From Eastern Europe comes this tidbit of news, via RT. (Yes, we here at TPOL know that RT, like RFE and PBS, is a state-owned/controlled media outlet. The news is similar in most outlets, however.-)

It seems that the little nation’s supreme court has outlawed an opposition Political Party, by the name of Sor. (The party name means Upward in Moldavan, a dialect of Romanian.)

Why?

It seems that the decision, unanimously supported by representatives of the pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity, was based on the “fact” that Sor was a political power created “out of corruption and for corruption” and for this reason “threatens the constitutional order and security of the state.”

Or, as clear from the attitude of Moldovan President Maia Sandu, the party (the major opposition party to the PAS) was Euroskeptic and Russophilic. It is reported that both the EU and US embassies supported the decision and instant action. Apparently the Sor deputies in the national legislature have been allowed to keep their seats and not arrested. Not yet, at least, though since it is illegal for them to have a “faction” (that is, connections with each other) and not permitted to join another caucus, it is likely only a matter of time before they do something that violates the court order and they are jailed.

(Note: Many media outlets call it the “Shor” party; the founder and leader of the party, Ilan Shor, born in Israel, was conveniently convicted of fraud and corruption back a few months. He fled to Israel, where apparently a (slightly more honest?) judicial system has refused to extradite him.)

It smells like the current administration and dominant Political Party are running scared of growing support for Sor. This of course makes them breathe easier and “democracy” is once again safe. Even though people in many towns and villages are already forming new political opposition “groups” and talking and protesting. Besides the usual economic woes and the “give the people more” issues, there are fears of the current administration literally selling the country to Romania (to which it once belonged) and giving the Transnistria region to the Ukraine. (There have been Russian peacekeepers there for 31 years.)

So why are we writing about this? First, as we discussed recently, the American judiciary is no more independent of government control than that in Moldova. Judges know what side their bread is buttered on. Second, the language (very 1984-ish) justifying outlawing a political party sounds very much like arguments used against various minor parties in Europe, and even the Libertarian Party and others in the Fifty States. Lovers of liberty threaten the constitutional order and security of the state. Right? Third, the dirty fingerprints of DC, London, and Brussels seem to be all over the place. To echo George W Bush, ‘y’all either for us or agin us.”

Unlike, say, Tibetans or Scots or Catalans, we will be surprised if anyone here Stateside goes out on the streets to protest in favor of disenfranchised Moldovans. Assuming that more than 1 out of 20 Americans even know where the place is.

Once upon a time, Americans would have supported a people like the Moldovans. And we did: people like Texians, Californios, Koreans, Taiwanese, or at least groups of people in those locations who desired to free themselves of tyranny. Who desires to remain or regain their independence. Moldova (once known as Bessarabia) has been the whipping boy for a lot of tyrants, conquerors, and invaders over the centuries. Isn’t enough enough?

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