Several thousand people gathered on Sunday in the center of Chisinau, where a large protest organized by the Movement for the People, which also includes the Shor party of pro-Russian oligarch Ilan Shor, was announced in front of the parliament, announced by an international investigation. and is included in the sanctions list by the United Kingdom and the United States.

The protest in Chisinau ended after about an hour and a half, during which various speakers gave speeches criticizing the country’s leadership. Demonstrators shouted anti-government slogans and against President Maia Sandu.

Initially announced in front of the parliament, the protest moved in front of the National Theater of Opera and Ballet, on the steps of which clothes were “put up for sale” as a sign that the population would have no money.

Organized by the Shore Party, the protest ended with the release of doves into the air as a sign of “peace”.

The participants adopted a resolution demanding the government within seven days to provide a positive response to citizens’ appeals regarding the payment of bills for December-February.

Three ambulances were eventually called as some of the participants were injured, but their movement was hampered on the main boulevard of Stefan cel Mare, which was blocked by dispersing protesters.

Traffic was eventually restored on Stefan cel Mare and Sfant Boulevard, police said.

And to end the march to the rally on a more cheerful note, some demonstrators, after getting out of the stupor, danced in the parks to the music playing from the loudspeakers:

In autumn, the SOR party organized protests in front of the parliament and the president every Sunday, starting on September 18, demanding the resignation of the government, a reduction in prices and tariffs, and an increase in wages. The protests lasted for weeks. A press investigation found that the protesters came because they were paid.

In 2017, Ilan Shor was sentenced in the first instance to 7 years and six months in prison for fraud and money laundering in the case known as the “billion theft” and is currently wanted internationally

Government reaction

RENEWAL. Government spokesman Daniel Vaudet told TV8 that the executive would not comment on the protest and respect people’s right to peaceful assembly.

“The government does not comment on the protest. The authorities respect citizens’ right to protest and freedom of peaceful assembly and association. The Prime Minister of the country is informed about the current development of events, and colleagues from the Ministry of Internal Affairs have already stated that the police will ensure public order and safety, as well as the safety of citizens,” said the spokesperson of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Government, Daniel Voda.

RENEWAL. A young woman spoke to the protesters in English, saying that they should be understood by the international press. Immediately after that, Maya Lagutsa, a well-known figure in the protests that took place in Chisinau, addressed the demonstrators in Russian.

UPDATE – The number of protesters has reached several thousand.

Demonstrators changed the originally declared place of protest

UPDATED – The protest organized by the Shore party, which was supposed to take place in front of the parliament, has moved to the Maria Biesu Opera and Ballet Theater. People gathered with placards in their hands and flags of the Republic of Moldova. The police found a violation of the previous statement regarding the venue of the rally. According to the law enforcement officers, by changing the location, the organizers did not fulfill the requirements of the declaration.

The protesters are led by MP Marina Tauber from the SOR, under the control of judge Regina Apostolova, also a member of the SOR party, the president of the Orhei district Dinu Tsurkanu, the mayor of the Orhei municipality Pavel Vereyanu, reports TV8.md.

Protesters demand that the government fully pay the bills of citizens for December-February. They chant “Down with the government” and “Down with the dictatorship”.

“We are strong, united and in solidarity, and we will achieve victory,” said Maryna Tauber, deputy of the SHO party.

The press secretary of the ruling party “Action and Solidarity” told Radio Moldova that destabilization actions are taking place in the country. “SOR, through manipulation, tries to take advantage of people’s insecurity in order to hide from justice,” she said.

The DA platform believes that the demands of the protest organized by Shore’s party “are the height of populism and cynicism.” Demanding from the Government full payment of bills for consumed gas, energy and heat this winter for all citizens means an unprecedented degradation of political discourse. billions and their accomplices.”

People were brought from Beltsy by bus

On Sunday morning, eight minibuses and buses with demonstrators left Balti for Chisinau, reports desdechi.md. Several groups of residents of Balti municipality, including young people, organized an organized march on Sunday morning to Chisinau to protest against the current government. Young people want to ask for a reduction in tariffs for heating agent, gas and electricity. Those who want change are not ready to answer the question of whose call they came out to protest and how they see the solution to this problem.

Representatives of the “Shor”, “PACE” and People’s Movement parties called on people to come to the rally, desdechi.md reports.

The Associated Press reported Friday that Facebook allowed fugitive politician Ilan Shor to run ads calling for protests and riots against the pro-Western government, even though he and his political party are on US sanctions lists. The ad featuring convicted politician Ilan Shor was eventually removed by Facebook, but not before it was seen millions of times in the Republic of Moldova.

Counter-demonstration with the flags of Romania and NATO

Instead, in the center of the capital near the monument to Stephen the Great, several people protested against the Shore Party and the expected rally under the parliament. People came with flags of Romania and NATO, reports TV8.md.

Last fall, Moldova faced such street movements. The media investigation showed that pro-Russian forces from the Republic of Moldova are behind these protests, in particular the internationally wanted oligarch Ilan Shor.

In addition, on Saturday, the authorities conducted more than 20 searches and detained eight people in the case of illegal financing of Ilan Shor’s party. According to the press release of the prosecutor’s office of Chisinau, cited by desdechi.md, “criminal actions took place throughout the territory of the Republic of Moldova, at the residence of some members of the faction, who actively and systematically participate in receiving and distributing funds in particularly large amounts to the heads and deputy heads territorial units of the party, for the transportation and payment of labor of citizens from different regions of the country for protest actions organized by the Shore Party during September 2022 – until now, including action scheduled for February 19.”

The police called on all participants of the Sunday protest to follow the instructions of the law enforcement officers, the restrictions of the authorities, not to make messages that provoke aggression, violence or any other actions dangerous to the safety of citizens. “The police will not allow any provocations or aggression, including against their employees. Persons who do not observe the behavior established by law regarding gatherings, incite or commit acts of violence, riots or destabilization will be prosecuted in accordance with the law,” the law enforcement officers emphasized.

Six young people with suspicious behavior from a sports institution were taken to the district inspectorate for documentation on Sunday, a knife was found in one of them.

Igor Grosu: Russia relies on corrupt and vulnerable politicians

The protest in the capital of the Republic of Moldova takes place against a tense background. The protest actions expected on Sunday are “organized”, the President of the Parliament Ihor Grosu said on Radio Moldova. He stated that the Russian Federation is counting on “corrupt and vulnerable politicians” in the Republic of Moldova.

“The problem of the Russian Federation is that it always bets on corrupt and vulnerable politicians in the Republic of Moldova. They do not understand that we do not have a dictatorship like the Russian Federation. Here, even this organized group has the right to go to peaceful protests, within the limits of the law, not to destabilize. If he tries, it is obvious that the law enforcement agencies will intervene and will not allow him,” Ihor Grosu said.

Recently, the tone between Moscow and Chisinau has increased, with Russian officials warning that the Republic of Moldova could become the “new Ukraine” due to its pro-Western orientation.

Last week, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi told EU leaders, and then on Friday to the participants of the Munich Security Conference, that Russia has plans to “destroy” and “strangle” the Republic of Moldova.

For her part, the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, confirmed on Monday that Moscow’s plan to destabilize Moldova through subversive actions, including hostage-taking and attacks on some institutions that may have involved citizens, had been thwarted. .with military training” from the Russian Federation, Belarus, Serbia and Montenegro.

Since then, the Republic of Moldova has banned several foreigners, some from Serbia and Montenegro, from entering the country. In the latest example, on the night from Saturday to Sunday, four foreign citizens who wanted to enter Moldova using false documents were spotted at Chisinau airport. They were citizens of Uzbekistan and came from Istanbul.