April 7 events in the context of Moldova’s Independence at its 18th anniversary. Info-Prim Neo interview with Mihai Ghimpu

[{The April 7 protests that resulted in acts of violence, including clashes between the protesters and the police, human victims and destruction of the buildings of the Parliament and the Presidential Office, constituted the most prominent evens this year and, perhaps, one of the rarest and memorable events in Moldova’s period of independence. Paradoxically, the events were not treated as such by the political class and the society. The survey on the April 7 events initiated by the news agency Info-Prim Neo among leaders of political parties of different orientations and of the civil society aims to diagnose the quality of Moldova’s Independence at its 18th anniversary and of the society in general and to find answers to the question “what should we do next?” This time, the questions are answered by the president of the Liberal Party Mihai Ghimpu.}] [– What did the April 7 events represent for Moldova’s Independence: a rare occurrence or a natural phenomenon?] - The April 7 events were an accident in Moldova’s history and I don’t think that they are somehow connected or can be placed in the context of the Independence of the country. These events have been planned and organized by the Communist Party in order to divert people’s attention from the April 5 vote rigging, while the terrorization and brutal suppression of the peaceful protesters was aimed at making the people afraid, at inhibiting the young people’s wish for freedom, and at continuing the Communist dictatorship after the April 5 elections. Fortunately, the wide-scale protests mobilized the political class and the whole society and the Communists were beaten in the July 29 elections. [– Why the violent clashes, acts of vandalism, human victims and other blamable conducts could not be avoided?] - All these aspects have been clarified enough recently, especially in journalistic investigations. Most of the young people protested peacefully. But there were groups of provokers who vandalized and destroyed. If the police officers protecting the buildings of the Parliament and the Presidential Office had been ordered to stop the acts of vandalism, we would not have had two destroyed buildings today. Regrettably, it happened as it happened. [– Why the causes of these events weren’t probed and the results weren’t published even five months afterward?] - The Communist government did not want this, more exactly they did not want to reveal the names of the persons to blame. This task, the conducting of an impartial and professional investigation by a parliamentary commission involving foreign experts, is to be undertaken by the new government of Moldova. [– Can you draw an analogy between the April 7 events and some other historical events?] - I can mention the setting of fire to the Reichstag by Hitler. In Moldova’s case yet, this scenario is similar only up to a point: the setting of the Parliament on fire and the devastation of the Presidential Office, the arrest, torture and killing of young people. The mass engagement of the society in defending democracy, the coordinated actions of the Democratic Opposition parties, the European and international support helped Moldova not to fall into the abyss of the Communist dictatorship. [– What lessons the independent Moldovan should learn from the April 7 events?] - We must never admit that anti-Democratic, totalitarian parties come to power. The observance of the Constitution and laws and of the principles and values of the state of law must be ensured.