CHISINAU, June 9. /TASS/. Moldova’s government, controlled by the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), has demanded that Chisinau Mayor Ion Ceban reverse his decision to ban an LGBT pride parade.
"The PAS and their obedient servant, the State Chancellery, are forcing us to cancel the ban on parades and propaganda by homosexuals and LGBT activists in Chisinau. If they want it so badly, let them do it themselves as PAS deputies and ministers, who marched at the head of an LGBT column. We will not. Any attempt by PAS in this regard will be challenged," Ceban wrote on his Telegram channel.
Earlier, former President and current leader of the Party of Socialists, Igor Dodon, Metropolitan Vladimir of Chisinau and All Moldova, Mayor Ceban, and other politicians and public figures opposed the LGBT (recognized as extremist and banned in Russia) parade in the capital the planned for June 15. The event is scheduled after an LGBT community festival running from June 9 to 15.
His appeal was backed by the Party of Socialists, the Party of Communists, the Victory Bloc, and other opposition groups. They accused Moldovan President Maia Sandu and her pro-Western Action and Solidarity Party of waging a campaign against traditional Christian values — which they say are supported by the vast majority of Moldovan. Igor Dodon claimed that in recent years the United States has spent millions of dollars to undermine Orthodox faith and destroy traditional family values in Moldova through government-aligned NGOs. Authorities, he said, have supported these efforts by deploying reinforced police units to protect marches attended by members of the ruling party, along with US and EU diplomats and several hundred LGBT supporters. Politicians and clergy who oppose LGBT advocacy among children have faced public harassment and intimidation.
During his presidency, Dodon established an annual family festival in Chisinau as a countermeasure. Socialists have pushed for criminal liability for LGBT propaganda in schools, submitting a corresponding bill to parliament. LGBT marches in Chisinau have faced counterprotests, leading to cancellations and requiring thousands of police to maintain order.