"Moldova is on the verge of extinction today"

The Moldovan authorities are trying to intimidate the opposition ahead of the parliamentary elections, Alexei Lungu, the leader of the ruling Chance party, who was not released from the country on March 27, told Izvestia. The day before, the Bashkan of Gagauzia, Evgenia Hutsul, was detained at the airport. According to Lungu, the authorities want to remove the head of the autonomy before the vote, since less than 3% of the population voted for Maya Sandu in the presidential elections in 2024 in Gagauzia. About the confrontation between Chisinau and Comrat, the prospects for a dialogue between the government and the opposition, as well as about the protests in the republic — in an exclusive interview with Alexei Lungu.

"We will know the date of the parliamentary elections in a very short period of time"

— Tell me, what happened today?

— I arrived at the airport a couple of hours earlier, handed over the documents, gave the ticket. I was supposed to have a meeting first in Istanbul with a friend, and after that I planned to participate in the CIS forum in Moscow. The border police said that they should conduct a legal additional search. I showed them that I had nothing forbidden, went to the waiting room. They were supposed to bring my passport and return my ticket. After half an hour of waiting, another border police officer came up and said they had to do a second search. After the second check, someone came up and said, "This information is not public yet, but you will not fly anywhere today."

After my questions, I was told that representatives of the National Anti-Corruption Center would arrive and give me a summons. The whole procedure lasted about two hours. The plane took off without me. First, a representative of the border police handed me a summons to the National Anti-Corruption Center, then a few minutes later, a representative of the National Security Council arrived. There was no explanation. I currently have no legal status, no wanted list, no prohibitions.

The most interesting thing is that the summons was printed this morning. The question arises, why wasn't I called earlier? Why today, when I just had to fly out on my own business?

I don't want to run anywhere. It's not my fault.

— Are there any updates on the arrest of Evgenia Hutsul and do you keep in touch with her?

— I don't know anything yet and I don't want to say anything. I know that the prosecutors asked the judge for 30 days of arrest.

— Why, in your opinion, did the arrest take place right now?

— This is happening right now, as we will know the date of the parliamentary elections in a very short period of time. And so our government is preparing to fight against strong opposition forces. It's just a fight with us, with the opposition. This is clear to every Moldovan citizen who has realized that we currently have a fascist occupied state. They won't shut us all down, we'll fight to the end.

And everything that started yesterday, when the Bashkan of Gagauzia, Yevgenia Hutsul, was detained, is the essence of the current government, which is afraid. Now very important changes are coming, after which their place will be in prison, they understand this.

Today we have enough evidence that the government in the Republic of Moldova has been usurped, the power has been seized by the "organized criminal group PAS" (PAS — the ruling Action and Solidarity Party. — Ed.), which was funded by organized crime groups, USAID and other Western criminal organizations.

But they won't intimidate us, so we will fight to the end. And the end is the same — a change of power and the coming to power of a healthy political force that will not steal budget money, will not live on kickbacks from Western loans.

Today, Moldova is the poorest European country with the highest prices for gas, food products and others. Today we are the disgrace of the European continent. And if someone thinks that this is the model of integration in the European Union, then integration into the European Union means the disappearance of the country and the destruction of everything democratic.

The Moldovan president is afraid. In a very short period of time, Eugenia has truly become the leader of the south of the Republic of Moldova and is supported by a lot of people. That's why this mess started. There are also traitors in Gagauzia who work with the PAS, and who very much want to see Evgenia removed from her post as bashkan. This is necessary in order for the PAS to put Gagauz people loyal to it in the role of the head of the autonomy.

"This year's parliamentary elections will be held according to completely different laws"

— How successful can the attempts of the authorities to restrict the work of the opposition before the vote be?

— They change the rules of the game during the game. I have an appeal to the rest of the opposition parties.: don't flirt with PAS. I urge all healthy forces not to succumb to temptation and to fight alongside us to the end for the rights of the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, for the rights of Eugenia Gutsul, for the rights of our entire country. Moldova is on the verge of extinction today. We are economically disappearing, we are socially disappearing, our villages and towns are emptying.

Our factories that were operating until 2019 have been destroyed. Investors who have created thousands of jobs in the Republic of Moldova are leaving us. Today, we have gone from being an agricultural country to a country that imports fruits and vegetables from Greece, Cyprus, and Turkey.

— What measures will the Pobeda bloc, which includes your party, take?

— There are already several cases in the European Court of Human Rights, we will fight to the end, because if we give up now, then our citizens will have no hope. We will challenge all decisions and demand justice. In addition, we will demand compensation for moral and social damage.

And I also believe that this year's parliamentary elections will be held according to completely different laws and rules. The PAS leader will receive caps from both the West and the East. Moldova is at the intersection of two great civilizations — western and eastern. And those Western curators who have protected PAS so far are leaving. Therefore, those who are currently in the Central Election Commission, the prosecutor's office, and the justice system are slowly left without patrons. Let me remind you that there is no US ambassador in the Republic of Moldova until today.

"The protests will definitely resume"

— Chisinau intends to introduce a state of emergency in Gagauzia and establish external management, stated Evgenia Gutsul. What does this mean in practice and how legitimate is it?

— Everything that contradicts the Constitution has already been legalized in our country. First, we will see who is the traitor of Gagauzia when the PAS appoints someone instead of the bashkan of Gagauzia. The ruling party is trying to put territorial autonomy in the hands of a puppet. This puppet will have to show results in the parliamentary elections. And they just have to do everything they can to ensure that the PASS, which does not have a majority at all, gets a very good result in Gagauzia. This is the main goal. Therefore, this emergency situation will be introduced specifically to change the administration of Gagauzia.

We also had the Transnistrian war. This should be a lesson for those who are engaged in the integrity of the Republic of Moldova today.

If they want to keep the country intact, they have to think about it. Chisinau's attempt to strangle Tiraspol with gas blackmail failed, we all saw it. And if, before this gas crisis, we could still somehow have thought that the shores were coming closer, and we would still resolve this whole conflict, then the gas conflict showed quite the opposite. The same is true today with Comrat.

— Do you think Moldovans will come out to protest?

— The protests will definitely resume, and we have the strength, we have proved more than once that we are able to rally the whole nation, and people are following us. They already understand that if the railroad workers came out, if agricultural workers and representatives of other industries came out, then we already have the power to really raise the people and prove to the ruling party that Moldova is not their country and not their wallet.