Politics
Republic of Moldova is on the agenda in Washington
Reading Time: 5 minutes Today the problem of the Transnistrian conflict is a painful one not only for the Republic of Moldova, but also attracts the attention of various international organizations.
Elena Vnorovscaia / Chişinău / Moldova.ORG / — Today the problem of the Transnistrian conflict is a painful one not only for the Republic of Moldova, but also attracts the attention of various international organizations. So today, June 14, 2011, there was held a discussion on theme “Prospects for Unfreezing Moldova’s Frozen Conflict in Transnistria” at Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Among others in the briefing there participated such speakers as the Honorable Igor Munteanu, Moldovan Ambassador to the U.S., Mr. Vladimir Socor, Senior Fellow, Jamestown Foundation, Mr. Vlad Spanu, President of the Moldova Foundation in Washington, D.C., Mr. Lyndon K. Allin, Corporate lawyer based in Washington, D.C. and 2008-2009 IREX US Embassy Policy Specialist in Chisinau.
A recorded video and photos from the event can be viewed here.
On the agenda were such topics as the respect for human rights in the conflict zone, the responsibility of those who is involved in the political and economic situation in Transnistrian territories as well as some possible solutions and new tactics for the process of reintegration of the Moldovan State.
In his speech, Honorary Ambassador Igor Munteanu proposed to discuss the following issues: the commitment of villages’ population of the Eastern Dniester Bank to Moldovan authorities and the denial of human rights and democratic freedoms in the region, local self-proclaimed Tiraspol regime. Mr. Munteanu drew public attention to the fact of closure of schools and orphanages in which the Romanian-speaking children are brought up to the Russification and depriving the local population of any chance to keep and preserve the Latin alphabet script and native language. The Ambassador considers that illegal acts of so-called Transnistrian authorities, kidnapping, arrests, illegal confinement in captivity, Moldovan citizens’ and Transnistrian residents’ tortures and the accusations of espionage for their country (per example, Mr. Vardanyan, Cazac cases and others) are unacceptable.
The conflict should be resolved as soon as possible in order to stop discrimination against the indigenous population, the violation and abuse of democratic freedoms and unlawful confinement local inhabitants of Transnistria, as well as tax less export of goods to European markets. Mr. Munteanu considers that there should be developed a system of strict monitoring of borders of the state, a system for the protection of fundamental human rights and implicated the 3-D Program (Demilitarization, Decriminalization and Democratization of the Transnistrian region) in the conflict region. Igor Munteanu believes that there should be withdrawal of Russian troops from areas of political conflict.
In his turn, Mr. Vlad Spanu, President of Moldova to the United States, says that self-proclaimed in 1990-1991 years the so-called Transnistrian authorities are nothing but puppets of the Russian Federation, which meets geopolitics, aimed at restoring its influence in the former Soviet Union. President of Moldova Foundation believes that Moldovan citizens, living nowadays in Transnistrian territories, are held there as hostages in a kind of ghetto, where its residents have no rights or freedoms. Mr. Spanu listed the historical causes of the Russian presence in the region, amongst which are the 1792 – Treaty of Iași, signed between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire, after which Russia, for the first time, reached the Dniester border and became the neighbor of the Principality of Moldova; the 1812 Treaty of Bucharest between the same two actors, resulted in the partition of the Principality of Moldova, the Eastern half of which was incorporated into Russia as Bessarabia until the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution; the 1924 creation, within the Soviet Ukraine, of the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Republic on the Eastern Bank of Dniester where the majority constituted ethnic Romanian population, as bridge-head to once again successfully occupy Bessarabia in 1940 by the Red Army, as an outcome of the Stalin-Hitler pact of 1939. Finally, in 1990-1991, the same territory East of Dniester, with its main city Tiraspol, was once again used by the Kremlin master-minds as an outpost to keep the Soviet Moldova from getting away from USSR’s, then, Russia’s control, initiating the war in 1992.
Other objectives of Russia, according to chairman of the Moldova Foundation, are the creation of an enclave (just like Kaliningrad is), subordinated to the Russian Federation and control over Moldova’s foreign and domestic policy. Vlad Spanu calls the desire of Russian authorities to strengthen the sphere of influence over Ukraine with Moldova’s help, and thereby deprive Ukraine of territorial communications with Europe as another Russia’s objective in this region.
According to the chairman of the Moldova Foundation, today, the Transnistrian territories are controlled by Russian peacekeepers and local puppet corrupt government. And this local so-called government tramples the basic rights of human in Transnistria, denying young people of their right to receive education in their native language. All this turned into a so-called "School War ".
Mr. Vlad Spanu supposes, that the talks in "5 +2" format are useless until now and have not had the desired effect and any influence on the situation. The region continues to exist as a "black hole of Europe", Russian authorities have supported the local separatist regime, and the inhabitants of Transnistria are still suffering from gross violations of their rights up to the illegal arrests of citizens of Moldova, being accused in a so-called treason and betrayal of the Motherland.
Just as in Georgia’s Abkhazia and South Ossetia, in Moldova’s Transnistria leaders of the separatist regime are Russian citizens and, reportedly, on payroll of the Russian intelligence services and military.
Mr. Spanu believes that Moldova have no possibility to pay an adequate attention to the inhabitants of the conflict in the region and support them as long as there are well-known political tensions in these areas. Moldova Foundation President noted that Moldova’s Western partners – U.S. and EU – as well as other mediators like OSCE should offer support, when it comes to providing basic services for residents in Transnistria and should put more pressure on Moldova, for its authorities in their turn to support the citizens trapped in the illegal regime.
As Vladimir Socor, Senior Fellow of Jamestown Foundation, added that the territory of Transnistria is the direct source of conflict between the Republic of Moldova and the Russian Federation. The negotiation process is not working so far, Transnistria is a lawless territory, a zone through which Russia is trying to reassert its influence in former Soviet territory. The Senior Fellow of the Jamestown Foundation in Washington says that there must be changed the approach to this conflict and its resolution, which is more like impossible to resolve by today’s measures.
Replying to questions, the speakers emphasized the fact that the Moldovan authorities should tighten their attitude towards those who is responsible for the illegal existence of the Transnistrian regime, towards those who perform illegal arrests and other activities on the other side of the Dniester River. Some of these individuals are citizens of the Republic of Moldova, they freely enter and leave its borders and regularly visit Chisinau.
Realizing the need to investigate cases of human trafficking and economic crimes occurred on the territory of Transnistria, Moldovan authorities have come to a standstill. There is no access to these areas because of the Russian peacekeepers and corruption of the self-proclaimed authorities in Transnistria.
The participants of the briefing also added that it is important to attract the attention of Russia’s citizens to the fact that some of their tax money go to support the criminal authorities of Transnistria. Why should they be complicit in this?
Briefing speakers proposed to explore the experience of the situation of Northern Ireland in resolving its regional conflicts and to strengthen cooperation with Ukraine in the Transnistrian issue, as an interested participant of the conflict resolution. Moldovan authorities should develop a strategy or a road map on the conflict resolution, because there’s none at the moment.
Transnistrian region and Moldova’s main land should be part of one state in which they will be able to reunite their economical potential, tackle corruption. Only that will guarantee their joint prosperous future.
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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