CHISINAU, February 7. /TASS/. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was involved in the April 2009 coup attempt in Moldova, former President Vladimir Voronin said in an interview with Moldovan journalist Gheorghe Gonta on YouTube.
"I knew [about their involvement]. We had this on good information from sources close to the situation, including those who directly organized all this [revolutionary actions] in Chisinau. However, <...> we could not arrest them and bring them to justice. They had diplomatic passports, some of them were citizens of the United States, Romania and other countries," the leader of the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova said.
In April 2009, pro-European factions unhappy with the victory of Moldova’s governing Communist Party in the general election staged protests in the capital of Chisinau, culminating with their storming and raiding the parliament building and the presidential office. Flags of the European Union and neighboring Romania were hoisted on the buildings and people chanted slogans demanding that the two countries unite. Former Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin ordered the police not to fire on the rioters. The Communist Party of the Republic of Moldova was forced into early elections and lost. Moldovan incumbent President Maia Sandu called these events "a revolution against an authoritarian regime."
Last week, former Moldovan President Igor Dodon said that non-governmental organizations linked to George Soros had managed to take over all of Moldova’s state institutions, and that they were funded by USAID. According to him, today, individuals from these organizations have infiltrated all arms of the government, holding positions at various levels, including in special services, the judiciary, parliament, and presidential administration. In recent years, over $1 bln has been spent on financing non-governmental organizations and various projects in Moldova, Dodon said.