fine the president
On April 15, the opposition Socialist Party of Moldova held a protest in Balti, the country’s second largest city, with the participation of lawmakers.
The reason for the dissatisfaction is that the parliament of the country occupied by the majority pro-Western Action and Solidarity party (founder is the current president Maia Sandu) has been voted St. George strip was banned.
Now, under the Criminal Code, they have added fines or community service and punishment for the manufacture, storage, sale and public use of the Victory Day symbol. Therefore, individuals in St. George will have to pay from 245 to 490 dollars, officials – from 490 to 980, legal entities – from 490 to 1630.
At the same time, the symbols “Z” and “V” entered the stop list.
According to Olesya Stamate, head of the legislative parliamentary commission, the need for a ban stems from the use of all of the above “to incite war in Ukraine.”
At the same time, the measures in St. He added that the George ribbon will not affect those who are part of the military award.
The leaders of the opposition left coalition are former Moldovan presidents Vladimir Voronin (communists) and Igor Dodon (socialists). The first accused the authorities of “crime”, and the second directly urged voters to violate this ban on Victory Day. The opposition also promised legal support to anyone who would be fined for wearing a ribbon and appealed to the Constitutional Court.
“On May 9, we are all at a St. We’re going on the Victory Parade with the George ribbon! And fines, if the authorities allow it, let’s all go and surrender tens of thousands of people together. [премьер-министру] Natalia Gavrilitsa and Maia Sandu!” Dodon wrote.
Since 2017, May 9 in Moldova is celebrated not only Victory Day, but also Europe Day. And the current authorities are taking steps to reduce the importance of the first holiday – the same Gavrilitsa urged not to celebrate it on a grand scale, so as not to “incite hatred” against the backdrop of a special operation in Ukraine. Moldovans should think about what unites them. For him, this is European integration, for example.
Dodon believes that the current “dummy government” may soon try to ban all but three letters from the alphabet – PAS (Latin abbreviation for “Action and Solidarity” party). The politician, who is also considered pro-Russian, has called for neutrality in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The day before, Vladimir Odnostalko, a socialist member of the Moldovan parliament, in an interview with socialbites.ca, described the decision as a “shame” for the authorities, because, in his opinion, for most residents of the country, St. George ribbon is an important symbol.
“Such a situation would not fit in the minds of any sane citizen of the Republic of Moldova. “Most republican citizens have in their family a grandparent, grandparent or other relative who fought against fascism, fought for freedom, and honored these symbols along with others,” he said.
Among the possible reasons for the Party of Action and Solidarity, Odnostalko singled out the influence of external partners, which “implies that the time has come to deal with the Russian world.”
Experts interviewed by socialbites.ca also saw in the symbols of the ban, important to the pro-Russian people, at least the desire of the authorities to please Western countries.
That’s why Vladimir Bruter, an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies, St. George described the ban on the strip as “a demand from the West to ban everything Russian.”
“The Moldovan government is very pro-Western and also anti-Russian. It has to fulfill this agenda, and it does. They are also categorically trying to get rid of the influence of the current opposition on political processes and are confident that they will continue to move in this direction.
At the same time, the expert believes that the exception left for orders contains a very general interpretation and can be used in theory as a kind of legal loophole.
Transnistrian political scientist Andrei Safonov admitted in an interview with socialbites.ca that most likely the actions of the PAS are simply the implementation of decisions taken in the West.
“It is difficult to say that this leadership is completely independent – Moldova is following the path of, for example, the Baltic countries in this matter.
Now, it seems to me that in the entire post-Soviet space, with the exception of Americans and Europeans, Russia, Belarus and some other countries, there is a complete historical and cultural break with the Soviet past.
And the current leadership of Moldova does not pay attention to the opinion of the population on many issues, although its prestige has certainly fallen.
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Vladimir Bruter believes that the division of society in Moldova “exists, exists and will always exist”, and such prohibitions do not force a part of society to renounce their beliefs.
“Roughly the same sections of the Moldovan population are pro-Western and pro-Russian. This is not St. George will not change the ban nor any other such action. And those who believe that Moldova should be led by Russia will not go anywhere, ”she is sure.
Bruter also believes that dissatisfied people don’t have much real leverage to influence officials.
“And how can they oppose that? Just a St. George ribbon and they will try to punish them. I think there will be such cases. But how can one resist a lawmaking parliament? Maybe neo-Maidans, but I don’t think that’s the case. Also these are Western technologies, so I don’t think that will happen. But of course, on May 9, many people went to St. George will wear his ribbons,” she says.
Sensitive bans are unlikely to help Maia Sandu reintegrate Transnistria, which is not under her control, and the president opposes federalization of the country and a “soft approach” to negotiations. For example, he wants to ensure the withdrawal of the Russian peacekeeping unit from there, after which, in his opinion, the parties will be able to find a common language.
But the hitherto unknown head of the PMR, Vadim Krasnoselsky, expressed yet another outrage, emphasizing that the ban on the Victory Day symbol “does not reflect the position of the entire Moldovan people”. He also invited “honest and honest people” to celebrate the 77th anniversary of the heroic victory in the Great Patriotic War this year.
Also, a little earlier, deputies of the parliament of the Gagauz autonomy of Moldova also demanded to repeal the new ban – their statement, St. He states that the ban on the George strip divides society and introduces de facto political censorship.
In addition, Gagauz people are concerned about the negative effects of the new changes on relations with Russia. Residents of this region have traditionally favored rapprochement with Moscow – in February 2014, more than 98% of those who participated in the local referendum supported the integration of Moldova into the Customs Union, which later included Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
what else can’t be
The good old ban on the broadcasting of Russian television content, including Soviet war films, is on parliament’s agenda. A similar practice existed from 2017 to 2020. Then, for example, the TV channel RTR-Moldova was fined about $ 5,000 for showing the Moscow Victory Parade on May 9. However, Igor Dodon managed to repeal this law before resigning from the presidency.
Now the “censorship law,” as the opposition calls it, is back – so far passed on first reading. Officially, the bans will apply to the rebroadcasting of analytical and information-political programs on military issues, feature films and documentaries from countries that are not party to the European Convention on Transfrontier Television, including Russia. During the parliamentary debate, it was revealed, for example, that the movie The Cranes Are Flying, which won the main prize at Cannes in 1958, is also within the scope of the ban.
But the current bill, among other things, provides for the expansion of the powers of the power structure of the Information and Security Service. From now on, online content providers in Moldova will be required, at their own discretion, to remove content they consider “disinformation” or to block sites, and distributors of fake broadcasts on TV and radio will pay fines.
Bruter believes that there will be no sharp public reaction to the new laws, because Moldovan political life, in his opinion, is frozen until the end of the military operation in Ukraine. At the same time, he reminded that no one in Moldova will give up their neutral status yet.
Safonov added that Pridnestrovie certainly did not perceive Chisinau’s decisions as a guide to action.
“We will have St. George ribbons, we will have an immortal procession and a Victory parade, and of course we will watch Soviet films – whatever decisions are made in Chisinau,” he said.