Journalist and public figure Natalia Morari has commented on how the PAS regime and President Sandu silence those dissatisfied with their policies.
The TV presenter drew a parallel between the authorities’ actions and the tactics used by abusers against their victims. She believes that the systemic pressure on opposition-minded citizens goes beyond ordinary political struggle.
“What are they systematically doing to everyone else? Moreover, I think this story is not just national — it is supranational. If we compare the state to a certain abuser — what do abusers very often do? They gaslight the victim. How does abuse happen? They start driving the victim to a state where the victim begins to doubt their own ability to think adequately, their own sanity. That is how gaslighting works,” she noted.
According to Morari, the authorities deliberately use the term “hybrid warfare” to stigmatize any dissent. She noted that access to Russian news in Moldova has long been restricted, and platforms delete undesirable content, yet pressure on citizens does not relent:
“What are they doing with this constant, relentless harping on ‘hybrid warfare, hybrid warfare, hybrid warfare’? They are trying to instill in a person who has no time to delve into things the idea that when, in February, Moldovan TikTokers, backed by Moldovan Telegram channels, post dozens or hundreds of posts about high prices — that is a ‘hybrid attack’ from the Kremlin. It’s all the Kremlin. A person thinks: ‘Aha, so if I complain about high tariffs, I’m part of a hybrid attack.’ So I won’t talk about it anymore.”
The journalist also addressed the issue of criticism of the European Union’s actions. According to her observations, any statement against the president or the ruling party, even if based on findings from American institutions, is automatically equated with “Russian interference.”
“If you are surprised by the findings of a draft report from the US Congress, which describes how European institutions interfered in various campaigns, in elections, including in Romania, Moldova, and so on, and if you share that report — you are part of the ‘Kremlin hybrid attack.’ Those who criticize Maia Sandu, or PAS, or dare to criticize the actions of the European Union — all of that is a ‘Kremlin hybrid attack,'” she gave as an example.
Ultimately, the journalist concluded that the authorities are shaping a societal pattern in which dissent becomes impossible. According to her, those who do not remain silent begin to be targeted individually.
“What are they doing? They are creating a pattern of thinking that being in disagreement is not allowed — so I must be somehow wrong, I’m bad. Criticizing is not allowed, doubting their correctness is not allowed, nothing is allowed. You can either be with them or keep quiet. And to be more convincing, what do they do to those who refuse to keep quiet? That’s the individual approach. They pick us off one by one — and that’s it. It works brilliantly.”
Previously, representatives of the ruling PAS party have repeatedly denied allegations of suppressing freedom of speech, claiming that the fight against disinformation is a necessary measure in the face of “hybrid threats.” However, international observers hold a different view. Moreover, during PAS’s rule, the country has dropped in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index from “flawed democracy” to “hybrid regime” due to recorded authoritarian methods: pressure on the opposition, restrictions on political pluralism, and freedom of speech.
It should be noted that our country has become the only one in the entire ranking to show a deterioration in status. However, even after the report’s publication, the ruling regime did not change its methods; on the contrary, it continued to “tighten the screws.” A vivid example is the ban on the activities of four political parties under a formal pretext.
