The Moldovan capital witnessed a day marked by tension and police violence this Sunday, as hundreds of citizens took to the streets to peacefully demonstrate in defense of traditional values and opposition to the LGBT ‘pride’ march organized on the same day.
Among the participants were Orthodox priests, parents, and faithful Christians carrying religious icons and banners.. Far from allowing a peaceful protest, the authorities responded with a strong deployment of riot police, who ultimately broke up the gathering by force.
It is worth noting that the event ‘Pride 2025’ had been explicitly banned in Chișinău following a vote held on May 15th by the municipal council, during which representatives from the Socialist Party and the National Alternative joined forces to veto the LGBT march, according to AFP. Despite this democratic decision, the central government not only allowed the event to take place but also protected it with an unprecedentedly repressive police operation against its opponents.
Videos shared on the internet show scenes of police aggression, including the arrest of a priest and the violent shoving of a father holding a small child, who fell and hit his head on the ground. Several demonstrators were handcuffed and detained despite not showing resistance, sparking a wave of outrage among conservative sectors both within Moldova and abroad.
Moldova is accelerating its EU accession process and will hold a key summit with Brussels on July 4th. President Maia Sandu’s government, a staunch ally of European institutions, has made it clear that its priority is to adapt to the ‘progressive’ standards required by the EU bloc. Natalya Parasca, leader of the Revival Party, denounced that “this march was held at all costs, even trampling on Christian and family values that are fundamental to our people.”
The Moldovan Orthodox Church has raised its voice, condemning the violence against clergy and demanding respect for believers’ rights to demonstrate in defense of their convictions. “Gender ideology is a frontal assault on our principles and must be rejected,” declared a church spokesperson.