Veterans of the Nistru war requested the Prosecutor General’s Office to investigate the accusations of corruption made against them because they took part in the military parade staged to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the declaration of the country’s independence.
In a news conference at IPN, Anatolie Caraman, who heads the Association of War Veterans “Tiras-Tighina”, said ex-MP Alexandr Petkov asserted that the veterans who took part in the parade were paid by €500 each. According to Anatolie Caraman, the war veterans were those who actually expressed interest in taking part in the event and asked the Ministry of Defense to offer them this possibility. The veterans wanted to thus commemorate those who didn’t return from the battlefield and to honor the tricolor and the Romanian language.
“We earlier took part absolutely disinterestedly in other events too, such as marches and parades, as we commemorate our colleagues this way. We hope to soon take part in a parade that will be mounted to mark the union with Romania,” said Major Ion Savin.
Colonel Ghenadie Cosovan stated that the parade involved ware veterans aged between 45 and 72. “Maybe for some of us this was the last parade in our life. We decided to take part, especially because we were near the young generation of service members, so as to inspire them with patriotism,” he stated. The colonel called on the members of the Civic Platform “Dignity and Truth”, who booed the participants in the parade, calling them ‘traitors’, to apologize publicly.
The veterans said that if Andrei Nastase, who is one of the founders of the Civic Platform “Dignity and Truth”, does not offer public apologies, they will go to his electoral meetings to seek apologies from him.
The veterans also expect apologies from the mayor of Balti Renato Usatyi because this denigrated the participants in the parade.
After the news conference, the veterans went to the Prosecutor General’s Office where they requested officially that the accusations made against them should be examined. Afterward, when they get an answer from prosecutors, the veterans will go to court to defend their honor and dignity.
