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Moldova Hosts the World Congress of Families

September 14, 201807:44

The pro-Russian political forces in Moldova want to politically exploit the themes regarding the traditional family values.

Moldovan President Igor Dodon met Russian Patriarch Kiril on June 13, 2018. Photo: Igor Dodon Facebook page

Moldova will host on Friday and Saturday a gathering of conservative, anti-gay and anti-abortion Christian groups called the World Congress of Families under the auspices of pro-Russian President Igor Dodon.

Also, the event has the support of the benefit fund of Igor Dodon`s wife, Galina Dodon, an NGO which allegedly conducts some political driven social campaigns.

But close ties to the World Congress of Families have also Konstantin Malofeyev and Vladimir Yakunin, two conservative Russian oligarchs with close ties to the Kremlin who finance Russia-friendly and Christian Orthodox initiatives in former Soviet countries and in the West.

Malofeyev’s business partner, Aleksei Komov, is on the World Congress of Families’ board.
Yakunin’s wife, Natalia Yakunina, is the head of one of its member groups, the Sanctity of Motherhood, according to Radio Free Europe.

Although Natalia Yakunina is a speaker at the congress, the organization she heads told BIRN that they are not sponsoring the event.

Russian Patriarch Kirill is expected to this event, although there are controversial info so far about his presence in Chisinau.

The World Congress of Families’ stances includes defending traditional marriage, opposing abortion, and condemning anti-discrimination measures intended to protect people of all sexual orientations.

Speakers at the Congress usually blame the West for moral degradation and destroying the meaning of the traditional family.

According to Dodon, several hundred people from over 40 countries confirmed their participation in the event.

Among them Papal Cardinal, the secretary of Vatican, Pietro Parolin; Olga Epifanova, vice-president of Russia`s State Duma; Brian Brown, the president of the International Organization for the Family; Prince Louis de Bourbon from France, representatives of the metropolises from several states, public organizations, journalists and public figures.

Moldovan media wrote in August 2017, that Dodon met Malofeyev in Athos Mountain in Greece and discussed organizing this event in Chisinau in 2018.

The main motivation was related to the electoral campaign for parliamentary elections on February 2018. One of the main political themes The pro-Russian Socialists closed Igor Dodon is the „traditional family” and in a subsidiary, they promote a hate the speech against LGBT community are their rights in the society.

At the begging of 2018, a US Congressional report claimed that Russia is aggressively targeting countries in Central and Eastern Europe that want to join the EU and NATO.

The authors claimed that in Moldova, high-ranking priests “worked to stop the country’s integration with the European Union” – leading anti-gay protests and even claiming that the EU’s biometric passports are satanic because they have a 13-digit numerical code.

Read more:

Moldova Court Annuls Capital’s Election Result

Pro-European Candidate Wins Chisinau Mayoral Race

Moldova Court Backs Mayoral Election Ruling

NOTE: The article was amended on September 15 to add explanation that Natalia Yakunina and Foundation of Saint Andrew did not sponsored the World Congress of Families in Moldova.

 

Madalin Necsutu