In the course of 2016, the people lost hope in the future of the Republic of Moldova. For the young people in particular, it is very important to have hope that the Republic of Moldova follows a correct path and that they have a future at home, Andrei Spanu, deputy chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (PLDM), stated in the public debate “Republic of Moldova at a crossroads of political years”, which was organized by IPN News Agency and Radio Moldova.
According to him, statistics show that over 100 people leave Moldova daily and the situation didn’t change after the election of the new President. “In other words, the election of a President of the opposition didn’t change the plans of leaving,” stated Andrei Spanu.
He also said that this year the people lost the feeling of safety. The phone tapings became a norm in a state that considers itself democratic. “Any tapping should mean the conviction of those who tapped. But in the Republic of Moldova, this is a norm. We witness the situation when the parents do not want to talk to their children because they are afraid of wiretapping. The people use different programs in communication. These are very important indicators as we see that the ordinary people do not feel safe,” said the deputy chairman of the PLDM.
The politician also said that one of the events that marked society in 2016 was the dismissal of the mayor of Taraclia, which actually showed the government’s attitude to the local public administration and which meant pressure to which public functionaries, district and local councilors and mayors are subject for defecting from one party to another.
The hampering of the right to vote of the young people, the diaspora and other people in the presidential elections was another noticeable event. “Thus, 2016 showed that a fundamental right in a democracy and a constitutional right, such as the right to vote, could not be protected by this government. This means that the current government and the politicians actually do not care about the human rights in this country,” stated Andrei Spanu.
According to him, the fact that two singers were excluded from a large-scale concert given in Chisinau is another event that should be noted. “I think this means that a kind of censorship was established in Moldova. The freedom of expression is no longer a right. It is actually a wish of the current government to give the right to speak or not to particular persons,” said the politician.
He also said that 2016 was a year of total political failure, when the politicians didn’t know to govern for the people and didn’t represent the people, but even violated their rights.
The public debate “Republic of Moldova at a crossroads of political years” was the 67th installment of the series of debates “Developing political culture by public debates” that are staged by IPN with the assistance of Germany’s Hanns Seidel Foundation.
