Politics
Moldovan President: ‘I Don’t Want To Usurp Anything’
Reading Time: 7 minutesSpeaking at a press conference on July 30, Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin talked about his Communist Partys serious setback in the country’s parliamentary elections. Although Voronin’s Communist Party won a plurality in the next parliament, the four opposition parties together could control the new legislature.
Speaking at a press conference on July 30, Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin talked about his Communist Party’s serious setback in the country’s parliamentary elections. Although Voronin’s Communist Party won a plurality in the next parliament, the four opposition parties together could control the new legislature.
Q: Why do you think the turnout for the elections was so high?
Vladimir Voronin: What do you mean, high? It was a normal turnout for Moldova — we always vote at around 60, 65, 67 percent. Our citizens are very active. They are active not only on election day, but — and this is very important — also during the main campaign period. That is, they participate a lot in meetings with the candidates. It would seem that since these were repeat elections, there is, of course, a bit of fatigue. We feel that ourselves, the party activists, our people and our candidates. But voters are very interested in being included in the discussion and that is nice to see.
Q: Do you expect any unpleasantness?
Voronin: After events such as those of April 7, it is impossible to be too confident and too calm. Especially since those forces that participated in the April 7 events still have not answered for what they did. The prosecutor-general and the state commission are still investigating those events. When there is lawlessness, an atmosphere of permissiveness arises. We cannot exclude that such permissiveness might appear again.
Nonetheless, I have been told that at one polling station a voter photographed his ballot in order to show the people who gave him the camera so that they would pay him for voting for their party. This has been registered and the protocol was signed by the entire election commission. I asked the campaign office to look into it and to inform the Central Election Commission and the mass media. We learned about this because we had information that in some regions of the country very large consignments of mobile phones with cameras had arrived — for the purpose of photographing ballot papers and then, upon exiting, to show the pictures and receive a previously agreed-upon sum for voting “correctly.”
Q: And what was the sum?
Voronin: A laughable sum. If you divide it by four years, it is absolutely nothing. Not more than 200 lei — about $15.
Q: Isn’t it turning out to be an endless circle, all these repeat elections?
Voronin: We are afraid of that. During the campaign we were always telling people, warning them of this. We also gave them the example of Ukraine, which has been unable to get out of this sort of situation for nearly four years. Ukraine, with its potential, can’t be compared with Moldova and our limited resources — particularly considering the global economic crisis. We are a bit of wood drifting in the ocean of this crisis. And if we continue playing with these elections, some irreversible processes might develop in the country. That is why our main tactic during this campaign wasn’t making loud demands or promises to voters. We spoke very calmly, very simply, but very alarmingly: We are defending our homeland.
Q: And what is to be done? Should the election law be changed?
Voronin: Of course, we must seriously analyze everything and find a normal, civilized and — let me be direct — democratic way out for the country. What was the stumbling block after the last elections? We made two changes. It used to be that we needed 50 percent plus one voter [to validate an election]. You have to agree — this is summer, vacation season. We lowered that barrier to one-third. There are countries that don’t even have a turnout requirement. This isn’t any kind of irregularity. Then we were being constantly criticized because the threshold [for getting seats in parliament] was 6 percent. We lowered that to 5. Now the stumbling block is — why are we having these repeat elections? That is, we need to figure out the reason and fix it. The stumbling block was the election of the president. In the Moldovan Constitution, it says that three-fifths of deputies must vote for a president. That means 61 out of 101. We had 60, which was one short of what was needed.
Q: That must have hurt.
Voronin: No, it didn’t. It was fair. Because we could have reached an agreement with someone, but we chose not to do that because we didn’t want to get into a mess for the next four years. Usually, it should go like this: if no one is elected in the first round, the top two candidates go to a second round. And if no one is elected in the second round, why not lower the standard to a simple majority, that is, half the chamber plus one vote? Would that be undemocratic? That would be perfectly normal. It is something to think about after all these tortures, because we can’t put the country through such torment. We can’t draw the people into the games of politicians. Because the level of responsibility among politicians now is zero — particularly among the opposition. People in positions of power are obligated to answer for their actions and those in the opposition don’t do this. Moreover, in our conditions the political culture is absolutely not at the level it should be. There are a lot of people who don’t connect their own fate with the future of the country — these are elements that are co-opted and commanded from other countries. That is why, following these elections, we need to sit and think about how to make sure such things do not happen again.
For instance, in Greece the party that has the largest bloc of seats in parliament automatically gets a majority of the votes, in order to avoid disorder. But now it begins — will there be a coalition, won’t there be a coalition, what kind of coalition, who will surrender to whom, and so on. But then we need to make the appropriate conclusions and, if necessary, make changes to the constitution. So that the country functions normally. But a group of dreamers, of pseudo-democrats, a group of corrupt mafia structures can agree among themselves and make such a shake-up in government that nothing can be done. That, in effect, is what they have done since April 5.
Q: In the new parliament you are alone and all the others are combining against you.
Voronin: Yes, they sure are.
Q: Is that situation hard for you?
Voronin: The unifying, centripetal forces of this combination are interests that do not correspond with the interests of the majority of the people and don’t even reflect the specifics of our life, our reality. These are interests that are bound to outside forces, primarily to various Romanian forces and other structures, including corrupt and criminal international structures.
Q: Now that they have power, will they be able to agree among themselves or will they start squabbling over ministries and make the crisis worse?
Voronin: As far as we know now, they can’t even agree within the various parties. Some say we don’t need more elections, we should do what the Communists suggest and form a broad coalition. Some are categorically against this, saying “The West will help us; they’ll finance us and everything will be fine. We should hold election after election until the Communists lose or stop fighting.” That is basically how they see the situation.
Q: So there is no way they are going to be able to easily elect a president?
Voronin: No. Since we don’t have the majority necessary to elect a president, I think things will be very complicated. For one thing, they are going to promote themselves — handsome, smart, and very principled. But when that doesn’t fly, they will begin fighting among themselves. We also know how to negotiate, how to conduct talks. We’ve been practicing for years. We know more or less how they survive and whom they intend to nominate. And we can also arrange a competition among them: let them fight for a while about unification and how to vote. We’ll see how it all shakes out.
Q: Do you have any predictions or maybe preferences as to who should be the next president?
Voronin: We’d have preferred to win the elections with an absolute constitutional majority. But of the eight parties, seven were working against us and we were alone on the defensive. Therefore we are going to nominate for president the same candidate that we nominated before — our current Prime Minister Zinaida Greceanii. This is a very serious and responsible candidacy, a responsible person who, as prime minister, has considerable experience and practice. In principle, our party is not concerned about the question of power. Over the years we have gone through a very serious selection process, a serious selection of people based on professional principles, business principles, patriotic principles. So we have a team that is capable of running this country properly, that can get us out of the crisis and develop the country.
Q: What would you say to the new president? What is your advice, your wishes, or whatever?
Voronin: After the elections of April 5, on the next day I recorded a televised address to the nation that was never aired because of the events of April 7. And the same words that I used then, I would repeat now, because they are still relevant. But those words were addressed to the people. As for the president…. Of course, I hope it will be a president who will continue all that we have achieved by such enormous labor over the last eight years. If it is the president that we are preparing, Zinaida Greceanii, then she already knows everything I could say and will say. It won’t be a one-time conversation. It will be an ongoing conversation for her entire term, all four years of her presidency. Because neither I nor anyone else in our team plans to hide from responsibility and say, “We’ve given up our posts, so you guys go ahead and do what you want; we’re done; good-bye.” No, we will continue to be responsible for the country and will work with the new president. I will even feel moral responsibility because this was my personal choice. I have no option but to help, to take part, and do everything to help the new president be successful.
Q: And what do you personally intend to do?
Voronin: That depends on the final results of the voting. I am really at this moment a dictator. It turns out I have three offices — president, speaker of parliament (because I was selected after April 5), and chairman of the party. All that’s left is to become minister…. I don’t want to usurp anything. My political and personal ambitions are completely satisfied, I would say. I would prefer to be an ordinary deputy and also work, if they have confidence in me, in the leadership of the party in order to direct and organize its work. For me that would be the best scenario.
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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