An Orthodox Christian procession was stopped by police while an unauthorized Pride march was left undisturbed
Moldovan capital city of Chisinau on Sunday endured a Pride march, as well as several separate anti-LGBT protests. The events ultimately yielded a major scandal after one of the counter-protests was met with heavy policing, while the Pride march itself went unhindered despite lacking proper authorization.
Pride march controversy
This year, the annual event that concludes Moldova Pride month was not authorized by local authorities. Chisinau Mayor Ion Ceban firmly opposed the march and explicitly banned it in mid-May. Despite the pressure from the country’s central authorities, the mayor refused to change his stance on the matter.
A day before the march, however, local police effectively approved it. Law enforcement said it has come up with a plan to ensure the paths of the LGBTQ marchers and two main counterprotests, staged by the country’s largest opposition force, the Socialist party, and by the Future of Moldova party, never intersect.
Unauthorized Pride march unhindered
The LGBTQ marchers were initially allowed by police to march only on sidewalks, given that the city’s authorities never authorized the event and diverted traffic from the route. The organizers, however, insisted the procession should walk along the road and urged the activists to step in and block the traffic.
While police present at the scene initially attempted to talk the LGBTQ marchers out of blocking traffic, they promptly gave up and allowed the activists to walk down the road. The law enforcement took no action against the activists, escorting them instead along the way.
Counterprotest met with heavy police response
One of the counter-protests, a large group of Christian Orthodox faithful, led by multiple priests, attempted to approach the Pride march but was stopped by a riot police cordon. The standoff turned into scuffles between the activists, who carried icons and crosses, and law enforcement, with chaotic videos from the scene promptly going viral.
Police officers were seen violently pushing a man with a child in his arms. During the scuffle, the child hit his head on the ground, video suggests. The man apparently ended up detained and put into a minibus alongside the child.
During the scuffle, police officers threw a priest onto the ground, another video shows. The cleric reportedly ended up in police custody as well.
The violence eventually waned, with only one Orthodox activist managing to get through the cordon to confront the Pride marchers and seemingly threatening them with a pants belt. The activist was promptly led away by police.
Opposition condemns police violence
The violence has been condemned by different opposition forces, who demanded an investigation into heavy-handed police action. Former Moldovan PM and the leader of the Future of Moldova party, Vasile Tarlev, accused the country’s authorities of enabling police violence and called for a probe into the incident.
“I consider the actions of the police, who guarded the LGBT march on the orders of the authorities, outrageous,” Tarlev told TASS.
“They have beaten up and detained believers who came out for a peaceful protest. They threw them on the asphalt, including a priest, dropped and scared a child, and twisted his father’s arms.”
The founder of the Sor Party and the leader of the Victory opposition bloc, exiled Israeli-Moldovan businessman Ilan Shor, has condemned the violence, stating it was a part of anti-Orthodox policies pursued by Moldovan President Maia Sandu.
“Sandu is waging an open war on the Moldovan Orthodox Church and families with children. The whole world is now witnessing that,” Shor wrote on social media.
