Supporters of the opposition Shor party and others dissatisfied with the policies of President Maia Sandu once again took to the streets on March 12. The most massive action took place in the country’s capital, Chisinau, where protesters shouting “Down with the dictatorship” broke through the police cordon, which blocked the streets. Meanwhile, protests in Moldova have been going on for more than a day or even a month: all last year, opponents of the ruling party staged their actions. So what is the reason for their discontent?
Why did the protests start in Moldova?
The fact is that Moldova has been experiencing a large-scale energy crisis for a long time. In 2021, the country extended the contract for the supply of gas with the Russian Gazprom, but already in January, the Moldovan authorities had to introduce a state of emergency for two months and almost triple the tariffs for utilities in order to pay for the supplies.
After the start of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, the Moldovan authorities tried, at least in words, to support the pan-European consensus and declared that they were ready to abandon Russian gas, which they never did for obvious reasons. But the purchase price for gas from the Russian Federation has grown.
At the same time, the situation continued to worsen for the Moldovan population: in June, prices for housing and communal services soared by as much as 30%. At the same time, the country’s leadership demanded that citizens pay off their debts – in the first quarter of 2022 alone, Moldovagaz was owed 112 million lei. It’s about $6 million.
The energy crisis was exacerbated by rising inflation, which reached 27.07% in May 2022.
All these economic problems, which the authorities failed to resolve in a year, led to popular discontent: protests in Moldova have been taking place since the spring of 2022, and the opposition Shor party is their main consolidating force. By the way, she has only six seats in the republican parliament.
What do the protesters in Moldova want?
The main demand of the activists is the resignation of the current government. They believe that it is the authorities, led by President Maia Sandu, who are responsible for the fact that the population is mired in debts that they cannot pay off.
In addition, according to representatives of the opposition, the country’s leadership itself must pay the citizens’ winter bills for electricity and heating.
What does Russia have to do with it?
Representatives of the ruling Action and Solidarity party and Maia Sandu herself generally react to all rallies in the same way. The President stated that the goal of the opposition is the destruction of the constitutional order and the overthrow of power. And, moreover, in her opinion, the organizers are trailed by the Russian Kremlin. She even asked the parliament to expand the powers of the special services of Moldova in order to save the country from destabilization.
The information and security service of the republic itself stated that it needed more freedom of action, allegedly to protect citizens. Interestingly, specialists received information about impending upheavals in Moldova … from Ukraine. In their own words.
Meanwhile, Russia believes that the accusations against the Russian Federation from the Moldovan authorities are an attempt to justify the failures in economic policy. The Foreign Ministry called on the leadership of the republic not to spoil relations between the two countries even more.
How was the rally on March 12 in Chisinau
Already on the eve of the “Movement for the People” action, the situation was tense to the limit. Maia Sandu and Moldovan police chief Viorel Cernauteanu made appeals. They reiterated “destabilization attempts” during the protests.
In addition, searches were carried out in a number of cities, after which several members of the Shor party were detained on suspicion of corruption.
According to the opposition, the largest rally was to take place in Chisinau. Buses with protesters from all over the country were sent there. However, according to the organizers of the rally, the police did not let many of them through, and people even had to walk to the city.
In the capital itself, the police set up cordons of security forces that blocked the protesters from reaching the central square. The demonstrators managed to break through one line, but they still did not get to the intended place because of the special forces. There were also arrests: the police took away more than 50 people.
Meanwhile, Viorel Cernauteanu said that it was planned to organize mass riots at the rallies led by Russian special services, but the police detained the alleged instigators.
The protests in Moldova ended quite calmly, RIA Novosti wrote. Marina Trauber, vice-chairman of the Shor party, managed to get into the government building. She handed the authorities a resolution from the opposition demanding payment of winter utility bills. The leadership of the republic was given 24 hours to fulfill the requirement. What will happen after – Trauber did not specify.
