Expert comments on protests staged in Moldova on April 7, 2009

The events of April 7, 2009 must be revisited today not only as a memory, but as a warning. A generation took to the streets at that time for a different future. It would be unfair, and strategically irresponsible, to miss the moment again. The year 2028 is our obligation towards those of us who believed in freedom on April 7. An associate expert in foreign policy and strategic communication at the Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE), Daniel Voda, has made statements to this effect in the context of the 17th anniversary of the events from April 7, 2009.

Daniel Voda said that April 7, 2009 had been, in essence, “a pro-European revolution, it was the moment when a generation that no longer wanted fear, lies and geopolitical captivity came to the surface.”

“On April 7, 2009, it was seen in Moldova, perhaps for the first time so clearly, a rupture between the democratic instinct of the society and the reflexes of a system that had not understood that history had already taken a different course. For many citizens, especially for young people, that moment was one of political and moral awakening. It was the emergence of a generation that no longer wanted fear, lies and geopolitical captivity. It was, essentially, a pro-European revolution with a slogan well known in Europe: ‘’I refuse! I resist! I am anti-communist,’” Daniel Voda wrote in his editorial.

According to him, the April 2009 events also represented a “stolen revolution,” “because the energy of that moment was not turned quickly enough into a strategic reconstruction of the state.”

“Stolen not because the European idea disappeared. On the contrary, it remained alive and grew stronger. It was stolen because the energy of that moment was not transformed quickly enough into a strategic reconstruction of the state. We had alternations of power, grand speeches and historic promises, but we postponed for too long the tough decisions: cleaning up institutions, truly breaking away from toxic dependencies, exiting geopolitical ambiguity, the banking fraud and the captured state,” Daniel Voda said.

Under these conditions, after last year’s parliamentary elections, “the year 2028 is seen by the society as more than just a technical deadline in the EU accession negotiations calendar; it is a test of maturity and social cohesion,” the expert says. Daniel Voda stressed that “for a small country, smart diplomacy is one of the few available forms of power.”

Recent events show that “Moldova has finally started to set its compass in the right direction,” Daniel Voda says in his editorial.

“Therefore, April 7, 2009 must be reread today not just as a memory, but as a warning. A generation took to the streets then for a different future. It would be unfair, and strategically irresponsible, to miss the moment again. Leaving the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) does not solve everything by itself. Nor can EU support substitute our own internal work. But together, these things show that Moldova has finally begun to set its compass in the right direction, and the slogan of the April 7, 2009 generation can be updated: ‘’I refuse! I resist! I am firmly pro-European.’’ The year 2028 is our obligation to those of us who believed in freedom on April 7, to people who want security, jobs, clean water, reliable energy and institutions that respect them. It is a national collective effort in which everyone must be called upon, so they know how they can help, so that this time we can succeed together,” the expert concluded.

Today marks 17 years since the protests of April 7, 2009. They erupted after the Central Electoral Commission had announced the victory of the Communist Party in the parliamentary elections. Young people, mobilized through social networks, took to streets, accusing the authorities of electoral fraud. Initially peaceful, the protest quickly turned violent. The buildings of the Presidency and Parliament were devastated, looted and set on fire.