‘Vile and disgusting’: Grigory Petrenko outraged by xenophobia in media headlines
October 7: The leader of the European Left Party, Grigory Petrenko, was outraged by the manifestations of xenophobia after “Komsomolskaya Pravda in Moldova” published material under the headline, “Oil painting in Moldova: you are beaten by Arabs, but you resist? Let yourself be finished off, then you will be recognized as the victim.” The politician wrote about this on his Facebook page.
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| Grigory Petrenko |
“Following [Moldovan President Igor] Dodon, his yellow press continues to promote the topic. KP, what if in the place of students from the Middle East they were Moldovans, Russians, Ukrainians, etc.? Would the headline be the same: ‘Moldovans / Russians / Ukrainians beat you, but you resist? Let yourself be finished off, then you will be recognized as the victim’?
“This obvious attempt to promote the topic of Arab students, to incite the public that they pose a threat to Moldova and its citizens, is to divert public attention from real problems. Against this background, Dodon will demand to deport foreign students without trial or investigation, deprive them of their residence permit, and ultimately be promoted as the protector of Moldovans from migrants.
“Vile and disgusting! I am sure that all these neo-fascists are ready to attack now. Next, after the Arab students, it will be your appearance, nationality, language, or anything else that they will not like,” wrote Petrenko.
Translator’s note: Former Moldovan MP Grigory Petrenko was the lead defendant in the “Petrenko Group” case and spent several months in prison for leading an anti-oligarchy protest in 2015. He was later forced to seek asylum in Germany due to ongoing political persecution.
Translated by Greg Butterfield
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