Bodan Ţîrdea, a PSRM deputy, a spokesman for the party, became the protagonist of a new scandal. On his Facebook page he commented on the “Baltic Way” action and brought offensive ratings to the participants.
On August 23, 1989, the inhabitants of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia formed a human chain, over 670 kilometers long, that crossed all three Baltic republics: from Vilnius, in Lithuania, passing through the Latvian capital Riga, to Tallinn, in Estonia. Nearly two million people were involved in the action “Baltic Way” or “Baltic Chain”, which was one fourth of the total number of inhabitants of the three countries. It was a protest against the Soviet occupation, for independence, and the 50th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of non-aggression, which secretly divided Europe into spheres of influence, between Nazi Germany and the Stalinist Soviet Union.
Bogdan Ţîrdea argues that “most of the participants in the action are harassers, prostitutes and independent garbage dumps”. The Socialist deputy went further. He called “sick man” one of the internees who expressed dissatisfaction with the assessments given by Tîrdea.
The conflict was not limited to acidic replicas on the internet. The UNIREA-ODIP Association has announced that it will file a complaint with the Prosecutor General’s Office on behalf of Bogdan Ţîrdea. The unionists claim that they will demand the punishment of the socialist deputy for damaging the dignity and honor of the over two million european citizens. Moreover, UNIREA-ODIP will notify the embassies of the targeted states “to make known the statements of a government official.”
Why would a Moldovan socialist care about the events of the Baltic States 30 years ago? The answer is obvious. The PSRM, despite the stated intention to develop partnerships with the West and the East, brings to Moldova the Moscow policy. This consists in discrediting the European election of post-Soviet countries, both those who have joined the EU and those who aspire to it. The Kremlin is trying to strengthen its influence by encouraging Eurosceptics and sowing discord in society. And the nostalgia for the USSR, resentment towards countries that wanted to break away from the handcuffs of the Soviet system, are still strong in Russia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation considers that the accession of the Baltic States to the USSR were in accordance with the “norms of international law at that time”. Recall that then, Moscow forced the authorities of the independent states to resign, contributed to the establishment of puppet regimes that decided to join the Soviet Union. Unlike Russia, in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, this is called occupation.
Moscow reacts nervously to such statements. “The Latvian Foreign Minister Rinkēvičs was born safely in a Soviet maternity ward, went to a Soviet kindergarten, was treated in Soviet hospitals and studied at a Soviet school. He calls this life under occupation. He does not know what the occupation means. There is stupidity, there is great stupidity and there is this statement ”, commented the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Alexei Pushkov, the position of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, who said that the Baltic states did not join, never, the USSR, but they were occupied by it.
In the Baltic States various events were organized to mark the 30th anniversary of the “Baltic Way” action. This year, Latvia and Estonia are marking another anniversary: 25 years after the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of the two countries. (From Lithuania the troops left a year earlier, at the end of August 1993).
In Tallinn and Riga it was mentioned that the withdrawal of the troops was a historic step not only for the Baltic States, but for whole Europe and for european security.
“The history of our nation could have been different if that hadn’t happened, “said Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu. According to the country’s President, Kersti Kaljulaid, for Estonia, World War II it ended in 1994, when “the last seals with the equipment of the occupying forces left the country”. Until then, the country has been more than half a century under conditions of “suffering, economic regression and imprisonment”, said the head of state.
The Latvian Foreign Minister drew attention to the fact that the Russian army continues to be in the territory of some countries against their will. “25 years ago, Russian soldiers left Latvia. We are grateful to all Latvian diplomats, our friends and allies, international organizations, who have worked hard to make this happen. “The unwanted presence of the Russian army continues in Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova. We must not forget this”, wrote Edgars Rinkēvičs on social media.
Guntis Ulmanis, who was President of Latvia in 1994, recalled that negotiations with Russia were difficult and long-lasting. He said, “We clearly understood that we can only breathe freely when the military leaves”. Europe has repeatedly condemned the annexation of the Baltic States. In September 1960, the PACE adopted a resolution on the marking “the forced occupation and incorporation of three European states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the USSR”. At the same time, in the European Parliament resolution, adopted in 1983, it is mentioned that the accession of the Baltic countries was contrary to international law and the obligations assumed by the USSR.