Politics
Moldova needlessly alienates neighbors
Reading Time: 5 minutesMoldova’s new government has some major work to do to fix the relationships with Romania and Ukraine, which deteriorated under the Communists.
By Louis O’Neill
Moldova’s new government has some major work to do to fix the relationships with Romania and Ukraine, which deteriorated under the Communists.
In his poem “Mending Wall,” poet Robert Frost concludes regretfully that “good fences make good neighbors.” If true, then Moldova’s new government has some major fence-mending to do with its next-door nations, Romania and Ukraine. Relations with them have deteriorated, although for very different reasons.
The Moldovan Communists, in power for many years under outgoing President Vladimir Voronin until their defeat in the July 29 re-run parliamentary election – have employed self-defeating belligerence towards their neighbor to the west. The constant drumbeat of unsubstantiated accusations and invective against Bucharest, particularly during the two recent election campaigns, has alienated voters and vexed officials in Romania and the European Union. The forced construct of an external enemy across the Prut River allegedly out to “destroy Moldovan sovereignty” fell flat with an electorate looking for European integration and concrete improvements in their lives. The visa war that ensued simply made Moldova look silly, which in its current impoverished and chaotic state, is the last thing the country needs.
Voronin’s inherent anti-Romanian bias – he is among the few outside of Transnistria and Moscow’s propaganda bureaus who believe in the existence of the “Moldovan” language – has not served his country’s interests well. Supporters might spin his aggressive approach as an attempt to reassure Tiraspol, and more importantly Moscow, that there would be no danger of Moldovan reunification with Romania on Voronin’s extended watch. But this apologia doesn’t fly.
First of all, reunification at the hands of the “unionists” (as the Communists and some others called the pro-West reform candidates) or anyone else is far from realistic. It is consistently supported by less than 10 percent of the Moldovan population. Second, there has not been, unfortunately, any serious progress on Transdnistrian settlement for years, regardless of whether Chisinau has been sensitive to Tiraspol’s views or ignored them. And third, every draft settlement document ever produced contains an escape clause for Transdnistria to go its own way should Moldova lose its sovereignty.
Rather, Voronin’s Romania-bashing was about getting votes and currying favor with Moscow. And from the latter quarter, the incumbents did extract some dividends. Those included Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s first visit to Chisinau just before the April elections, the Kremlin’s strong political support during and after the riots protesting alleged election fraud, and the pre-electoral promise of a $500 million loan, whose execution is still pending. But as a campaign strategy with Moldova’s evolving electorate, it backfired. Now the mess in Moldovan-Romanian relations needs to be cleaned up, and credibility with cautious Brussels bureaucrats re-established.
Thus, the new coalition government should immediately follow through on its promise to eliminate the visa requirement that the Communists slapped on Romanians in April. This has been a pointless impediment to everything that European integration stands for and little progress with Brussels will be possible while it stands. Equally unhelpful was Moldova’s expulsion of the Romanian ambassador after the post-election violence. Romania should send, and Chisinau should welcome, a new ambassador as soon as possible to return relations to a normal track.
The Foreign Ministry in Chisinau has been lamenting for years the lack of progress on signing border and political treaties with Romania.
For their part, the Romanians are reluctant to formalize the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty. In their view, it consolidated the secret protocols of the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop deal and subsequent duress-driven 1940 Romanian-Soviet agreement that gave Bessarabia (now Moldova) to the U.S.S.R. This is an anachronistic excuse because the whole world, at least formally, has long recognized Moldova’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in its post-Soviet borders.
In a sign of progress, Romanian Foreign Minister Cristian Diaconescu recently indicated that Bucharest may be ready to abandon its historical bogeyman and sign the treaties, along with a third accord on visa-free travel for Moldovans living near the border. The sides should get this done as soon as possible.
While high and unhelpful drama have characterized Moldova’s relations with Romania, those with Ukraine have been fraught with a malignant neglect. Indeed, for some years the ruling Communists have seemed to pretend that their giant neighbor – which completely encases rebel Transnistria and buffers Moldova from Russia by some 600 kilometers – simply didn’t exist. High-level visits almost never took place. Ukrainian diplomats lamented the lack of responsiveness by their Moldovan counterparts on key issues. And the literal building of fences – the demarcation and registration of the official borders between the two countries – has moved ahead at a snail’s pace. This kind of laxity with what could and should be an enormous political and economic ally is at best diplomatic nonfeasance.
Moldova’s neglect of its relationship with Ukraine is perhaps best illustrated by the initial inclusion of Moldovan citizens in Kyiv’s new rules requiring visitors from 82 countries, mostly in Central Asia, Africa and Asia, to prove substantial financial resources before being allowed into Ukraine. While Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has promised to remove Moldova from the list at the next cabinet meeting, a neighboring country with active and healthy relations would not have been so slighted in the first place.
There is also much room for improvement in the physical links between Moldova and Ukraine. For example, it is hard to believe that there are no direct air flights between Chisinau and Kyiv, forcing businessmen and travelers to either drive five hours and face harassment at the Transnistrian boundary or fly through distant third cities. The new Moldovan government should get to the bottom of any bureaucratic or nepotistic limitations on its side that might have created this strange and inefficient situation. To be successful, Moldova must be more deeply integrated with its neighbors and this is an easy first step.
A bright spot in bilateral relations has been the recent extension of the European Union’s border assistance mission for another two years. Ukraine might consider allowing co-location of Moldovan customs agents on its territory. This would help Chisinau reassert itself over its internationally recognized borders while at the same time offering a tremendous boon to Transnistrian businesses who are suffering due to the world economic crisis.
In its grand formative declaration, Moldova’s four-party Alliance for European Integration outlined in broad terms its desire for the “reestablishment and consolidation of good neighborly relations” with Romania and Ukraine. These nice words need to be put into action. On the 70th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, it is time for Moldova to join a modern world characterized by integration, communication and open borders, not self-isolation, political antagonism and intrigue.
The new Moldovan government will have a chance to create a rule-based system that allows its citizens to reach their potential. An important part of that is getting its diplomacy right – not just with neighbors Romania and Ukraine, but with Brussels, Moscow and other as well. In so doing, Moldova’s leaders might keep in mind Frost’s deeper recommendation:
Before I built a wall I’d ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offense.
Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,
That wants it down…
—
Louis O’Neill was Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) ambassador and head of mission to Moldova from 2006 to 2008.
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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