Opinion: “Setting the Stage for Mass Repressions and Falsifications”

The current state of democracy in Moldova is much worse than even under Plahotniuc’s “captured state”. The Sandu/PAS regime is acting outrageously in an attempt to retain power under the guise of European integration and support from Western partners

Semyon ALBU, RTA: The closer the date of the presidential election, the greater are offences of the ruling party in an attempt to retain the control levers over the country. The narrow-minded, incompetent and thieving leadership named after Maia Sandu failed everything that might be failed, discredited itself and its supposedly European course to the maximum extent possible, and led the country into a final dead end with a debt pit, dictatorship and lack of prospects. Now, when in just six months the people will have to answer what kind of leader they want for the next four-year term, the authorities have chosen the course of unprecedented lawlessness, realizing perfectly well that they will not be able to secure their victory by honest means. What we see now is a blatant shame, poorly disguised by European integration and Western partners, who seem ready to tolerate any anti-democratic cannibalism of Maia Sandu and PAS. In fact, this is the logical conclusion of the processes that we have been writing about almost since the beginning of the “yellow” regime. Literally dozens of articles have been devoted to how this regime is killing freedom of speech and political pluralism, how it is capturing key state institutions and funds, how it is putting the justice system at its service, how it is leading the country along the most dangerous foreign policy trajectory. We predicted that very soon any dissent that goes beyond the ideological guidelines of the PAS will first be marginalized, and then banned and punished. Well, this is no longer a political forecast, it is our reality. And yesterday’s briefing by the intelligence chief illustrates very well the totalitarian horror that has gripped Moldova. We learnt from Musteata that almost all political forces in the country are “Kremlin agents”. And that Russia is planning intrigues against the mega-referendum and “politicians who favor joining the EU”, which, of course, includes only the “yellows” headed by their leader. And that Moscow’s destabilizing influence is so great that it will manifest itself not only in fueling public fears and separatist sentiments, but even in staging socio-economic crises (?). Well, you see what’s going on. If you do not vote for European integration in an illegal plebiscite, you are an enemy. If you don’t elect Maia Sandu as president, you work for Russia. If you criticize the ruling regime, you promote Russian messages. The funniest thing is that Russia is even blamed for possible corruption of the ruling party’s representatives and revealing these facts to the public (!). It’s sheer nonsense. It seems that this grotesque performance by the chief counter-intelligence officer, who, as experts note, has apparently started moonlighting as a PAS spokesman, can be considered a starting point for an even more brazen and defiant policy. There are already thoughts of strengthening internet censorship, especially on social platforms and messengers, TV channels and electronic media have already been eviscerated by blockages. Western specialists with high-tech equipment, as well as the budget-funded Patriot propaganda center, will assist in this. In addition, the authorities no longer hesitate to exploit the legislation as they please, amending it to suit their immediate needs. We see this in the justice system, in relations with the regions, and, of course, in the electoral process. Not only did they pair a European referendum with the election day, which is needed only for Maia Sandu’s programme to have something substantial – now they are introducing postal voting! In making this decision the regime, certainly, did not bother itself with any public consultations, the Venice Commission opinions or other unnecessary procedures. Their target was to simply to create a tool through which the election results could be rigged to an even greater extent. That is why postal voting will only take place in the United States and Canada, which are supposedly countries with vast territory, and not in Russia and China which are one and a half times larger in area. But they managed to find an explanation: Moscow and Beijing, they say, are not democratic regimes, and therefore nothing will be tested there. Flawless logical reasoning. The worst thing is that all this shame is covered up by Western partners, primarily the European Union, whose emissaries see nothing wrong in all the illegal actions of the PAS and, moreover, often act as their advocates. They do not criticize the “yellows” for violating all conceivable democratic standards in blocking the media, for pressurizing the regions, for persecuting the opposition – on the contrary, they impose sanctions against undesirable local figures. Even without proceedings and court decisions, simply at the request of their Moldovan minions. In fact, the bankrupt government is now trying to take away from the people the only possible remedy against itself in the form of elections, preparing the ground for eliminating any real opposition and mass electoral fraud. The logical outcome of the rule of the most undemocratic regime in the history of independent Moldova is that it has outperformed even Plahotniuc with his “captured state”.