Moldovan_protests_(2022–2023)

Moldovan protests (2022–2023)

Moldovan protests (2022–2023)

Protests against the country's government


On 18 September 2022, protests in Moldova began in the capital city of Chișinău, demanding the resignation of the country's pro-Western government,[66][67] amid an energy crisis causing rising natural gas prices and inflation, caused in part by the war in Ukraine.

Quick Facts 2022–2023 Moldovan protests, Date ...

The pro-Russian Șor Party have been instrumental in the organisation of the protests.[68][69] It is alleged by the Moldovan government that the party has been offering cash payments to people to attend the protests and has also been providing free transportation to the capital for protest attendees,[68] with funds provided by Ilan Shor, the oligarch and leader of the Șor Party who had fled Moldova amid corruption charges[69] and who has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.[70] The Șor party would be outlawed by the Moldovan Constitutional Court on 19 June 2023 with its former members being further barred from participating in the upcoming 2023 Moldovan local elections, regardless of their new political affiliation.[71][72] Following the dismantling of the Șor party, large scale coordinated protests ceased.[47]

Timeline

2022

September

  • On 18 September, about 20,000 people attended a protest in Chișinău, demanding that the country's pro-Western government resign.[73]

October

November

  • On 6 November, over 50,000 supporters of the Șor party took part in a protest in the national capital of Chișinău, once again demanding the resignation of the pro-western government and snap parliamentary elections.[citation needed]
  • On 8 November, the Moldovan government announced that it had requested the constitutional court to initiate proceedings for the outlawing of Ilan Shor's "Șor" party in Moldova, due to it allegedly promoting the interests of a foreign state and harming national independence and sovereignty.[76][77]
  • On 13 November, thousands of anti-government protesters returned to the streets of Chișinău.[78]

December

  • On 7 December, Ilan Shor asked President Maia Sandu to nominate him as Prime Minister of Moldova.[79][80]
  • On 11 December, a new anti-government protest took place in Chișinău (at the US embassy in Chișinău and at the headquarters of the ruling PAS party), this initiated by the We Build Europe at Home Party (PACE).[81]
  • On 15 December, within the Orheileaks investigation, the links between the Șor protesters and the unionist activist Vlad Bilețchi were exposed. The latter denied any association with protesters.[13]
  • On 18 December, the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM) organized a protest in Ungheni.[82]
  • On 19 December, six TV channels in Moldova linked to Ilan Shor (Prime TV, RTR Moldova, Accent TV, NTV Moldova, TV6 and Orhei TV) were temporarily suspended, on charges of making pro-Russian propaganda and spreading false information about the Russian-Ukrainian war.[83][84] The channels continued streaming on other platforms.

2023

January

  • On 25 January, several journalists from suspended TV channels, led by Alexei Lungu, protested in Bucharest, demanding the intervention of the Romanian authorities to negotiate with the Moldovan ones to restart broadcasting the channels on TV. The next day, on 26 January, the journalists protested at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.[4] On the same day, Russian deputies Leonid Kalashnikov and Svetlana Zhurova warned that Moldova's intentions to unite with Romania, and thus joining NATO, may lead to its destruction.[85][86]
  • On 26 January, several hundred pensioners from among supporters of the Șor Party protested on Thursday at the presidential building, demanding the resignation of Sandu.[87]

February

Ukrainians and Moldovans protesting in front of the Moldovan Parliament in Chișinău against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on 24 February 2023

March

April

  • On 13 April, Shor was sentenced to 15 years in prison in absentia on graft charges.[129][130][131][132]
  • On 27 April, a NATO flag was trampled by a group of people, right in front of the NATO Information Centre in Chișinău, by a group of people led by deputies Alexandr Nesterovschi (who recently left the Socialist Party and started collaborating with the Șor Party)[133] and Irina Lozovan. They tore down the NATO flag and sprayed it with red paint, symbolizing blood.[134][135]
  • On 27 April, the Moldovan Parliament voted to strip Ilan Shor of his membership of the Parliament. He was succeeded by Vladimir Vitiuc.[136]

May

Moldovan former president Igor Dodon (wearing the Ribbon of Saint George) with members of the Șor Party at a pro-Russian rally on 9 May 2023

June

Aftermath

Reactions

Russia

On 10 March 2023, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov accused the West of having double standards because it supports the anti-government protests in Georgia but condemns those in the Republic of Moldova.[171]

USA

October 2022 Ilan Shor and the Șor Party sanctioned by the USA.[172]

EU

  • In March 2023 the European Union offers full support on Moldova's road to membership of the bloc.
  • In May 2023 the EU imposed sanctions on people associated with the Șor Party.[160]

Moldova

  • December 2022 six television stations broadcasting Russian programmes, linked to Ilan Shor, had their licences revoked.[173]
  • April 2023, Ilan Shor had his 2017 sentence following conviction doubled, to 15 years in prison with all his assets frozen.[174]
  • May 2023 the government encouraged anti-protest demonstrations, aimed at showing the popular desire to join the EU.
  • 1 May 2023, the Șor party's vice president, Marina Tauber, was detained.[137]
  • 19 June 2023, the Șor Party was outlawed by the Constitutional Court of Moldova.[175]
  • 26 July 2023, Moldova expelled 45 Russian diplomats and embassy staff because of "unfriendly actions".[176]
  • 3 October the Constitutional Court of Moldova ruled that Article 16 of the Electoral Code is unconstitutional and that former members of the Șor Party can stand for elections.[177] On 4 October, the Exceptional Situations Committee upheld the ban on the Șor party and also decided that all former members of the party that are charged, indicted, or even under suspicion of committing criminal acts will be banned from participating in the 2023 Moldovan local elections.[72] The bans on 21 candidates were amended on 4 October to run for 3 years.[178]
  • 6 October, Maia Sandu, in an interview with the Financial Times, claimed that earlier in the year the Wagner Group attempted to turn the protests into a violent insurrection which would allow them to stage a coup to topple her government. Additionally, she also claimed that Yevgeny Prigozhin personally contributed to the 20 million Euros the Moldovan intelligence service intercepted to pro-Russian groups.[179][47][180]

See also


References

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