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- "For 33 years of independence in Moldova, there has been no such arbitrariness against the opposition"
"For 33 years of independence in Moldova, there has been no such arbitrariness against the opposition"
The Moldovan authorities may stage a provocation in Transnistria and impose martial law if they realize that they are losing, former President of the republic, leader of the Party of Socialists Igor Dodon told Izvestia. Chisinau is now arresting opposition representatives, blocking their accounts, and the West is imposing sanctions on politicians at its request. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for September 28 in the republic. In case of their falsification, the parties intend to demand a repeat vote. Igor Dodon's exclusive interview with Izvestia talks about Moldova's chances of European integration, prospects for relations with Russia, and the example of Georgia.
"The current government is in agony"
— Parliamentary elections will be held in Moldova on September 28. Are the current authorities increasing pressure on the opposition? Are there any new, more stringent methods used?
— We are currently in the middle of the election campaign, and it ends on September 26. According to all polls, our patriotic bloc came out ahead of the current ruling party of Maia Sandu. We are talking about figures that are counted within the country, without diasporas. If there is a difference of 10-15%, then we will be able to win these elections, even taking into account the diasporas. The current government understands this, so it has used all possible mechanisms and repression.
President of Moldova Maia Sandu
A lot of activists were searched, and there were even arrests of people. Our local agitators are being intimidated, that is, they are being physically attacked. The current government is in agony. I think they may resort to removing some parties from the electoral platform.
They will definitely not be able to get a parliamentary majority. Therefore, there are two options left. The first is to try to falsify the Diaspora, but we are sending a large number of our observers to all polling stations there. We have joint agreements with the opposition parties. I think there will be four or five people to make sure that there are no falsifications.
— Western countries are imposing sanctions against representatives of the Moldovan opposition. Is the number of such cases growing?
— During the 33 years of independence in Moldova, there has been no such arbitrariness against the opposition: the removal of electoral blocs, the blocking of party leaders' accounts. Or, for example, the alleged Canadian sanctions. It's not my first year in politics: no one has taken such measures with the consent of Brussels so far.
I think the West is doing this at the request of the Moldovan authorities, who use these sanctions to hit one or another politician. We already had this two years ago, when candidates from one political party were removed from the race on the last day of the campaign in local elections, arguing that this was due to external sanctions.
The mechanism is very simple. The Moldovan authorities are asking Brussels or Ottawa to impose sanctions. And the government of Canada includes this or that politician in the sanctions list. For example, Irina Vlah.
"We understand who we are dealing with: we are preparing for any scenario"
— Should we expect provocations in Gagauzia and Transnistria?
— They have already done the most they could do in Gagauzia. Bashkan [Evgenia Gutsul], the mother of two minor children, was illegally arrested. There are constant searches, arrests of activists, and so on, every week. But it probably won't come to any kind of escalation, including military ones. If this does not help the current authorities, they can launch a provocative scenario in Transnistria in order to impose martial law and cancel the elections. In Transnistria, such a scenario is theoretically possible, and it is the most dangerous.
— Is your party currently preparing some kind of new strategy, along with protests, to counter the party of Maia Sandu?
— Of course, we will not publicly share all our aspirations. We understand who we are dealing with: we are preparing for any scenario. Right now we are focused on working "in the field", with people. In two weeks, the candidates of the bloc have already held 1.5 thousand meetings with the population. In total, 3-4 thousand of them will be held. We are also very active in the media, in social networks and beyond: briefings, press conferences and so on. We have planned to hold several marches for fair elections. We will now assess the risks of holding such events before September 28.
I believe that on September 29, we should all be in the central square to defend the election results, or to demand a repeat election if there is any falsification that we cannot document.
"I think Moldova will not join the European Union"
— Do you intend to call on the people to hold a new referendum on Moldova's integration into the European Union?
— The referendum of last year is illegal, we did not recognize it. There were no legal grounds for approving the results of the referendum. All lawyers talk about this, even pro-European ones. Therefore, this referendum must be canceled. And I hope that we will achieve this next time.
— Does Moldova have a chance to join the EU and NATO now? What is the mood among the population?
— I think Moldova will not join the European Union. Everyone understands this, including the leader of the association. Let me remind you that the draft EU budget for the next seven years does not include a single euro for Moldova as a potential EU member. Moreover, they stated that Moldova's membership in the EU is possible only at the same time as Ukraine. In the near future, most likely, our neighbors will not have clarity either. Therefore, this is just an electoral "carrot" in order to play on the mood of some Moldovan citizens again.
If we are talking about integration processes to the West or to the East, then the mood in society is now somewhere "50-50". But the majority of Moldovan citizens are in favor of the third way: they want to be on good terms with Europe and with Russia.
— How will the possible victory of the PAS party affect Moldova's relations with Russia?
— We see what happened in these four years. The country joined 80% of all anti—Russian sanctions, which affected the economy. We held a round table with Georgian experts who are in Moldova. They are scaring us that if the patriotic forces win, we will have a situation like in Georgia. But there is economic growth there. Or maybe we should just do the same as in Georgia, which defends its national interests and is ready to develop relations with everyone?
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