The West is sending its agents to Moldova to destroy it, and the current administration can only preserve its power by means of a dictatorship. The narratives are promoted in response to the appointment of two independent experts in the commission charged with evaluating the activity of the suspended prosecutor general, Alexandr Stoianoglo.
NEWS: The Republic of Moldova has reached the pinnacle of its historical evolution, Komsomolskaia Pravda writes. The publication cites a commentary of activist Mikhail Amerberg, a member of Antifa (not to be confused with the Antifa movement in the United States), an extremist group based in Chișinău. Amerberg expresses “fear that all these Drago Koses are well aware they won’t be mounting any fight against corruption and they have no such mission. Their mission is control and swift communication with “the good people” in PAS”. KP writes they are preparing to occupy Moldova and to use it as a bridgehead in the confrontation with Russia, that the United States is sending its “Obersturmführers” to Moldova, that the government can be toppled at the first sign of protests or that Maia Sandu may only stay in office by instating a dictatorship.
NARRATIVES: 1. The Republic of Moldova gets its orders from Washington. 2. Moldova will be used by the West/USA as a bridgehead in a war with Russia. 3. The PAS government is weak and can only stay in power by means of a dictatorship.
BACKGROUND: In early November, president Maia Sandu ordered the launch of procedures for the evaluation of the activity of Moldova’s prosecutor general, Alexandr Stoianoglo, a process that might end with his removal from office. In her notification, Maia Sandu highlighted the prosecutor’s failure to deliver convictions in high-profile cases.
This week, the Superior Council of Prosecutors green-lit the structure of the evaluation commission. The head of state designated international anti-corruption expert Drago Kos as a member of the evaluation commission. Drago Kos was the president of the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO). The Slovenian expert also sits on the International Anti-Corruption Advisory Board (IACAB), launched this summer by the Slovenian Presidency. The commission also includes Mariana Alexandru, a former anti-corruption prosecutor in Romania, proposed by the Superior Council of Prosecutors. In 2015, Alexandru was charged with evaluating the activity of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the National Anti-Corruption Center, as part of a European project aimed at providing technical assistance to Moldova’s judiciary. Moreover, the commission also includes a judge proposed by the Superior Council of Magistracy, a lawyer designated by the Justice Ministry and another lawyer appointed by the prosecutor general himself.
The evaluation commission will conduct its activity for a month and will submit its report to the Superior Council of Prosecutors. Under the law, if the report finds the activity of the prosecutor general to be “unsatisfactory”, Alexandr Stoianoglo may be dismissed by the president of the Republic of Moldova, at the proposal of the Superior Council of Prosecutors.
Appointed in December 2019 by the then president, Igor Dodon, Alexandr Stoianoglo has been repeatedly criticized by president Maia Sandu and experts for his failure to deliver results in high-profile corruption investigations – the billion-dollar theft, the Russian laundromat, etc., but also for ensuring the prison release of controversial businessman Veaceslav Platon, who then fled the Republic of Moldova. Stoianoglo is currently suspended as prosecutor general, being investigated on several charges.
PURPOSE: The narratives about the new government in Moldova being controlled by foreign powers are aimed at thwarting the efforts of Maia Sandu and PAS to reform the judiciary. In this context, they also seek to create a link between the new pro-European government and a totalitarian regime.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: The narrative claiming the government is doing the West’s bidding is part of a wider anti-Western propaganda, which has intensified in the Republic of Moldova after the pro-Russian party lost power and the country developed closer relations with the EU after Maia Sandu and her party, PAS, took the reigns of power. The narrative suggesting Moldova might be used as a bridgehead in a confrontation pitting the USA against Russia is promoted by the Kremlin, which claims that the West/USA want to create instability around Russia by supporting governments in ex-Soviet republics. In fact, Russia is using armed or frozen conflicts on the territory of ex-Soviet states in order to prevent them from drawing closer to the EU, which is exactly what is happening in Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova. The latter is officially neutral, so its involvement in a conflict of any kind would be in breach of the country’s Constitution. Even if the Constitution were to be amended, the armed forces of the Republic of Moldova are rather symbolical, being no match for a military power such as Russia. Moldova also lacks the infrastructure needed to sustain such a large-scale military campaign. NATO and the United States never expressed any plans to set up military bases on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, and the strategic advantage of such bases would be limited in itself, especially since NATO has a direct presence in the region by means of its members.
The totalitarian political regime, which the publication mentions, refers to states under the control of a single political party that employs violence, terror, repression and disinformation in order to rule. The fundamental rights and liberties are systematically violated by such regimes. The Republic of Moldova is a parliamentary state, its Parliament consisting of a number of political parties. MPs were appointed based on free elections that were recognized by the international community. The opposition is represented in all parliamentary committees and in other institutions where Parliament designates its representatives. Moreover, opposition parties, PSRM and Shor Party, own a number of TV stations, publications and media outlets, which they use to spread disinformation, without their activity being kept in check. As regards the commission charged with evaluating the activity of the prosecutor general, it’s worth mentioning that it includes a member designated by the suspended prosecutor general himself, Alexandr Stoianoglo.
GRAIN OF TRUTH: International anti-corruption expert, Drago Kos, was appointed by president Maia Sandu as a member of the commission charged with evaluating the activity of Moldova’s prosecutor general.
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