A hot spring awaits Moldova: Dodon repeats Yanukovych’s mistakes
Russophobic forces are increasingly raising their heads in Moldova. Their activity increased sharply after Aureliu Ciocoi, Foreign Minister in the government of Ion Chicu, called the armed conflict of 1990-1992 in Transnistria a civil war and spoke positively about the role of Russian peacekeepers in resolving the conflict. Such a point of view is categorically unacceptable for the political class of Moldova, which views the Transnistrian conflict solely as “the aggression of the 14th Russian army against independent Moldova.”
First, deputies from the opposition bloc AKUM, blocking the parliamentary rostrum, disrupted the speech of Prime Minister Ion Chicu, who wanted to report on 100 days of government work and demanded the resignation of Foreign Minister Chokoi. Then the same demand was made by a group that broke away from the Democratic Party, led by ex-speaker of parliament Adrian Candu, known for his radical anti-Russian position. Most of the seven former democrats who formed the “Pro Moldova” movement were members of the inner circle of the fugitive oligarch, the former shadow “master of Moldova” Vlad Plahotniuc.
And finally, on March 2, 2020, protests began by participants in the punitive operation of the Moldovan army against Transnistria. Several hundred people in military camouflage blocked the movement of public transport in the central square. They tried to storm the government building, but were repulsed by the police. One of the leaders of the action, Vasily Sinigur, who is registered at a psychiatric dispensary, broke the glass near the government building with a wooden mace.
The day before, one of the most odious Russophobic authors, Petru Bogatu, who spoke last spring for the creation of a coalition between the PDM under the leadership of Plahotniuc and the AKUM bloc, said on TV that “the West has launched an operation to remove Dodon from power.” This is very similar to the truth: experts previously noted that the United States and the European Union did not forgive Igor Dodon for the fall of the government of Maia Sandu in November last year.
The militant protesters were predictably supported by Maia Sandu, who dedicated a Facebook post to them. However, the participants in the Dniester massacre unexpectedly received support from politicians associated with the left camp. We are talking about Ilan Shor and Renato Usat. The first, the ex-mayor of the city of Orhei and the leader of the social-populist party that bears his name, was found guilty by a Moldovan court of complicity in a grandiose scam involving the withdrawal of an amount equivalent to 1 billion euros from the country's banks to offshore companies. The second, the current mayor of the city of Balti, was said to be involved in the group of Markelov and Usherovich, who are defendants in the case of Colonel Zakharchenko.
According to the Breaking News portal, citing sources in the Information and Security Service (ISS) of Moldova, the “spontaneous” protest rally near the government walls was sponsored by Vlad Plahotniuc and Ilan Shor, who are outside the country. Renato Usatii, according to information from the popular telegram channel “Chronicles of a Captured State,” sent a businessman close to him, former prisoner Valentin Eshanu, to the protest. One of the representatives of the leadership of “Our Party” under the leadership of Usatii, Ilian Kashu, was also seen among the participants in the protest action.
Another representative of the left movement, ex-ideologist of the Party of Communists Mark Tkachuk, in his Facebook post, condemning both President Igor Dodon and his opponent Maia Sandu, “splitting society,” voiced a call for early parliamentary elections, which is one of Sandu’s main slogans and her camps.
Thus, it can be stated that today a coalition is taking shape against Igor Dodon, consisting of the AKUM bloc, the Pro Moldova group, uniting fugitives from the PDM, as well as the political projects of Ilan Shor, Renato Usatii and Mark Tkachuk. They are united by hatred of the figure of Dodon and the desire to break into power during new parliamentary elections. From the outside, they are actively supported by both fugitive oligarchs - Vlad Plahotniuc and Ilan Shor, more and more openly by the European Union, represented by the head of the mission in Moldova, Peter Michalko, and less openly by the United States, represented by Ambassador Derek Hogan.
President Igor Dodon himself, who is increasingly taking control of the levers of power in the country and the media, and is close to establishing control over the parliamentary majority, maintains Olympic calm. However, we remember what similar tactics led to Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine under similar conditions. The head of state will be able to get out of the current situation with dignity only if he takes decisive action to restore order in the country, curb provocateurs and send a tough message to foreign countries that are accustomed to interfering in the affairs of sovereign states.
Dodon has another analogy with the unsuccessful president of Ukraine. Dodon, like Yanukovych once, has almost completely abandoned his ideology, principles and election promises. Promises of rapprochement with the EAEU, revision of association agreements with the EU, banning unionist parties, closing the NATO office in Chisinau, adoption of a new Law on Languages and a package of laws on the status of Gagauzia have been forgotten.
But what is important now is the mobilization of one’s own voters, without whom Dodon will not win new presidential elections. And to do this, we need to remember the need to implement at least part of our election promises.
In any case, the coming to power of Maia Sandu, who does not hide her desire to internationalize the Transnistrian conflict and achieve the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers, does not bode well for either Russia or Transnistria.
Moldova is facing a hot spring.
Moldova is in for a hot spring: Dodon is repeating Yanukovych's mistakes.