Opinion leaders have different positions regarding the recent police searches of the offices of Patria Party and the arrest of two party activists. Some of the participants in the “Politica” talk-show on TV 7 say that these actions are justified, while others see them as the continuation of a political struggle, IPN reports.
Ion Dron, chairman of the Association “Justice and Righteousness”, doesn't rule out that Patria might have violated some laws and accused Renato Usatii of fleeing to Moscow. “There are probably some issues that trouble their lawyers. Lawyers don't call press conferences just like that. So far, I don't believe them and I don't want them to convince me. Usatii is a coward. When you leave your supporters in the streets and flee to have fun in restaurants saying that you will return, you are not a man to be trusted. Usatii should have stayed alongside his people, even with the risk of going to jail. He would have become a hero and people would have slept outside the jail waiting for his release”, said the jurist.
Political analyst Alexei Tulbure thinks that the searches and accusations against Patria are ungrounded. “I watched closely the process of removing the Patria Party from the elections. There were no financial violations. Usatii had earned the money and brought it into the country before the elections. Why is he the only one prosecuted when all the contestants, except for Oleg Brega, used money from abroad? The law enforcement bodies continue to intimidate the member of “Patria” because the former government that kept hold of power has to justify the removal of this party from the electoral race”, said Tulbure.
On the other hand, Vitalie Catana, expert in constitutional law, says that the law enforcement bodies' actions against Patria are justified. “The law forbids parties to be financed from abroad even outside the electoral race. When a guy goes to Moscow as a train attendant and returns a multimillionaire in euros, there are questions regarding the origin and lawfulness of this money, which he then invested in the electoral campaign. You won't convince me that this guy without studies is a genius”, said the expert.
The talk-show's permanent guest, political analyst Igor Botan, finds it regrettable that a character like Renato Usatii, with his probably invented legend, managed to attract so many voters. “If the Patria Party hadn't been removed from elections, then the result of the vote would have shown how many Moldovans want to see the government leaders in jail. I think this explains the Usatii phenomenon”, said Botan.
