Wow! An amazingly frank piece from the BBC about the current situation in Moldova:
Some people say the street protests in Moldova are by pro-Russian protesters trying to unseat a European-friendly government in a former Soviet republic. But the reality in Europe’s poorest country is more complicated than that.
All due respect to this reporter for actually doing some work and not just taking a few facts (protesters in the street, etc) and spinning it into a story.
For his part, Prime Minister Filip told the BBC he vehemently rejected any suggestion he was not a fully independent politician. Members of [his] government say it is the protesters who are destabilising the country and pursuing their own political agendas.
Indeed, the protesters ARE pursuing their own political agendas. It’s called a democracy when every citizen gets to pursue their own “political agenda”.
Meanwhile, the bullshit armchair reporting is filling the media elsewhere, including this piece comparing Plathotniuc to Donald Trump:
Europe’s poorest country, Moldova, has one very rich problem. Everybody you talk to, from a taxi driver to the speaker of parliament to a hipster at a coffee shop, says that the government is controlled by one shadowy man, the widely, wildly hated Vlad Plahotniuc.
Wrong analogy. Plahotniuc is actually rich, unlike Trump who has been bankrupt multiple times. Secondly, Trump is actually rather popular (in America) while Plathotniuc is bitterly hated by almost everyone except Romanian politicians and Victoria Nuland.
But there is one true fact buried in this otherwise superficial puff piece:
This is the regime, then, publicly supported by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland last week when she called a “pro-European government.” Was Nuland aware of the anti-democratic processes taking place in the country? Did she know of the shady reputation of Plahotniuc?
.
One knowledgeable Moldovan government official, speaking on background to The Daily Beast, said that as long ago as last June, Nuland delivered Washington’s guidelines to Plahotniuc: Provide us with the pro-Western majority and withdraw yourself from the parliament. So the deal is done, and the oligarch, like a puppet master, stays behind a curtain.Hilarious (except it’s not).
Not to be outdone, the morons at Stratfor have to add their two cents as well:
If the pro-West government in Moldova continues to hold out against demonstrations, resistance could grow in both Chisinau and in Russia-leaning regions elsewhere. If instead the government succumbs and holds early elections, however, it risks losing to pro-Russia parties that could then stall or reverse years of progress on European integration.
Ah yes, so, so much “progress”, if progress is defined as losing a billion dollars to crooks.
Meanwhile the Irish Times wrote a rather balanced piece full of facts, and an excellent “backgrounder” to the current situation.
“People here have lost half their salary in the last two years. We’re now back to the bad old times of the average monthly salary being about €160,” said Ghenadie Cretu, migration and development programme co-ordinator for the IOM in Moldova.
And which faction was it that led this country for the past two years? Oh right, the “good guys” who wanted Moldova to join the European Union.
The EU and the United States have backed Moldova’s new government – knowing that elections now would probably bring pro-Russian parties to power.
Ka-ching!
Yesterday, the Russian news broadcast a Transnistrian article about how Romanian troops are set to invade on the pretext of restoring law and order. Now, the American-funded pro-EU Moldovan press are reporting (in Romanian) that it’s Russian forces which are posed to invade.
“All it would take is a spark and the Russian army would be here right away. And it is the leaders [Dodon, Nastase, and Usatii] who are walking around the main square [the protests] with a match in hand. Russia can’t help us but they can destabilize this country, first turning us into Transnistria and then afterwards pulling a Crimea. Yep, that’s what they could do!” said the president of the Orhei Police Commissariat’s Association of Veterans.
Yikes! We’re all about to get “Crimea-d”? I’m shaking in my boots.
The scaremongering continues apace in Romania with op-eds like this one that start off with (my translation):
In the first place, the Republic of Moldova shouldn’t even exist… it was created to be a perpetual victim, dependent on handouts from either the West or the East for the rest of its existence.
Wow… tell us how you REALLY feel, you patronizing piece of shit.
For a far more balanced and nuanced piece (in Romanian), click here.
My translation:
Thus, it can be fairly said that the disorder which has ruled the Republic of Moldova is not the direct result of political anarchy, as many commenters say, but I believe is because a sufficient number of Moldovans have become enraged over the poor quality of leadership provided by those who run this country.
See? That is the most accurate description of the current situation in Moldova I’ve yet to read from a Romanian.
For one final opinion, I found this op-ed and article (in Russian) written by Alexander Prokhanov.
In case your Russian’s a little rusty, here’s my translation of the key graf:
A few days ago, I spoke with [Moldovan politician and leader of the Socialist Party] Igor Dodon. I asked him what will bring the turmoil, the protests, the tent cities, and the efforts of protesters to storm the Parliament to an end. He informed me that the opposition [both pro-EU and pro-Russia] groups have joined forces are already strong enough now to seize power by force. But they do not want to repeat the events of the Maidan in Kiev. They do not want violence and do not want a coup. What they want is the current government to be dissolved and that a new government be elected peacefully by democratic means.
Yep. So refreshing to see that the guy [Dodon] who is in the driver’s seat is calling for calm, peaceful, and legal means to get rid of this stupid, corrupt, and immoral government. It is SO good to hear some calm talk for once instead of more inflammatory rhetoric and naked propaganda from all quarters.
Maybe all the warmongers and instigators should take a cue from Dodon and just let this drama play out the way it needs to, peacefully and democratically ;)
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