There were clashes between protesters and police during a new anti-government demonstration in Moldova’s capital Chisinau.
The demonstration was organized by a group calling itself the Movement for the People, and was supported by the populist and pro-Russian party Shor.
Thousands of protesters, who arrived from various parts of the country, gathered in the city center, blocking traffic, and demanded that the government help citizens pay their energy bills and that the country “not be involved in the war” . Hundreds of police officers have been deployed to keep the center safe; Ilan Shor, businessman and leader of the Shor party, accused the police of trying to “obstruct a peaceful demonstration”. “Fighting against your own people is a last resort for tyrants, and the beginning of their downfall,” Shor said.
Shor is considered to be very close to Russia and, among other things, is accused of having been among those responsible for the disappearance of one billion euros from the Moldovan banking system in 2015.
Today’s demonstration takes place in a context of growing concerns about the country’s security, following information collected by the Moldovan and Ukrainian secret services, on a possible Russian plan to subvert the country’s democratic order and organize, de facto , a coup d’état: the president of the country, Maia Sandu, had explicitly spoken about it on 13 February.
– Read also: Why Moldova fears an invasion by Russia
