Ex-PM Vlad Filat stated the involvement of the former leader of the Democratic Party Vlad Plahotniuc in the April 7, 2009 events was plenary. In an interview for ProTV Chisinau channel’s talk show “In Depth” conducted in Penitentiary No. 13 where he is held, Vlad Filat said Plahotniuc should have been the first to provide explanations about those developments in the April 7 case, IPN reports.
Vlad Filat said he refers not to the students who went out and protested peacefully in the Great National Assembly Square, but to those who made that peaceful protest degenerate. He remembers that when it was proposed discussing “April 7” within the ruling alliances, everyone who inquired was sent to the Prosecutor General’s Office to provide explanations as investigations were conducted there, etc.
“I accept blame as I should probably have done more. I’m sure he will be held accountable as the current government, even if it is atypical, should learn from the bad experiences of the governments of the alliances for European integration,” stated the former Prime Minister.
Asked by the moderator of the program why he didn’t try to stop Vlad Plahotniuc when he served as Prime Minister if he saw that this committed many wrongdoings, Vlad Filat answered that even if he took particular measures and made harsh statements in 2011 - 2013, he didn’t manage to do something as his actions or attempts weren’t enough and a consolidated position was needed, but this was absent. “I didn’t hold power in the Republic of Moldova to the extent to which I could decide by myself. If I could turn back time and anticipate things, tendering my resignation was the most honorable and correct solution,” he noted.
Vlad Filat also said that without him during four years, things in Moldova worsened as there were no more hindrances.
The interview was held in Penitentiary No. 13 where the former Prime Minister is serving his nine-year sentence for passive corruption and influence peddling. He is also investigated in another case for considerable money laundering. Vlad Filat pleads not guilty, saying his case is political in character and blames Vlad Plahotniuc for fabricating this.
