Sawt Falasteen - Russia stirs up anti-LGBTQ prejudice in Moldova 'information war'

Days ahead of key elections in which Moldova's pro-EU President Maia Sandu hopes to win a second term, Frolov blamed Russia for the false alerts, accusing Moscow of waging an "information war" in which the LGBTQ community is an "unwitting" pawn.

"We are being used," the 50-year-old activist told AFP. "Homophobia in Moldova is being used in this war."

Pro-Russian parties in the small country of 2.6 million bordering Ukraine, are using anti-LGBTQ prejudices to stir up anger towards Sandu and the European Union.

They accuse the EU of trying to destroy the former Soviet republic "through the moral debauchery of LGBT propaganda, through the mockery of the Christian faith."

- 'Lies' -

Anti-LGBTQ sentiments are widespread across Moldova, though they have softened in recent years, according to surveys.

In 2021, 33 percent of those polled in Chisinau agreed with homophobic views, down from more than 55 percent in 2019, according to Frolov's group GENDERDOC-M (GDM).

Still, almost 70 percent of Moldovans would not want an LGBTQ person as a neighbour, according to a survey carried out by another NGO in 2023.

During their election campaigns, opposition pro-Russian parties frequently accused Sandu of promoting LGBTQ interests.

Her image was used this year in a deep fake video in which she appeared to support the LGBTQ community.

Her chief of staff blamed "pro-Russian forces connected to fugitive oligarchs" for the fake, saying they were trying to "jeopardise European integration through gross forgeries".

Sandu applied for Moldova to join the EU shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and accession talks began in June.

The former World Bank economist won a first round of presidential elections on October 20, but on Sunday faces a tough second round against Alexandr Stoianoglo, a former prosecutor backed by the pro-Russian Socialists.

A referendum on joining the EU, also held on October 20, narrowly passed with the government decrying "unprecedented" vote-buying and other dirty tricks blamed on Russia.

Russia has "categorically" denied meddling.

This week Sandu said that people need to know the advantages of joining the EU and "what we stand to lose if we abandon this path", lamenting "a lot of misinformation".

"All our lives we have to fight lies and scare-mongering," she said.

- 'Scared' -

Fugitive pro-Russian politician and businessman Ilan Shor wrote on Telegram in September that the LGBTQ festival in Chisinau was "a new gay party" supported by Sandu and organised by NGOs linked to US billionaire George Soros.

"LGBT-fest in an Orthodox country on the eve of elections is the best anti-advertising for Sandu," wrote Israeli-born Shor, who now lives in Russia.

MP Marina Tauber, one of Shor's closest associates in Moldova, asked if Moldovans really want to see in Chisinau the same "bacchanalia" as during the Paris Olympics opening ceremony. Drag queens dressed as Greek gods featured in one scene at the ceremony.

Meanwhile, fake documents on social networks claimed the government gave days off to those taking part in the four-day LGBTQ festival.

Frolov, who has organised the festival for six years, believes this type of misinformation has long influenced elections.

"We have been seeing and hearing this since about 2016" when Sandu failed in her first attempt to become president, said Frolov.

Moldovans "scared" by the misinformation campaigns vote for pro-Russian parties, Frolov said, admitting that she was nervous of what might happen if the Kremlin "gets a hold of us" after Sunday's vote.

A.Suleiman--SF-PST