Boris Asarov slams PDM for 'ties with criminal groups', throws support behind AMN

The Moldovan Democratic Party (PDM) cannot protect the interests of the people as it became evident that it serves the interests of some criminal groups which are financing the party, stated Boris Asarov, the chairman of the organization “Pro-Europa”, at a press conference on Wednesday. Boris Asarov said the people must know who they can entrust their votes to and if the candidates of their choice can really represent them in Parliament. According to Asarov, after Marian Lupu assumed the presidency of the PDM, the party has become the representative of two groups: that of businessman Vlad Plahotniuc and of the so-called “Jewish mafia”. He claims that there is a thing or two that the Democrat leader is trying to hide in his biography, and the fact that he was expelled from the Moscow State University for allegedly bringing a combat grenade into the dorms and keeping it under the pillow is among the most innocent ones. But the darkest spots in Lupu's biography, according to Asarov, are related to his later years, when he became a public official. Being an Economy Ministry staffer, Lupu conceived an illegal emigration scheme, together with incumbent Economy Minister Octavian Calmic, in which he took fees of 4,000 euros for listing people into official out-of-country delegations. According to Asarov, Lupu also hid the fact that he is a maternal cousin to Emanuil Grinshpun, a man who is believed to be an important member of an international criminal group. Lupu also allegedly owns a fancy resort facility in Bulgaria, bought for $6 million, which he failed to make public and show in his financial statements. Asarov went on to add that Lupu didn't make a random choice when he joined the Democratic Party after defecting the Communists: “He found in (former Democrat leader) Dumitru Diacov a man as unprincipled as he is, so it was not a difficult choice for him to make”. In concluding his press conference, Boris Asarov recalled that, unlike the Democratic Party, the Moldova Noastra Alliance has always been a honest and fierce fighter against the Communists. “Today, when the citizens face a tough choice, we should take into consideration the fact that this party meets the standards of a political party that truly represents the interests of the people and not of some dubious groupings. After the election of the next parliament, only the Moldova Noastra Alliance Party will become the force which, representing the interests of the people, will play a decisive role in the establishment of a democratic coalition, and not in name only, thwarting Voronin's retaliation”, it was said in a press release distributed at the conference.