Politics
Dual nationality works against Moscow and Tiraspol in Moldova
Reading Time: 3 minutesMoldovans in Moldova proper and in the breakaway unrecognized republic of Transdniestria are taking dual citizenship and acquiring Romanian passports, a trend one Moscow analyst says is accelerating the decline of Moscow’s influence in Chisinau even as the roles of Bucharest, Brussels and Washington there continue to expand.
By Paul Goble
Moldovans in Moldova proper and in the breakaway unrecognized republic of Transdniestria are taking dual citizenship and acquiring Romanian passports, a trend one Moscow analyst says is accelerating the decline of Moscow’s influence in Chisinau even as the roles of Bucharest, Brussels and Washington there continue to expand.
In the current issue of “Novaya politika,” Maksim Artemyev points to a demand by acting Moldovan President Mihai Ghimpu for the withdrawal of Russian forces from Transdniestria and the denunciation by that country’s vice premier, Viktor Osipov, of an earlier accord about that region as evidence of this shift (novopol.ru/text80784.html).
For 18 years, the conflict between Tiraspol and Chisinau has truly been “frozen,” Artemyev notes, the reflection of “the weakness of Moldova and the strength of Transdniestria, backed up by Russian forces.” As a result, “a political compromise, just as in Nagorno-Karabakh and in Abkhazia and south Ossetia, was impossible.”
Both sides, he continues, “have played for time,” with the Moldovans hoping that more favorable foreign policy circumstances will help them, and the Transdniestria regime convinced that the longer it lasted, the less inclined Chisinau and the international community would be to challenge its right to exist.
In the 1990s, Moldova was “in a deep economic and political crisis” and its foreign political situation was equally unfavorable: Moscow supported Tiraspol, Artemyev notes, and Chisinau could not find a common language with Bucharest as it tried to solidify Moldova as an independent country.
After some twists and turns under President Vladimir Voronin, power in Moldova is “again in the hands of those elements which at the start of the 1990s attempted to resolve the problem of Transdniestria by crude force.” The difference is they know they cannot afford to risk “a new war,” but that does not mean that they are not intensifying their efforts to recover control.
Under Voronin, Artemyev points out, relations between Moldova and Romania were so bad that “both countries withdrew their ambassadors.” But now, “on the contrary, a rapprochement is going at full speed,” including simplified border crossing and what is more measures that allow Moldovans to take dual Romanian citizenship quite easily.
Romanian President Traian Basescu, who was recently re-elected, has never accepted the territorial changes brought about by the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and “denies the existence of a separate Moldovan nation.” Moreover, his foreign minister, Teodor Baconschi recently said that “Moldovanism” is “an artificial ethnic and geopolitical construct.”
Moreover, Artemyev continues, Baconschi “for the first time in the last eight years, at an official meeting calling Moldova Bessarabia.” And Bucharest has now appointed a new ambassador, Marius Lazurca, whose job includes handing out Romanian passports to residents of Moldova.
Because Romania is a member of the European Union, such citizenship is especially attractive for Moldovans not only because Romania has a much higher standard of living than Moldova, unlike in Soviet times but also because “several hundred thousand citizens of Moldova” living in Transdniestria could take Romanian citizenship.
Indeed, Artemyev says, it is “completely” possible that “after a few years, the majority of residents of Moldova will have dual citizenship and on the order of the day will arise the question about the fusion of the two states,” something with enormous geopolitical consequences for Tiraspol more or less immediately and Moscow longer term.
Such dual citizenship poses a real challenge to Tiraspol because “it will not be able to propose a more attractive alternative” to its residents not only because it is unrecognized but also because it is poor. Indeed, under the circumstances, it appears likely to fall ever further behind Moldova and Romania and thus lose support.
At present, Transdnestria head Igor Smirnov is still able to play on “contradictions between Chisinau and Kyiv and between Bucharest and Kyiv, use the support of Moscow, and use the political struggle within Moldova to promote its own interests.” But now it faces problems inside its own borders.
In March, local elections are scheduled [in Transdnestria], and opposition forces under Yevgeny Shevchuk’s Renewal [Obnovleniye] Party appear to be gaining strength. But it is not only domestically that Tiraspol is in trouble. Its foreign political situation “is also getting worse,” Artemyev says.
Kalman Mizsei, the EU’s special representative for Moldova, said last week that “Transdniestria must be an inalienable part of Moldova and that Europe “welcomes the desire of the new Moldovan leadership to give a new impulse” to negotiations to recover that breakaway region.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has stressed that the US supports the 5+2 negotiating arrangements, thus undercutting Moscow’s efforts to mediate between Chisinau and Tiraspol. Moreover, and in a signal of all these shifts, Washington has indicated that it will provide more aid to Chisinau.
While Bucharest, Brussels and Washington are strengthening their positions in Moldova, “Russia’s positions have weakened.” It bet on Vladimir Voronin and the Communist Party in the last election, and this mistake led the political elite in Chisinau to view Moscow in a more negative light, [but was somewhat reversed] after Moscow backed Marian Lupu for president.
Tragically, Artemyev continues, Moscow may be making another and possibly “fatal” mistake by sticking with Tiraspol’s Smirnov. He is 69, and “one must not exclude attempts at his replacement in the near future.” The situation in that part of the former Soviet space would then change dramatically, “but what role Russia will play is still unknown.”
A new football club has earned a leading place in the UEFA Champions League groups and starred in the headlines of worldwide football news yesterday. The Football Club Sheriff Tiraspol claimed a win with the score 2-1 against Real Madrid on the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid. That made Sheriff Tiraspol the leader in Group D of the Champions League, including the football club in the groups of the most important European interclub competition for the first time ever.
International media outlets called it a miracle, a shock and a historic event, while strongly emphasizing the origin of the team and the existing political conflict between the two banks of the Dniester. “Football club from a pro-Russian separatist enclave in Moldova pulls off one of the greatest upsets in Champions League history,” claimed the news portals. “Sheriff crushed Real!” they said.
Moldovans made a big fuss out of it on social media, splitting into two groups: those who praised the team and the Republic of Moldova for making history and those who declared that the football club and their merits belong to Transnistria – a problematic breakaway region that claims to be a separate country.
Both groups are right and not right at the same time, as there is a bunch of ethical, political, social and practical matters that need to be considered.
Is it Moldova?
First of all, every Moldovan either from the right or left bank of Dniester (Transnistria) is free to identify himself with this achievement or not to do so, said Vitalie Spranceana, a sociologist, blogger, journalist and urban activist. According to him, boycotting the football club for being a separatist team is wrong.
At the same time, “it’s an illusion to think that territory matters when it comes to football clubs,” Spranceana claimed. “Big teams, the ones included in the Champions League, have long lost their connection both with the countries in which they operate, and with the cities in which they appeared and to which they linked their history. […] In the age of globalized commercial football, teams, including the so-called local ones, are nothing more than global traveling commercial circuses, incidentally linked to cities, but more closely linked to all sorts of dirty, semi-dirty and cleaner cash flows.”
What is more important in this case is the consistency, not so much of citizens, as of politicians from the government who have “no right to celebrate the success of separatism,” as they represent “the national interests, not the personal or collective pleasures of certain segments of the population,” believes the political expert Dionis Cenusa. The victory of FC Sheriff encourages Transnistrian separatism, which receives validation now, he also stated.
“I don’t know how it happens that the “proud Moldovans who chose democracy”, in their enthusiasm for Sheriff Tiraspol’s victory over Real Madrid, forget the need for total and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria!” declared the journalist Vitalie Ciobanu.
Nowadays, FC Sheriff Tiraspol has no other choice than to represent Moldova internationally. For many years, the team used the Moldovan Football Federation in order to be able to participate in championships, including international ones. That is because the region remains unrecognised by the international community. However, the club’s victory is presented as that of Transnistria within the region, without any reference to the Republic of Moldova, its separatist character being applied in this case especially.
Is it a victory?
In fact, FC Sheriff Tiraspol joining the Champions League is a huge image breakthrough for the Transnistrian region, as the journalist Madalin Necsutu claimed. It is the success of the Tiraspol Club oligarchic patrons. From the practical point of view, FC Sheriff Tiraspol is a sports entity that serves its own interests and the interests of its owners, being dependent on the money invested by Tiraspol (but not only) oligarchs.
Here comes the real dilemma: the Transnistrian team, which is generously funded by money received from corruption schemes and money laundering, is waging an unequal fight with the rest of the Moldovan football clubs, the journalist also declared. The Tiraspol team is about to raise 15.6 million euro for reaching the Champions League groups and the amounts increase depending on their future performance. According to Necsutu, these money will go directly on the account of the club, not to the Moldovan Football Federation, creating an even bigger gab between FC Sheriff and other football clubs from Moldova who have much more modest financial possibilities.
“I do not see anything useful for Moldovan football, not a single Moldovan player is part of FC Sheriff Tiraspol. I do not see anything beneficial for the Moldovan Football Federation or any national team.”
Is it only about football?
FC Sheriff Tiraspol, with a total estimated value of 12.8 million euros, is controlled by Victor Gusan and Ilya Kazmala, being part of Sheriff Holding – a company that controls the trade of wholesale, retail food, fuels and medicine by having monopolies on these markets in Transnistria. The holding carries out car trading activities, but also operates in the field of construction and real estate. Gusan’s people also hold all of the main leadership offices in the breakaway region, from Parliament to the Prime Minister’s seat or the Presidency.
The football club is supported by a holding alleged of smuggling, corruption, money laundering and organised crime. Moldovan media outlets published investigations about the signals regarding the Sheriff’s holding involvement in the vote mobilization and remuneration of citizens on the left bank of the Dniester who participated in the snap parliamentary elections this summer and who were eager to vote for the pro-Russian socialist-communist bloc.
Considering the above, there is a great probability that the Republic of Moldova will still be represented by a football club that is not identified as being Moldovan, being funded from obscure money, growing in power and promoting the Transnistrian conflict in the future as well.
Photo: unknown
Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Natalia Gavrilita, together with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nicu Popescu, pay an official visit to Brussels, between September 27-28, being invited by High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell Fontelles.
Today, Prime Minister had a meeting with Charles Michel, President of the European Council. The Moldovan PM thanked the senior European official for the support of the institution in strengthening democratic processes, reforming the judiciary and state institutions, economic recovery and job creation, as well as increasing citizens’ welfare. Natalia Gavrilita expressed her confidence that the current visit laid the foundations for boosting relations between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union, so that, in the next period, it would be possible to advance high-level dialogues on security, justice and energy. Officials also exchanged views on priorities for the Eastern Partnership Summit, to be held in December.
“The EU is open to continue to support the Republic of Moldova and the ambitious reform agenda it proposes. Moldova is an important and priority partner for us,” said Charles Michel.
Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita also met with Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for Economy, expressing her gratitude for the support received through the OMNIBUS macro-financial assistance program. The two officials discussed the need to advance the recovery of money from bank fraud, to strengthen sustainable mechanisms for supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in Moldova, and to standardize the customs and taxes as one of the main conditions for deepening cooperation with the EU in this field.
Additionally, Prime Minister spoke about the importance of the Eastern Partnership and the Deep Free Trade Agreement, noting that the Government’s policies are aimed at developing an economic model aligned with the European economic model, focused on digitalization, energy efficiency and the green economy.
A common press release of the Moldovan Prime Minister with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the Commission, Josep Borrell Fontelles, took place today, where the agenda of Moldova’s reforms and the main priorities to focus on in the coming months were presented: judiciary reform; fighting COVID-19 pandemic; promoting economic recovery and conditions for growth and job creation; strengthening state institutions and resilience of the country.
“I am here to relaunch the dialogue between my country and the European Union. Our partnership is strong, but I believe there is room for even deeper cooperation and stronger political, economic and sectoral ties. I am convinced that this partnership is the key to the prosperity of our country and I hope that we will continue to strengthen cooperation.”
The Moldovan delegation met Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice. Tomorrow, there are scheduled common meetings with Oliver Varhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Adina Valean, European Commissioner for Transport and Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy.
Prime Minister will also attend a public event, along with Katarina Mathernova, Deputy Director-General for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations.
Photo: gov.md
Politics
Promo-LEX about Maia Sandu’s UN speech: The president must insist on appointing a rapporteur to monitor the situation of human rights in Transnistria
The President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, pays an official visit to New York, USA, between September 21-22. There, she participates in the work of the United Nations General Assembly. According to a press release of the President’s Office, the official will deliver a speech at the tribune of the United Nations.
In this context, the Promo-LEX Association suggested the president to request the appointment of a special rapporteur in order to monitor the situation of human rights in the Transnistrian region. According to Promo-LEX, the responsibility for human rights violations in the Transnistrian region arises as a result of the Russian Federation’s military, economic and political control over the Tiraspol regime.
“We consider it imperative to insist on the observance of the international commitments assumed by the Russian Federation regarding the withdrawal of the armed forces and ammunition from the territory of the country,” the representatives of Promo-LEX stated. They consider the speech before the UN an opportunity “to demand the observance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the Russian Federation with reference to this territory which is in its full control.”
“It is important to remember about the numerous cases of murder, torture, ill-treatment, forced enlistment in illegal military structures, the application of pseudo-justice in the Transnistrian region, all carried out under the tacit agreement of the Russian Federation. These findings stem from dozens of rulings and decisions issued by the European Court of Human Rights, which found that Russia is responsible for human rights violations in the region.”
The association representatives expressed their hope that the president of the country would give priority to issues related to the human rights situation in the Transnistrian region and would call on relevant international actors to contribute to guaranteeing fundamental human rights and freedoms throughout Moldova.
They asked Maia Sandu to insist on the observance of the obligation to evacuate the ammunition and the military units of the Russian Federation from the territory of the Republic of Moldova, to publicly support the need for the Russian Federation to implement the ECtHR rulings on human rights violations in the Transnistrian region, and to request the appointment of an UN Human Rights Council special rapporteur to monitor the human rights situation in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova.
**
The Promo-LEX Association concluded that 14 out of 25 actions planned within the National Action Plan for the years 2018–2022 concerning respecting human rights in Transnistria were not carried out by the responsible authorities.
The association expressed its concern and mentioned that there are a large number of delays in the planned results. “There is a lack of communication and coordination between the designated institutions, which do not yet have a common vision of interaction for the implementation of the plan.”
Promo-LEX requested the Government of the Republic of Moldova to re-assess the reported activities and to take urgent measures, “which would exclude superficial implementation of future activities and increase the level of accountability of the authorities.”
Photo: peacekeeping.un.org
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