AP

Moldova anti-govt protesters return amid energy crisis

Nov 12, 2022, 8:06 PM | Updated: Nov 13, 2022, 11:35 am

People march during a protest initiated by the populist Shor Party, calling for early elections and...

People march during a protest initiated by the populist Shor Party, calling for early elections and President Maia Sandu's resignation, in Chisinau, Moldova, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. Thousands of anti-government protesters returned to the streets of Moldova's capital Sunday to express their dismay over alleged government failings amid an acute winter energy crisis and skyrocketing inflation.(AP Photo/Aurel Obreja)

(AP Photo/Aurel Obreja)

CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — Thousands of anti-government protesters returned to the streets of Moldova’s capital Sunday to express their dismay over alleged government failings amid an acute winter energy crisis and skyrocketing inflation.

The protesters converged in the capital, Chisinau, and chanted slogans as they marched toward the Constitutional Court. They called for an early election and the resignation of Moldova’s pro-Western President Maia Sandu.

Moldova, a former Soviet republic sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine with 2.6 million people, has taken a distinctly Western-oriented path over the last year. But in the past two months, a series of protests initiated by the populist Shor Party have rocked the country.

The Shor Party’s leader, Ilan Shor, is a Moldovan oligarch currently in exile in Israel. He is implicated in a $1 billion bank theft and was recently named on a U.S. State Department sanctions list as working for Russian interests.

The U.S. says Shor is working with “corrupt oligarchs and Moscow-based entities to create political unrest in Moldova” and to undermine the country’s push to join the European Union. In June, Moldova was granted E.U. candidate status along with war-torn Ukraine.

On Thursday, Moldova’s government filed a request to the country’s Constitutional Court to declare the Shor Party illegal. Moldova’s anti-corruption prosecutors’ office is also investigating the financing of the protests, which prosecutors say involves at least some Russian money.

The protests have hit Molodva’s government as it grapples with a serious winter energy crisis and rapidly rising inflation. Russia, whom Moldova relies on entirely for its natural gas, recently halved its supply to Moldova, Europe’s poorest nation.

President Sandu says Moscow’s decision to cut gas supplies was “political blackmail,” and has accused pro-Russia political forces in Moldova of “cynically exploiting people’s hardships and the discontent … (to) generate chaos and turn us back from our European path.”

On Thursday, E.U. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen paid an official visit to Moldova, where she pledged 250 million euros from the bloc to help the country tackle the energy crisis and support its most vulnerable people.

“Moldova is part of our European family,” she said. “And family must stick together when the times are getting tough.”

___

McGrath reported from Sighisoara, Romania.

____

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

2 days ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

2 days ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

2 days ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

5 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

7 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

7 days ago

Moldova anti-govt protesters return amid energy crisis