Thousands of protesters took part in another anti-government protest in Moldova’s capital Chisinau Sunday, amid a severe winter energy crisis and inflation, the AP reported.
The protesters marched to the Constitutional Court.
They called for early elections and resignations of the pro-Western president of Moldova, Maya Sandu.
We recall that a series of protests have taken place in Moldova in the last two months, initiated by the populist party ‘Shor’.
Its leader, Ilan Shor, is a Moldovan oligarch currently in exile in Israel. He is involved in a $1 billion bank robbery and recently was listed by the US State Department as serving Russian interests.
On Thursday, the Moldovan government filed a request with the country’s Constitutional Court to outlaw the Shore party. Moldova’s anti-corruption prosecutor’s office is also investigating funding for the protests, which prosecutors say includes at least some Russian money.
Source: EPA/BGNES
Russia, on which Moldova depends entirely for its natural gas, recently halved its supply to Moldova. President Sandu says Moscow’s decision to cut off gas supplies is “political blackmail” and accused pro-Russian political forces in Moldova of “cynically exploiting people’s difficulties and discontent to create chaos and push us back from our European journey”.
European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen paid an official visit to Moldova on Thursday, where he pledged 250 million euros from the bloc to help the country cope with the energy crisis and to support its most vulnerable people.
In June Moldova has received candidate status for EU membership. However, the country is unlikely to gain full membership for many years as it needs to implement a series of reforms to tackle corruption, organized crime and strengthen human rights and the rule of law.
