Valeriu Guma has announced he is stepping down as an MP and quits the Democrats' ranks to spare the party and his family of allegations associated with his name following a sentence by a Romanian court, IPN reports.
Guma says he doesn't need parliamentary immunity or political protection, nor the benefits of an MP seat and that he is capable to prove his innocence by himself, requiring only time and peace. He made this decision “based on political, but also personal considerations: I want to protect my family from being involved in this political circus”.
“Regretfully, I see the Democratic Party of Moldova has lately been the target of totally unjustified attacks because of a situation concerning me and me alone. I'm talking about the decision of a Romanian court regarding my person. As I said then, and I have new reasons to say it again – it was an abuse against me, from procedural issues to the essence of the case”, Guma told reporters before the Parliament's meeting.
He says he has gathered opinions from reputed lawyers from European countries and all say that nowhere in Europe such a case would have ended with a sentence. “Besides, all the arguments proving my innocence are already part of the application I have sent to the European Court of Human Rights, challenging the sentence. I'm fully confident my innocence will soon be proved by the ECHR and I cannot but wait for this decision. Until then, I do not want political profiteers to use my situation to attack the Democratic Party”, said Guma.
Moreover, the politician accused other politicians of political cowardice: “people spoke about my case without even bothering to do some reading before voicing their opinion. All those who spoke to me or my lawyers were surprised to find out how unfair the sentence was. Some radicals from the Party of Communists have tried again a few days ago to use my name to reap political benefits, submitting a notification to the Constitutional Court just as farcical as the politics of their lot. How can they speak about Constitution and rule of law? This band of usurpers who have shown us just days ago in Gagauzia that they are ready to sell their country for pennies. Their problem is not my case, but the desire to use every chance to damage the Democratic Party, which they are afraid of. And they do have reasons to be afraid. I hope the party will send this lot of bums where their place is: outside of politics”, fumed Guma.
He added that what happened to him lately was a true life lesson: “I had the chance to see how worthless and spineless some people are. But what's really important is that I also had the chance to see what true friends I have, people who didn't jump to judge me, but wanted to learn the truth first, people who stood by my side”.
Guma thanked his friends in the Democratic Party for the good things they accomplished together in previous years.
