Gheorghe Ghimpu, the late founder of the National Liberation Movement, a political detainee and an ardent advocate for the right of the victims of the Soviet totalitarian regime, was also one of the members of the first Parliament who voted for the Declaration of Independence. Those who new him personally, say that Gheorghe Ghimpu was a man of moral excellence, of great courage, a true patriot and a model of anticommunist resistance. Writer Vladimir Besleaga says Ghimpu was one of the first Moldovans to stand against the totalitarian regime, a man who proved back in the 70s that Moldova had voices dissenting with the Soviet regime. For his political beliefs and for founding the National Front of Bessarabia and North Bucovina, Ghimpu was condemned in 1972 to 6 years’ imprisonment in maximum security institutions, yet, even behind bars, he remained steadfast to his beliefs. During the years of national revival he gained a reputation of a leader. He was the first who, on 27 April 1990, climbed the Parliament’s building to replace the red hammer-and-sickle flag with a tricolor. Moldova’s first President Mircea Snegur has told Info-Prim Neo he grieves the death of Gheorghe Ghimpu, “a great fighter for the national ideals”. “Alongside Ion and Doina Aldea-Teodorovici, Gheorghe Ghimpu is a symbol of awakening back into national awareness”, says poet Ion Hadarca. “When he raised the tricolor on top of the Parliament’s building on April 27, I couldn’t see the point why he risked his life climbing such heights. Later I realized that Gheorghe Ghimpu alone was able to do that.” Gheorghe Ghimpu died on 27 October 2000 when the car he was traveling in collided with a truck in unclear circumstances. Mihai Ghimpu, Gheorge Ghimpu’s brother and also president of the Liberal Party, claims the crash was planned. “But he left behind a priceless treasure – the love for all that we call Romanian”. Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca of Chisinau, who is also his nephew, says that Gheorghe Ghimpu assumed a great responsibility when he decided to fight for the national cause in an international endeavor against the Communism. “It is impossible for me not to be proud of being related to the one who dedicated his life to fight for freedom and the Romanian values. As Mayor, I feel obliged to carry on my uncle’s work so that the freedom which he defended at the cost of his life can settle among us”.