FORMER DEMOCRATIC MP FOUNDS NEW PUBLIC MOVEMENT TO DEFEND GAGAUZIA’S FUNDAMENTALS

Nikolai Dudoglo, a former Member of the Moldovan Parliament from the ruling Democratic Party, has founded a new public movement called the People’s Patriotic Union “Devlet”. Its constituent assembly was held in University of Comrat this past weekend.

Dudoglo said at the forum that the new organization is being created “not against somebody, but for defending the fundamentals of Gagauzia”.

“Our main objective is to found an organization of statists [state-minded people] and patriots because Gagauzia is on the verge of disappearance. We cannot let this happen”, Dudoglo stated in his speech.

Among those who have supported the founding of Devlet are Gagauzia Popular Assembly Speaker Vladimir Kyssa, former Deputy Bashkan [governor] of Gagauzia Valery Yanioglo, an activist of the Union of the Orthodox Christians of Bujak Vasily Neikovchen etc.

The assembly unanimously elected Nikolai Dudoglo as the Union’s Chairman as well as two Deputy Chairmen – Georgii Arabaji and Vladimir Kapanji, and adopted the organization’s Charter and Declaration, which will serve the basis for adopting the Union’s Program.

Nikolai Dudoglo is known for creating an organization called “New Gagauzia” in 2010 – according to some data, to serve as a counter-balance to the Movement “United Gagauzia” headed by then-Bashkan Mikhail Formuzal. In 2013, New Gagauzia decided to join the Democratic Party and started working in Gagauzia as a DP subdivision. In April 2018, Dudoglo was excluded from the DP. In reply, he resigned from the Moldovan Parliament and stated an intention to revive the “New Gagauzia” project.

Analysts perceived that step as Dudoglo’s attempt to dissociate himself from the Democratic Party that is not particularly popular in Gagauzia. The analysts believe that Nikolai Dudoglo simply feigned a divorce with the Democratic Party so that to create a new organization, to win seats in parliament and then to resume cooperation with the Democrats.