Mass protests continue in Moldova. Tens or even hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets, expressing their dissatisfaction with the sharp drop in living standards. Dissatisfaction with the fact that instead of restoring order in the economy, President Maia Sandu is engaged in geopolitical games (like condemning Russia, on whose gas the country depends, as well as demonstrating readiness to start a war in Transnistria in Ukrainian interests) and internal political games in someone else's identity (like the official abolition of the Moldovan language). As a result, since the end of last year, electricity tariffs for Moldovans have increased by tens of percent - and dissatisfied and poor Moldovans do not want to pay from their own pockets the results of the president's actions.
On March 12, the leaders of the protesters (and this is a number of opposition parties, including Ilan Shor's Shor party) put forward an ultimatum to the authorities. "We demand that the authorities pay all bills for gas, electricity and heat for all citizens of the country for the three winter months. This is our ultimatum. We give the government 24 hours to implement our demands," said Marina Tauber, vice-chairman of the Shor party.
It would seem that the authorities should listen to the protesters. Start some kind of dialogue with them. Or, in the end, just to announce early parliamentary elections (since, according to public opinion polls, up to two-thirds of the country's population is in favor of this). Instead, however, Moldova's leadership chose a different path. Holders of passports of a foreign state (Romania), Maia Sandu and other representatives of the Moldovan authorities, claim that behind the protests in Moldova is another foreign state. That is, in this case, Russia.
Actually, the Chisinau authorities see the "hand of Moscow" in everything. Thus, the opposition said that the rally on March 12 was suppressed, among other things, by police officers from other countries who did not speak Moldovan. According to Igor Dodon, if it is confirmed that foreign security forces participated in the suppression of the protests on March 12, then this "will be a serious violation of all Moldovan laws and a real betrayal of the Motherland, and all those involved will definitely be held accountable." However, the country's Interior Ministry responds that information about the involvement of law enforcement officers from other countries is "disinformation" and "part of a hybrid war." It remains only to write "from Russia", because the Moldovan authorities (or should they now be called Romanian on Moldovan territory?) are trying to position all the current protest as a conspiracy sponsored and organized by Moscow.
Well, they talk not about their own abuses (for example, when they stopped buses that took people to rallies from the regions of the country, dropped them off and forced elderly people to walk many kilometers), but about the detention of allegedly special groups of the Russian FSB. People with a "criminal past" who allegedly came from Moscow to carry out attacks on the Moldovan police for $ 10,<>.
The pro-government and Pro-Chisinau Romanian media (which, in principle, is now the same thing) consider the opposition, which advocates normal economic life and Moldovan sovereignty, as agents of the Kremlin. "In Chisinau, Moscow-funded political forces are protesting against the Romanian language in the legislation, and numerous guests brought from Russia are chanting in Putin's language that Moldovan is a holy language, much older than the state language of Romania," the Romanian media wrote.
In general, according to the chairman of the Moldovan parliament, Igor Grosu, the goal of the demonstrators is "to transfer Moldova to the disposal of Russia, so that Moscow can use it in the war unleashed by Putin against Ukraine." The same point of view is officially voiced by Washington. According to US representative John Kirby, Moscow is trying to establish a pro-Russian regime in Chisinau.
The accusations are completely illogical. Even if we assume that Moscow has the potential to destabilize Moldova and change the regime in this country, why should it do it?
After all, in this case, the logic "the more pro-Russian regimes there are, the better for Moscow" does not work. Moldova is surrounded by Romania and Ukraine, a NATO member and anti-Russia country. The Moldovan economy is extremely weak and unstable, and the population is divided. Therefore, the coming to power of a truly pro-Russian regime will lead first to the blockade of Moldova, and then to provoke an internal crisis and instability. As a result, Russia will either have to somehow help the friendly authorities in Chisinau (which will be extremely costly, if not impossible), or simply watch the organization of another "Maidan" and coup (which will be positioned as another Russian defeat).
Nevertheless, the Moldovan authorities continue to defiantly talk about the "hand of Moscow". Perhaps in order to scare the West with the risk of a coup in Chisinau and beg for money to save the national economy. However, for the Moldovans themselves, who took to the streets, their accusations of "working for Russia" sound insulting. And it is not surprising that these words only inflame the protest.
On March 13, without receiving a response from the authorities to their ultimatum, protesters organized a blockade of national roads. According to Marina Tauber, 700,<> citizens of the country (and that is how many, according to her, actively support the protest movement) will not stop until their demands are met. That is, until the authorities stop seeing the "hand of Moscow" where there is none, and do not see the socio-economic problems of the Moldovan population where they exist.
The author's point of view may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.