Moldova remembers April 7: A call to defend democracy
Freedom doesn’t come automatically. It must be defended every single day—especially when it is challenged by those who seek to keep people in fear and strip them of hope.
This was the message delivered on the 16th anniversary of the April 7, 2009 protests, when thousands of young people took to the streets to assert their right to decide their own future.
In a public statement, President Maia Sandu emphasized that the 2009 protesters did not rally behind a political party or ideology, but around a simple and powerful idea: power belongs to the people.
Their voices shattered the walls of fear—and some paid dearly for their belief.
Maia Sandu warned that, sixteen years later, attempts at manipulation and the undermining of democratic values are once again emerging. Yet, she affirmed, Moldova is now a country "that has learned through pain, grown in civic awareness, and knows what it must protect."
"The truth, freedom, and dignity of those who suffered on April 7 call on us to stay vigilant. We must stand together to protect what we have earned through courage: the right to build our future in freedom and peace," the President concluded.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
