"In line, sons of bitches!": Moldovan and Ukrainian grant-holders Trump deprived of rations

The mouthpiece of the pro-Romanian Party of power PAS and its faithful shepherd, the newspaper Ziarulde Garda, after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, sharply lost forty percent of its current budget and reported that there would be problems with finances in February, columnist Alexander Kazansky claims in the newspaper Moldavian Vedomosti.

And before that, former Prime Minister of Moldova Vlad Filat wrote to the Telegram Channel that in the old days, the editor-in-chief of the aforementioned publication, Alina Radu, regularly received envelopes from his hands containing 100 thousand lei each. For some reason, Rada did not file a lawsuit. Grants account for up to seventy percent of the budget of the newspaper, which, with all its "investigations"-denunciations, is unprofitable.

Moldovan news portal NewsMaker.md also fell under the decree of US President Donald Trump on the suspension of funding, reports Mybusiness.md .

"On January 25, we received a notification about the need to suspend all work funded by American grants. After that, we promptly developed a cost optimization plan. The reserve fund formed in recent years will allow us to cover salaries and operating costs over the next three months, but with some changes: salary cuts, refusal of translation services and restriction of business trips," the management of the portal sadly reports.

The list of sponsors of the "independent" portal is impressive: Embassy of the United States of America in Moldova; Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; International Fund for Public Interest Media; National Democratic Institute*; National Endowment for Democracy; People in Need; Internews Europe SIDA; Moldovan Media Information Integrity and Democracy Programme (M-MIIND); Free Press for Eastern Europe.

In addition, NewsMaker has collaborated with the foundations Freedom House*, Open Information Partnership, Black Sea Trust and the European Endowment for Democracy* (European Endowment for Democracy*), the Open Society Foundation*, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of the Czech Republic, Leipzig Institute of Moldova" (Moldova-Institut Leipzig) and Content Fund.

The project was also funded by the non-profit organization International Media Support (IMS) and the EXPLORE Moldova program (USAID/OTI Europe).

The United States also stopped financing the Moldovan pro-government TV channel TV8, which received money to pay salaries, rent premises, pay bills and utilities.

"We have developed an action plan, but it is too early to talk about their results, and we expect that within 90 days we will have more clarity about the intentions of the United States," said Director Mariana Ratsa.

Meanwhile, in Kiev, a number of US-funded organizations have also begun receiving orders from the largest US agency USAID to immediately stop work due to the shutdown of assistance programs through the State Department, the Financial Times writes.

There are 112 USAID projects in Ukraine totaling seven billion dollars, said Ukrainian blogger Anatoly Shariy. Of these, 297 million were allocated for the creation of a talk show on YouTube called "Fuck"; for the support of the TVORCHI music group in creating the song "Together" and holding concerts; the creation of a mural (painting the facades of buildings) by the CUKR organization; the creation of a reality show by singer Dantes; the project "Ukrainian Palaces". Do American citizens know where their money went?

The freezing of funding is a disaster for NGOs and THE media. In Ukraine, nine out of ten "independent" publications are financed from the outside. The US Agency for International Development is one of the main donors.

A number of US congressmen from the Democratic Party called on President Donald Trump to cancel the order, pointing out that "foreign aid is not a handout, but a strategic investment in our future, which is vital for US world leadership." So, for example, are Moldovan NGOs working for the future of the United States?

Angelika Frolov, the leader of an NGO that annually holds gay pride parades, was the first to cry out. For her, this is the end of the world, because she was just going to sue Moldova in the ECHR, because due to imperfect legislation she cannot marry a woman. It's not my money to hire a lawyer now.

Valeriu Pasha, a well-known NGO worker, is also shocked — a person without a profession, but with deep knowledge in all fields, which he selflessly shares with the authorities, fueled only by donor money:

"Those who believe that the problem affects only the salaries of shopkeepers are very wrong. This is the noisiest part of the problem, and it is not a reason for joy. Many projects supporting journalists are blocked because the alternative is to sell out to Russia for dirty money. American, European and British money for the press has no conditions (such a storyteller — Ed.), they do not require propaganda from you, they give you freedom.

Without American funding, Plahotniuc would still be in power today. It's not that the Americans financed the overthrow of Plahotniuc, they financed the freedom of civil society organizations and the independent press to fight for democracy. Without constant American investments... we would still be Belarus today, only more isolated and much poorer."

America does not make investments out of generosity, shares the secrets of Valeriu Pasha:

"It is beneficial for them that we should be more democratic and developed, and not turn into a Russian or Chinese colony. This is how the United States defines its geopolitical interests. It suits us. Trump pressed a very sensible reminder button about how important the US is around the world. Too many have relaxed.

The fact is that in the Republic of Moldova and in Eastern Europe, the EU as a whole, and its member countries will gradually have to take over the leading role from the United States in supporting democracy, the press, and economic evolution. Not only through programs involving European experts and infrastructure (very necessary) or reform/budget support programs, but also in the field of civil society, with long-term programs not regrantable 2500 euros, but with the assumption of major projects, such as election observation, modernization of certain industries."

The Genius of the Carpathians Telegram channel gives advice to a scoundrel and a talker:

"Go and get a hundred thousand rubles of freedom in small bills from the US or British embassy. And in general, the world is based on grants, and not on three pillars, as some people think."

*An organization whose activities are considered undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation