VIDEO // Opposition walks out session hall at today's parliament meeting; Moldovan parliament speaker says not to tolerate insults, degrading behavior

The parliamentary opposition today walked out of the parliament’s session hall, in a show of solidarity with Alexandr Versinin, an MP from the Democracy at Home (DA) faction, whose microphone was cut off. Speaker Igor Grosu reacted sharply, after the opposition lawmakers demonstratively had left the plenary hall. He said that “a lack of culture, discordant behavior and insults will not be tolerated in this institution.”

The decision was taken following an incident in the plenum during the examination of a draft law on the competences of specialized prosecutor’s offices and the National Anticorruption Centre (CNA), when the speaker ordered the microphone of MP Alexandr Versinin to be turned off. Tensions rose, and after a break was announced, opposition deputies blocked the main rostrum and said they were leaving the session.

Vasile Costiuc, president of the DA faction, criticized the decision of the parliament’s leadership.

“An MP has the mandate of the voters and cannot be deprived of the right to express an opinion. I hope this incident will not become a practice,” Costiuc said.

“Today, the entire opposition walked out together. We are different, but we believe it is not normal for the majority to limit the rights of the opposition. We will not continue the session under these conditions,” said the president of the Moldovan Party of Socialists (PSRM), Igor Dodon.

Igor Grosu noted that the parliament cannot tolerate the language and behavior displayed by some members of the opposition and emphasized the responsibility of MPs before the citizens.

“I say this with full responsibility: a lack of culture, discordant behavior and insults will not be tolerated in this institution. I remind all deputies, all elected representatives of the people: the entire country is watching us, and this behavior, these expressions, insults, labels spread through society. Children are listening to us, adults are listening to us, people from the Diaspora are listening to us, our neighbors are listening to us and they all form an image of the people’s representatives, including from the quality of our speeches and from the behavior that we all display. For this reason, dear representatives of the opposition, you have every opportunity to come forward with ideas, to have a clash of ideas and proposals. There is room for debate, but when things slip or degenerate into the kind of speeches we have seen, I feel obliged—and I will do this, even if I do not particularly enjoy it—to intervene and stop them. This is, dear lawmakers, the message I constantly receive from our citizens. Because when we tolerate or pretend not to notice, that does not excuse us. Through this tolerance, we do nothing but endorse, validate and indirectly say that this is acceptable. And if a deputy is allowed to do it, then why later would a young man, a young woman, a student or a pupil not be allowed to do the same?” Grosu said.

The speaker stressed that certain behaviors cannot be justified by invoking freedom of expression.

“Political culture is not decreed; it is formed over time. And I am convinced that, sooner or later, we will get there. But we cannot cover up such deviations under the claim of freedom of expression or the right to an opinion,” Grosu concluded.