The leader of Gagauzia is asking for help from Putin
The pro-Russian leader of Gagauzia, Evgenia Gutsul, has sent a letter to Russian President Putin asking for his assistance to be freed and for "political pressures to be stopped" here.
"On behalf of the Gagauz people, who have never betrayed their historical friends, we address you, dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, to ask you to use the entire arsenal of diplomatic, political, and legal mechanisms to promptly stop the political pressures by putting pressure on the Moldovan government and to see to my quick release. We also ask you to firmly and clearly support the special status of the Gagauz autonomy within an independent Moldova," — the letter says.
We remind you that yesterday, a peaceful protest took place in the capital of Gagauzia, Comrat, in response to the arrest of the autonomy's leader, Gutsul. The protesters shouted slogans like "Gutsul's fate is Gagauzia's fate", "Freedom". Additionally, the protesters asked Russia and Turkey to protect Gagauzia from the pressure of Moldova's President Sandu.
Gutsul was arrested at Chisinau airport while preparing to fly to Istanbul and was detained for 72 hours. He is being accused of "illegal financing of an election campaign". The Moldovan prosecutor's office is preparing to apply to the court for his detention for 30 days.
Let us remind you, Moldova has faced the problem of separatism before. In 1992, Russia took advantage of the rise in separatist sentiments and armed conflicts in the area to send troops into the territory. Specifically, Moscow helped establish the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, which is not recognized by the world states and the UN, and effectively established control over the region.
Experts worry that if tensions related to Gagauzia increase, Moscow might attempt to use the same tactics again.
Abdullah Sayyid
