Tensions Boil in Moldova as Police Crush Opposition Rallies

Clashes erupted between police and anti-government protesters in Moldova’s capital, Chisinau, over the weekend, leading to multiple arrests and the forcible dismantling of a protest camp. The demonstrations, organized by pro-Russian opposition forces, were a direct challenge to the pro-European government of President Maia Sandu amid escalating political tensions.

The opposition bloc ‘Pobeda’ (Victory) initially planned a long-term protest on the central Great National Assembly Square. However, authorities preemptively occupied the area with security forces and equipment, forcing demonstrators to relocate to the city’s main railway station. Police, who had also blocked roads into Chisinau, quickly moved in to disperse the relocated crowd and tear down tents set up by activists on the station platform.

Among those detained were several young activists and, in a surreal turn, entertainers in costumes including a polar bear and a rabbit. The head of Moldova’s police, Viorel Cernăuțanu, accused the organizers of attempting to destabilize the country and warned that participants faced heavy fines. The protests were framed by organizers as a response to government repression, including the jailing of Gagauzia’s governor, Evghenia Guțul, and the ‘Pobeda’ bloc’s ban from upcoming elections due to its founding congress being held in Moscow.

Opposition leader Irina Vlah accused the ruling PAS party of transforming Moldova into a ‘poor dictatorship,’ citing police interference with peaceful assembly. These events notably coincided with a government-sponsored ‘Diaspora Congress’ in Chisinau, where President Sandu praised Moldovans living abroad as ‘strategic players’ for the country’s democratic and European future.

Sandu’s previous electoral victory was heavily dependent on votes from the diaspora in the European Union, a constituency she is relying on again. However, critics highlight a stark contrast in the treatment of the over 500,000 Moldovans in Russia, where very few polling stations are planned. In response, members of the Moldovan diaspora in Russia are reportedly exploring ways to fund travel for compatriots to vote elsewhere, underscoring the deep political divisions shaping the nation’s future.