By Roman Novozeev
Moldova, this is part of Christian Europe. Its multinational people carefully preserve traditional values. We sincerely believe that these values from Lisbon to Vladivostok will form the basis for our and your revival
In November, parliamentary elections will be held in Moldova. They will be held for the first time in a mixed system (the US Ambassador in Moldova, D. Pettit, already expressed his dissatisfaction with this). For the parliamentary republic, which is Moldova, these elections are the most important political event that determines the future of the country for the next years. At stake is not only the layout of political forces in the country, but also the further vector of development, changes in the form of government, relations with neighbors. Right now, all those problems with which modern Moldova has been living have become acute and reached their climax. For some political forces, 2018 is the year of the 100th anniversary of the so-called „unirea“, supposedly voluntary union of Romania and Bessarabia. In fact, this is the century of the Romanian aggression that occupied the Moldovan Democratic Republic and the temporary liquidation of the Moldovan statehood that had lead its history since the XIV century, when there was no Romania at all.
What awaits one of the poorest countries in Europe and the post-Soviet space?
At the moment, we see a shaky political dual power in Moldova after the election of President I. Dodon, oriented toward constructive interaction with Russia in the presence of a openly pro-Western, puppet government and the so-called pro-European parliamentary majority, against the background of the criminal oligarchy represented by V. Plahotniuc. It was this man, the shadow owner of the country, as a true puppeteer, who stood behind the kaleidoscopic change of prime ministers and their cabinets in the last 2-3 years. The offices of Filat, Lyanke, Gaburich, Strelets – all of them fell due to the deepest corruption and political crisis inspired by one man. Plahotnyuk, in fact, finances and controls a number of factions of parliamentary parties, which gives him the opportunity to directly influence both questions of voting on the issues of trust or distrust to the government, and to have a significant impact on the work of the national law enforcement and judicial systems of Moldova.
Fever of Moldova in recent years began just after the schemes of large-scale corruption in financial and banking spheres were revealed, when it became clear that high-ranking officials of the government of the country were involved in the theft of one billion euros from the Banca de Economii. Plahotniuc directly contributed to this and a number of other cases, as the local media reported at the time. In fact, there is a kind of „Moldovan laundry“ in the country: Moldovan banks have become something like a transshipment offshore point for criminal money from all over the post-Soviet and not only space.
And against this background, after large-scale public unrest, wins the candidate from the socialist party, I. Dodon, who not only begins to build bridges with Moscow and the Transnistrian Moldavan Republic, but also threatens to dismantle the criminal financial Augean stables. And, actually, as it happened more than once, the interests of local corrupt oligarchs and the so-called pro-European top-shot politicians begin to coincide and closely intertwine with the Western and, in the first place, American interest. Moldavia – to put it mildly, is a poor country. There is nothing there that could be of economic interest to the transnational corporations and Western countries. However, there is a rather sensitive geopolitical situation and the problem of Transnistria, hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens and Russian military contingent there. The EU does not need Moldova at all, confirmation of this was voiced by Johannes Khan on February 6 this year – EU does not plan to expand over Moldova. But it was right on this that the entire propaganda of the puppet pro-European parties of Moldova had been based on.
In the situation with I. Dodon V. Plahotniuc found a way out – to block his initiatives with the help of a pocket Constitutional Court, whose judges, by the way, also have Romanian citizenship.
In such a dramatic situation, the puppet government and the parliamentary majority begin to beat the pain points of their potential opponents, and, more simply, the interests of their own people.
In the most difficult situation emerged the Russian-speaking minority, which is seen as a potential vehicle for Russian interests in Moldova. According to the polls, 68% of Moldovan population fluently speak, read and write in Russian, including representatives of the titular nation. The law on the functioning of languages was adopted in 1989. Russian language is designated in it as the language of interethnic communication.
All the years of the recent history of Moldova there has been a process of infringing the Russian language, but now it has become more acute than ever. All areas where the Russian language is used have been exposed to open pressure.
The decree on the adoption of the Law on Amendments and Additions to the Code of Television and Radio was signed in early 2018 by Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu. The Code included new provisions, „to protect individuals, society and the state against possible attempts to misinform or manipulate by information from abroad, as well as to prevent provocations of a mediatory nature directed against the Republic of Moldova.“ As a result, the retransmission of Russian programs of an informative nature was officially banned. In addition, instead of transmissions from Russia, analytical, military and political TV and radio programs produced in the member states of the European Union, the USA and Canada are broadcast. The ban only touched on the Russian-language channels that broadcast news and analytical programs and did not affect the programs of the unionist nature, directly calling for the liquidation of Moldovan statehood. The adopted law represents an act of gross violation of the fundamental international principle of freedom of expression and freedom of the media, aimed at legalizing censorship and cleansing the information space from points of view that are inconvenient to official Chisinau, which is unacceptable in the conditions of a modern democratic society.
The Gagauz cable operators did not comply with the adopted law on combating propaganda, because they work under a license issued in Comrat, and not in Chisinau. Chisinau demands in court to annul licenses issued by the Gagauzia Executive Committee and to force Gagauz operators to receive authorization documents exclusively from the central authorities.
On February 13, Chisinau went on an open confrontation with the Gagauz autonomy, directly violating the Code of Gagauzia and its own laws – in particular, the Law on the Special Status of GagauzYeri. The Moldovan government through the court deprived the deputies of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia (NSG) of immunity and diplomatic passports, canceling article № 49 of the Code (the Constitution of Gagauzia). The canceled article provided that a deputy of the National Assembly of the Gagauzia „can not be detained, arrested, searched, except cases of detention at the crime scene, or brought to trial without the consent of the People’s Assembly given after hearing the deputy.“ Also, an article was annulled that provided for the issuance of a diplomatic passport to the Gagauzian deputies. The deputy-socialist of the Moldovan parliament, Fyodor Gagauz, stated that „this is mockery of the status of autonomy“. The Bashkan Irina Vlachstated that „in Gagauz society there is growing tension.“
The Bashkan Irina Vlach, in response to these outrageous unlawful actions of Chisinau, convenes in February a meeting of representatives of all levels of autonomy. It will determine the plan for the response of the Gagauz. In addition, according to Irina Vlach, the authorities of the autonomy intend to file a lawsuit with the Court of Appeal. The cancellation of article 49 occurred immediately after the Gagauz cable television channels refused to disconnect news programs from Russia. This was done in the year of elections also in order to start prosecution of Gagauz deputies on concocted cases. This method had already been tested by Chisinau with the municipal councilors of the town Beltsy. Yet to be related below.
The autonomy has its own legislation agreed with the Central Moldavian. According to it, members of the Gagauz People’s Assembly have immunity. The population of the autonomy watched, is watching and want to watch Russian channels without exception. The power of autonomy should provide for this right of the people. But in the Republic of Moldova, the law on countering Russian propaganda came into force, and there all news programs were withdrawn from the broadcasting grid. In Gagauzia, the Russian population watches TV in full volume on the cable channels. In Chisinau, the law on combating propaganda also applies to cable networks. The Governor of Gagauzia I. Vlah said „that we are going to watch and listen in Russian.“
The former Deputy Head of the autonomy Valery Yanioglo stated that there always had been pressure on the Autonomy from the side of Chisinau. „Moldova’s authorities squeeze our autonomy – by removing article after article“ – maintains Yanioglo. He also believes that Chisinau is settling scores with Comrat over the ties of autonomy with Moscow: the region was and remains Pro-Russian.
Commitment to Russia on the part of both Gagauz and a large number of the rest of Moldova’s population is an incomprehensible phenomenon for the West. Just about this phenomenon the other day U.S. Ambassador James D. Pettit said : „We can’t understand why in a situation when we invest here several times more money than Russia, people tend to support Russia.“ They do not understand that not everything is measured up by money, in particular the historical memory of the people.
Another vivid example of the attitude towards Russian-speaking citizens was manifested by the glamorous Deputy of the Moldovan Parliament from the liberal party, who regularly represents Moldova in PACE, Alina Zotya. She „patriotically“ opposed to the translation of names of medications and instructions to them into Russian. At the same time she called all Russian-speaking people „morons“. Also odious Deputy is dissatisfied that hospitals of the country serve their patients in Russian. And earlier Zotya protested to unpatriotic translation of Moldovan laws into the Russian language.
The leader of the Liberal party Mihai Ghimpu, who said at a press conference earlier this year that his party would demand the abolition of the status of the Russian language as a language of interethnic communication in Moldova, also keeps up with his party. By the way, at the same press conference Gimpu refused to answer a journalist who asked a question in Russian. Here’s Gimpu’s literal answer: „Get out of here! Ask your questions to Lenin! In Moldova, the official language is Romanian! I’m not answering any questions. Don’t speak Russian.“
Last year most shops belonging to large retail chains no longer duplicated price tags in Russian.
Already from 2018-2019 academic year, in accordance with the new education Code of Moldova, the Russian language will receive the status of a foreign language in Moldovan education and will be studied in national schools on an optional basis, despite the fact that it has a higher status of a language of international communication. The Ministry of education says that the choice of students between English, French and Russian languages (in this order they are specified in the education Code) will be free and there will be no obstacles to free choice, but the expert community believes that the Ministry of Education has all the levers for further squeezing the Russian language out of the educational system. The education code legally unleashes the hands of officials, and the Ministry of Education can take advantage of it. Especially if liberals remain in charge.
The UN special Rapporteur on issues of the minorities Rita Izsák after monitoring in the summer of 2015, said that representatives of minority ethnic groups in Moldova face discrimination both ethnically and linguistically. Shortcomings existed both in legislation and in policy, and existing action plans on human and minority rights had been adopted without a detailed implementation program and without a budget as well. She also noted that the problem of promoting the Russian language in education could be solved by creating multilingual classes, as well as the revision of the school curriculum.
Amongst other problems that need to be addressed, Izsak pointed out ensuring the rights of minority representatives in terms of filling out Bank documents which are issued most often only in the state language, access to information on medicines, which is also printed only in the Moldovan language, etc. Although a few years have passed, and the UN recommendations have not been implemented by the Moldovan authorities, and the situation continues to degrade.
It should be noted that the EU understands the entire horror of the political and economic situation in Moldova. The ambassador of the European Union in Chisinau, Peter Michalco, urged the Moldovan authorities to refuse to exert pressure on people at local and regional levels for political reasons or because of other interests. „In my opinion, it is very important in this year’s elections to observe the standards of democracy, human rights and freedom, and I am sure that a new level of political culture can be achieved, that open, honest, equal political competition is possible, without these phenomena from the past connected with criminal cases and pressure, especially in the country to which is going through a difficult process of transition is accompanied by economic reforms and reforms of the social aftermath, and in which people have to feel that they live in a just society, „- said Peter Mikhalko. He also noted that he was „concerned about the information coming from the regions of Moldova that people are being pressured because of their political affiliation or activities as mayors and local councilors.“ According to him, sometimes this information indicates that people are threatened with job loss. „Local structures of law enforcement agencies and the prosecutor’s office are used, the judicial system is also involved, they are opened criminal cases or put on pressure in another form,“ Mikhalko said.
The ambassador says that a part of the conditions for granting financial support from the European Union is the respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and freedom of the media. „This year it is important to continue the process of reforms so that the country moves forward, achieved progress, provided higher standards for people, so that the Republic of Moldova continued to maintain good relations with the EU,“ the official said.
But how will this happen in a country with hyper-corruption and the supremacy of crime, not the law? Political prisoners and emigrants have appeared in Moldova. Last year several well-known politicians and journalists asked for political asylum abroad, mainly in Russia. More and more people are hiding abroad from persecution. The state of general psychosis, in which persons of power find themselves, is perfectly integrated into the confrontation of the West with Russia and finds full understanding in Washington.
I will give just a few examples.
In Beltsy, the prosecution of municipal deputies from „Our Party“ is systematically underway. The mayor of the city and the leader of „Our Party“ Renato Usaty has been living in Moscow for a year and a half, since a number of criminal cases have been initiated against him in his homeland. Searches are being done at homes and workplaces of public counsellors. The cases of taxes evasions or exceeding of official powers arebeing raised. The advisers went on a hunger strike. And on January 15 they held a press conference on the topic „The criminal regime launched a special operation to destroy the counselors of „Our Party.“ As a result, under pressure from the authorities, Usaty resigned from the post of mayor, saying that in the election year, the criminal authorities in Chisinau wanted to completely remove „Our Party“ from the political scene of Moldova.
In 2014-17 years. the case of abuse of official authority against the mayor of the Pro-Bulgarian city of Taraclia, Sergei Filipov, was fabricated. He was accused of cutting down several trees when improving the public garden. Taraclian Bulgarians had actively supported the Gagauzians during the referendum of 2014. The fabrication of the case was the revenge of Chisinau to the leader of the Bessarabian Bulgarians. The Filippov case was discussed at a meeting of the ambassadors of the EU countries in Moldova. Pirkka Tapiola, then the head of the EU mission in Chisinau said: „During these discussions, concerns were expressed. I was puzzled and disappointed with the conviction. It can be assumed that the verdict was politically motivated”. Filipovwas sent into retirement, fined 8 thousand lei and is obliged to pay the state compensation of 164 thousand lei. As a result, Filipov’s resonant case lasting 3 years ended in an acquittal by the Supreme Court.
The Moscow Basmanny Court in December 2017, in absentia, arrested, on the petition of the Russian Investigative Committee, the Moldovan oligarch, the leader of the Democratic Party ruling in Moldova, and at the same time the criminal authority of Vladimir Plahotniuc. He is accused in absentia of organizing murders. In practice, absentia arrest in such cases is a formality for declaring an accused person on an international wanted list, which automatically means getting on the Interpol lists with a „red corner“, implying an immediate detention in the event of detection anywhere in the world. However, the General Secretariat of the Interpol-after analyzing Russia’s request to declare Plahotniuc on the international wanted list, came to the conclusion that this request was politically motivated. The General Secretariat of Interpol demanded that Member States not allow progress to the Russian Federation’s requests for Plahotniuc and exclude data registered in this name in the National Databases.
Why is Interpol behaving so strangely? What is behind the refusal to request of Russia?
An interesting article appeared in February this year in the German magazine „Der Spiegel”. I immediately draw your attention to the title of the article, pointing to the criminal penetration into the leadership of Interpol: „A party for the world police. Autocrats and criminals are trying to infiltrate Interpol. Shadow figures from Moldova play a key role? „.
Several quotes from the journalistic investigation of German authors T. Hausdorff and G. Traufetter:
– Scammers want to use the International Criminal Police Organization – Interpol – for their own purposes. Under suspicion are the two dubious personalities from Moldova.
– In September last year a plane with a „special cargo“ departed from Chisinau to Beijing: according to documents, these were thousands of gift boxes with traditional dolls, photo albums, „inventory for dancers“, and these 2,286 tons of cargo were declared as diplomatic baggage. In fact, the cargo consisted mainly of alcohol: several hundred liters of elite wine, vodka and cognac were shipped to the 86th General Assembly of Interpol in Beijing.
– The operation obviously had a success. Soon the meeting of the world enforcers of the law elected Fredredin Lekar, a high-ranking police officer from Moldova, as the representative of Europe in the executive committee of Interpol. As early as 2016, his compatriot Vitali yPyrlogwas elected to one of the main positions of Interpol.
– The new Interpol ambassador, F. Lekar, is considered to be the confidant of the oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, who is pulling strings in the Moldovan economy, politics and criminal environment.
– The second Moldovan at the top of Interpol also has a dubious reputation, the authors note. „Pyrlog and Doctor are part of a conglomerate of politicians and oligarchs who consider Moldova their private property,“ says attorney Anna Ursaki, who once fought for the rights of political prisoners in Moldova. Human rights activist Ursaki also reports on the strange visit of the oligarch Plahotniuc to Ankara: there the dubious businessman who does not have official posts in Moldova met with Turkish President Erdogan. On the same day, Erdogan received Russian President Vladimir Putin with military honors.
„We must protect Interpol from becoming an accomplice of organized crime and autocrats of this world,“ Ursaki warns.
– Meanwhile V. Pyrlog left Interpol. His new post – director of the information and security service in Chisinau, adds correspondents.
And, I will go on with the news of recent days – on February 19, having worked only 2 months, Vitaly Pyrlog resigned from the post of head of the SIS of Moldova and returned to Interpol. Undoubtedly, this is aimed at promoting Plahotniuc’s interests in Interpol and preventing his international search.
As they say, paraphrasing a famous saying – who has lived in Moldova, he does not laugh in the circus. Sorry for ordinary people. Games in geopolitics will not lead to anything good for the Republic of Moldova. Games in the „bad Plahotniuc and good Dodon“, already worn out the citizens of Moldova, and in order not to further delve into and do not get dirty with this foul-smelling jam, citizens are leaving no matter whereto. It’s no secret, about 25-30% just have left for permanent residence where to it was possible. At least 30% of the residents are working immigrants outside Moldova. There were mainly children and old people in Moldova. Young people are mainly earning their living, somewhere in the EU or Russia, and send money home to their children and parents. Absence of employment, elementary political and economic stability, rampant corruption, social insecurity, push the people to mass emigration. From 2004 to 2014 the population of Moldova decreased by 500 thousand people, which for a small country is a disaster. And what if the government of the country steels away biological, productive lifetime from its citizens. Waiting is not an option, people need to live today, now, this minute …
Citizens of a united Europe, Moldova does not expect help from you. Do not wave the EU flags on every corner of Brussels, Paris or Berlin. Moldova asks to help it in responding adequately to the threats and challenges that for almost 30 years have been driving a small country to the brink of poverty, crime, political instability, unemployment and demographic degradation. Moldova, this is part of Christian Europe. Its multinational people (Moldovans, Gagauz, Russians, Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Poles, Germans, Gypsies) carefully preserve traditional values. We sincerely believe that these values from Lisbon to Vladivostok will form the basis for our and your revival.
Council of the Society of Gagauz-Russian Friendship „Kardashlar“ (Bryansk, Russia)
1. 3. 2018.