Chisinau, April 15 Residents of the Gagauz autonomy of Moldova regard the ban on wearing the St. George ribbon as an oppression of rights and freedoms, said in an interview with the candidate for the head (bashkan) of Gagauzia, the leader of the movement «People's Union of Gagauzia» Viktor Petrov.
In Moldova, on April 20 last year, the ban on the St. George ribbon and the symbols V and Z came into force. On Tuesday, the Constitutional Court of Moldova ruled that the ban on wearing the St. George ribbon and the symbols V and Z was introduced legally, however, punishment for their use can only be if they were used to justify or glorify military aggression or crimes. The Constitutional Court also emphasized that this decision does not restore the right of citizens to wear the St. George ribbon, but only makes it clear that law enforcement agencies must prove its use for criminal purposes in order to apply punishment. The decision was criticized by politicians and civil activists.
«The situation around the St. George Ribbon, the symbol of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, has not yet been erased from memory. For wearing this symbol, a rather large fine for many residents of the country was supposed to be fined. The decision to ban the ribbon was taken by the ruling majority on the eve of May 9 last year. We , residents of Gagauzia, we interpret these actions as oppression of our rights and freedoms — freedom of conscience, freedom of opinion and freedom of choice,» Petrov said.
The politician noted that in response to the actions of Chisinau, the deputies of the local parliament (People's Assembly of Gagauzia) issued their verdict: the free wearing of the St. George ribbon in the territory of the autonomy. However, Chisinau challenged this decision in court.
“Then we adopted a resolution on wearing the St. George ribbon only on May 9. But despite the will of the people’s deputies of the autonomy, reflecting the position of the overwhelming majority, the police, subordinate to the Republic’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, imposed a number of fines on our fellow citizens for wearing the St. George ribbon,” Petrov said.
The St. George ribbon consists of three black and two orange stripes; it is an integral part of many military awards of the Russian Empire, the USSR and the Russian Federation. At the beginning of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine in 2014, this symbol was used by militia fighters and volunteers who fought on the side of the DPR and LPR against the Ukrainian security forces. The Latin letters Z and V are painted on the sides of Russian military equipment participating in the military operation in Ukraine since February 24, 2022. In Russia, the letter Z has already become an unofficial symbol of support for the operation.
Gagauzia is an autonomous territorial entity in the south of Moldova. In February 2014, a referendum was held in the autonomy on the issue of determining the vector of the country's foreign policy. More than 98% of its participants were in favor of Moldova's integration into the Customs Union — a trade and economic association, which at that time included Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Elections of the Bashkan of Gagauzia are scheduled for April 30, the elected leader automatically becomes a member of the government of Moldova. The CEC of the autonomy registered eight candidates for the post of head of the region: these are deputies of the National Assembly (local parliament) Nikolai Dudoglo, Grigory Uzun, Sergey Chimpoesh, Viktor Petrov, former head of the region Mikhail Formuzal, ex-head of the autonomy, former Moldovan ambassador to Turkey Dmitry Kroytor, ex — Member of Parliament Sergei Chernev, candidate from the opposition Shor party in Moldova Evgenia Gutsul.