel prices decline as a result? The ban on the use of this symbol also does not help solve the problems in the neighboring country,” said MP of the PCRM-PSRM Bloc Grigore Novac.

In accordance with the law, the making, promotion and spreading of the ribbon of Saint George and the letters Z and V that are used as distinctive signs of the Russian army in the war against Ukraine are banned in the Republic of Moldova.