Monday, December 18, 2006

DISCURSUL preşedintelui României, Traian Băsescu, din 18 decembrie 2006 (Romanian)

DISCURSUL preşedintelui României, Traian Băsescu, prilejuit de Prezentarea Raportului Comisiei Prezidenţiale pentru Analiza Dictaturii Comuniste din România (Parlamentul României, 18 decembrie 2006)

Domnilor Preşedinţi ai Camerelor, Domnule Prim Ministru, Onoraţi membri ai Parlamentului României, Distinşi invitaţi, Dragi compatrioţi.Ne întrunim astăzi pentru a închide, cu deplină responsabilitate, un capitol sumbru din trecutul ţării noastre. Am citit cu mare atenţie Raportul Final al Comisiei Prezidenţiale pentru Analiza Dictaturii Comuniste din România. Am găsit în acest document raţiunile pentru care pot condamna, regimul comunist. Pentru cetăţenii României, comunismul a fost un regim impus de un grup politic autodesemnat ca deţinător al adevărului, un regim totalitar născut prin violenţă şi încheiat tot prin violenţă. A fost un regim de opresiune, care a expropriat poporul român de cinci decenii de istorie modernă, care a călcat în picioare legea şi a obligat cetăţenii să trăiască în minciună şi frică.


Continuarea: http://www.presidency.ro/?_RID=det&tb=date&id=8288&_PRID=

Freedom House

Nations in Transit
http://www.freedomhouse.hu/nitransit/2006/moldova2006.pdf

Transnistria / Discriminările românilor (Romanian)

1 - Situatia scolilor de grafie latina (limba romana) din regiune
COUNCIL OF EUROPE - The European Convention on Human Rights ARTICLE 2 at Protocol 1 (Paris, 1952)No person shall be denied the right to education. In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religions and philosophical convictions.Una din cele mai mediatizate si clare discriminari ale vorbitorilor de limba romana o reprezinta situatia scolilor cu predare in grafia latina, romana, in raport cu invatamantul in grafia chirilica, ruseasca, ce este sprijinit de administratia separatista.Inca de la inceputul instaurarii actualului regim de la Tiraspol, se fac continuu presiuni pentru a nu se mai studia in limba romana, presiuni ce si-au atins apogeul in anii trecuti. ...

http://www.gid-romania.com/Articol.asp?ID=1818

Russian troops in Transnistria – a threat to the security of the Republic of Moldova

Russian troops in Transnistria – a threat to the security of the Republic of Moldova
By Dr. Mihai Gribincea, Institute of Political and Military Studies, Chişinău, Moldova

Besides Transnistrian separatism, a source of threat to the security and independence of the Republic of Moldova is the Russian troops located in the eastern part of the country.
The history of Russian military presence on the territory which today is part of the Moldovan Republic spans more than 200 years. Russian troops were first deployed as part of a permanent regime on certain areas of the Republic’s territories (in Transnistria) as a result of the Peace Treaty of Iaşi in 1791. The distribution of troops in the districts to the east of the Nistru River was a result of Russian expansion policy, which the leaders in the Kremlin have not yet abandoned, even today. The long history of the spread of Russian troops on Moldova’s territory began as a tool used by the Russian tsars, and later by the Soviet authorities to promote the expansion policy. Since the beginning of 1991, after the break up of the USSR, their deployment became an instrument to promote Russian foreign policy in accordance with the current view that the newly independent former Soviet states form a sphere of influence of Russia. ...

http://politicom.moldova.org/stiri/eng/20998/

NATO insists on Russia withdrawing its troops from Moldova

At the end of Thursday’s meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Brussels, the NATO foreign ministers made a categorical appeal to Russia to resume and end in the shortest time the withdrawal of its military presence from Moldova. The document signed by all 26 NATO members reminds Russia that the fulfillment of the commitments it assumed in Istanbul in 1999 as regards Georgia and Moldova creates conditions for the NATO member states and the other signatories of the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty to ratify this revised agreement. “We welcome the important progresses made by Russia and Georgia as regards the withdrawal of the Russian troops, mentioned in their common statement dated 30 May 2005, and we are waiting for the settlement of the unsolved issues. But we regretfully notice the lack of progress in the process of pulling out Russian forces from Moldova and we make an appeal to the Russian Federation to resume and end the withdrawal of its troops as soon as possible,” the communiqué made public at the end of the meeting reads. NATO’s reaction comes several days after Russia blocked the adoption of the final resolution of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Ljubljana, which also included Russia’s fulfillment of its Istanbul commitments. In the speech delivered at the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, the Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Stratan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, sought NATO’s support in solving Moldova’s major issues – Transdniestrian conflict and the withdrawal of Russian military presence from the territory of the country. Romania’s Foreign Minister Mihai Razvan Ungureanu drew NATO officials’ attention to the situation in Transdniestria specifying that in order to resume the dialogue the sides must prove honesty and political maturity, which would unveil Tiraspol’s underground economic relations with other states involved in the settlement of the Transdniestrian conflict, in order to avoid behind curtains affairs between the sides concerned. 2005// Reporter.MD
http://politicom.moldova.org/stiri/eng/7277/

Dreptul la educaţie în regiunea transnistreană a Republicii Moldova (Romanian)

Helsinki Monitor 2003, Volume 14, No. 2, pp. 101-116

Autori: Oldrich Andrysek şi Mihai Grecu**

http://www.soviet-medals-orders.com/images/Publ/Unworthy_partner_rom3.htm

Forţa zguduitoare a unor adevăruri monstruoase (Romanian)

Articol de Nina Corcinschi,
doctorandă la Institutul
de Literatură şi Folclor al AŞM,
pentru TIMPUL


Este bine ştiut astăzi cât de adânc şi dureros a marcat
regimul represiv sovietic întregul curs al istoriei române,
mai cu seamă la nivel psihologic, de mentalitate - cu
reminiscenţe, din păcate, de durată. Poate de aceea, - în
pofida faptului că, începând cu anii 1990-91, monstruozităţile
sovieticilor (crime, deportări, foamete organizată etc.) au
fost scoase din anonimat pentru toată lumea - printr-o gravă
eroare istorică, regimul comunist a revenit la putere în
R. Moldova. Chiar dacă facem abstracţie de subtilităţile
alegerilor din 2001, faptul rămâne fapt. Comuniştii îşi fac azi
mendrele fără să pălească în faţa „strălucirii” celor de
odinioară, manevrând cu aceleaşi stereotipuri inoculate
încă de sovietici. Ce se întâmplă, de fapt? Motivaţia pare
a fi de sorginte psihologică. ...

http://www.timpul.md/Article.asp?idIssue=43&idRubric=786&idArticle=1965

Terry Davis Describes Imprisonment of Tiraspol Political Detainees as Violation of European Convention of Human Rights.

Chisinau, 11 December /MOLDPRES/ - Secretary General of the Council of Europe Terry Davis has said that the detention of Andrei Ivantoc and Tudor Petrov-Popa is a violation of the European Convention of Human Rights. Davis said that this year's International Human Rights day, [10 December], will mark the thirteenth anniversary since Ilie Ilascu, Andrei Ivantoc and Tudor Petrov-Popa were sentenced by the so-called court in the so-called Moldovan Transnistrian republic. "While Ilie Ilascu, who was sentenced to death, was later released, Andrei Ivantoc and Tudor Petrov-Popa have been unlawfully detained ever since, and their imprisonment in an illegal jail in the middle of Europe is a disgrace and a blatant violation of the European Convention of Human Rights," according to a statement by Terry Davis. ...
http://www.conflict.md/comentarii.php?ID=2094

Trans-Dniester Separatists in Eastern Moldova Hold Presidential Elections

11.12.2006, International Herald Tribune. Residents in the self-proclaimed separatist republic of Trans-Dniester in eastern Moldova cast ballots Sunday in a presidential election. Igor Smirnov, an authoritarian leader who has run Trans-Dniester since 1991, is expected to easily beat three challengers to win a fourth consecutive five-year term in office. The province, a ragged ribbon of land 125 miles (200 kilometers) long by 10 miles (16 kilometers) wide with a population of 550,000, is wedged between the Dniester River and Ukraine and is dominated by aging Russian speakers and ex-Soviet military families. Smirnov, who has Russian citizenship and hails Russia as the natural home for his people, said Sunday after casting his ballot that the election confirmed "Trans-Dniester's path to independence and closer ties with Russia." Besides Smirnov, three other candidates were on the ballot, including Andrei Safonov, a journalist who is critical of Smirnov and whose bid was initially denied by the electoral commission. Businessman Piotr Tomaily, an independent, and Communist Party leader Natalia Bondarenko, a former police officer, were also on the ballot. The winner needs more than half the votes cast to secure a first-round victory. By 6 p.m. (1600 GMT), two hours before polls closed, over 59 percent of the region's 400,000 eligible voters had cast ballots, exceeding the turnout requirement for the ballot to be validated, the local electoral commission said. Moldova's Foreign Ministry has called the election in Trans-Dniester "illegal," and has asked other countries not to send international monitors. The ballot was observed, however, by dozens of Russian and Ukrainian lawmakers. Smirnov was first elected in 1991 and was easily re-elected in 1996 and 2001. Safonov, who initially backed independence in the early 1990s, has become one of the fiercest critics of Smirnov's regime and called for Trans-Dniester to form a federation with Moldova. "I hope things will change after this election and that people will vote for a better life," said Safonov. "We need an improvement."Trans-Dniester is in deep poverty, particularly in the rural areas, with the average wage of US$80 (€60). "I am very upset about what is happening. People are looking in the garbage for food. I saw someone get a cabbage from the trash, cleaned it and took it home," an elderly woman in the Lunga village said. She declined to give her name, saying she voted for the Communist candidate. Tomaily and Bondarenko have largely similar positions with Smirnov on supporting independence and close ties with Russia. In September, residents voted in favor of joining Russia, which maintains 1,500 troops in Trans-Dniester left over from the Soviet era, despite requests by Moldova to pull them out. The troops act now as a peacekeeping force after a 1992 war between Trans-Dniester and Moldova which left 1,500 people dead. Trans-Dniester's independence referendum was not recognized or monitored by international organizations, and Moldova has protested that it was organized by an undemocratic regime and under Russian occupation.Despite its traditional support for the separatists, Russia did not recognize the referendum, but said the results should be considered when working out a permanent settlement for Trans-Dniester. Russian backing for separatists in Moldova and Georgia is a thorny issue in its relations with the West, which has called on Russia to withdraw its troops from the region. www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/10/europe/EU_GEN_Moldova_Trans_Dniester_Separatists.php

"OSCE will not recognize referendum organized in Transnistria" Louis F. O'Neill, Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, interview for Free Europe

Louis F. O'Neill: "We will not support or account an action one-sided, which puts under question sign territorial integrity and sovereignty Republic of Moldova, referendums questions are formulated in such a way that suggests the answer, if we can add absents of conditions for keeping popular consultations, free and fairly, intentionally absent of press-freedom and absent pluralism in Transnistria manifest that referendum is not an event which we could recognize in a neither way" Free Europe: In interview keyed to Free Europe O’Neill, Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, resumed propulsion to respect engagement undertaken by Russian Federation. Louis F. O'Neill: "Russian Federation engaged in 1992 at so called “Ministerial from Stockholm” to retract force, military equipment and ammo from Moldova. Russia iterates this engagement in 1999 at the Istanbul Summit where they promised to retract troops and ammo from Republic of Moldova territory till the end of 2002. We are now in 2006 and this thing didn’t happen, but this is still valid. Russian Federation should honor this engagement as soon as possible with possibility and in an accelerate mode." ...

http://www.conflict.md/interviuri.php?ID=1489

The Use of the Referendum as an instrument to manipulate the public opinion

*The idea of a referendum and how it can be changed from a democratic into an anti-democratic instrument has recently become the subject of discussion for many people, including experts, sociologists, journalists and politicians.

By Dr. Argentina GRIBINCEA

The fact that this problem is an important one today is shown even by the Recommendation 1704 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe: Referendums: towards good practices in Europe (2005)[1]. In the press and also in scholarly studies, there are references that some regimes are using plebiscites in order to “aneasthetize civic consciousness”. It is a device largely used in the totalitarian states, especially in the post-Soviet ones, as many authors emphasize: “In the former Soviet countries or in the African ones, the referenda conducted by the incumbent regime as a rule resulted in the validation of already taken decisions and in the further weakening of fragile democracies. The appeal to the divided and politically inert nation can result in the extension of number of mandates permited to the heads of states or in the changing of the fundamental law on the basis of suggestions made by the head of the state. The crisis of the rule of law can be made worse by this practice of unfree referenda”[2] or: “The most dangerous attack on democracy comes, strangelly enough, from one of the most democratic devices: the referendum”[3]. The examples can continue. ...

http://politicom.moldova.org/stiri/eng/21033/

Transnistria

Another Domino on Russia’s Periphery?
By Achilles Skordas*
Achilles Skordas is Assistant Professor in the Department of International Studies, Faculty of Law, University of Athens. He is also Director of the Department for International and Defense Studies, Greek Parliament. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of affiliated institutions.

Transnistria, along with Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Nagorno-Karabakh, is among the many regions on Russia’s periphery plagued by separatist clashes. As the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1989, Slav nationalists backed by the former 14th Soviet Army initiated the secession of Transnistria, located in eastern Moldova along the border with Ukraine, from Moldova. The Moldovan government’s subsequent failure to bring the territory under its control in 1992 solidified Transnistria’s de facto separation from the country. Russian troops are still stationed in Transnistria with two separate mandates: as a peacekeeping force and as the Russian Operational Group (ROG), securing Russian military equipment and property. ...

http://www.yale.edu/yjia/articles/1-1-Summer2005%20HTML/transistria.htm

Transnistrian NGO accuses Russia of directly supporting separatist regime (Moldova.org)

The forum for Democracy and Human Rights from the left bank of Nistru considers the statement made on October 6, 2006 by the Russian Duma aims directly at supporting the non-constitutional regime from Tiraspol, which continues to promote ethnical discrimination and which constantly violates human rights, a declaration of the Forum says. According to the cited source, through this declaration the Russian State Duma violates the provisions of the Moldovan-Russian friendship and collaboration Treaty, which came into force in 2002 and of the Peace Agreement of July 21, 1992, but also proves once again the incapacity to participate in the talks on settling Transnistrian dispute. ...
http://politicom.moldova.org/stiri/eng/19338/

Writenet indepenedent analysis

Moldova: Situation Analysis and Trend Assessment. October 2004

http://www.studiidesecuritate.ro/Raport%20RM%20-%20Gribincea%202004.pdf

Transnistria – miza post-electorala a R. Moldova si miza geopolitica a Marii Negre (Romanian)

Transnistria: miza post-electorala a R. Moldova si miza geopolitica a Marii Negre

Conf. univ. dr. Dan Dungaciu

Transnistria a avut un statul paradoxal în alegerile de la Chisinau. Desi absenta în dezbaterea electorala de peste Prut – dar a existat oare asa ceva acolo? –, umbra regiunii separatiste si sediul a unuia dintre cele mai mari depozite de armament din Europa a fost prezenta de fiecare data. Chiar nerostita pâna la capat, miza Transnistriei, aceasta „cheie spre Balcani” cum o numea ex-comandantul Armatei a 14-a ruse, generalul Lebed, poate fi asezata în centrul a tot ceea ce s-a petrecut si se petrece, pre- sau post-electoral în statul vecin. ...
http://www.studiidesecuritate.ro/index5.html

The emerging security environment in the Black Sea area: strategic options for Romania and Moldova

The emerging security environment in the Black Sea area: strategic options for Romania and Moldova
dr. Dan DungaciuUniversitatea Bucuresti

The analysis provided in this paper attempts to explain the variegation of security aspects and geopolitics in what is called ‘the extended region of the Black Sea area’. The main idea behind this text is that, although the interest for the region has massively increased lately, this far there exist only the premises for the outline and implementation of a strategy in this area. The text below has to be read because of this, too: it aims at outlining the premises and mainframe of such a strategy. ...
http://www.studiidesecuritate.ro/pdf/c2.pdf

Geopolitica si securitate la Marea Neagra (Romanian)

http://www.studiidesecuritate.ro/pdf/c1.pdf

The policy of linguistic cleansing in Transnistria

In June and July 2004 a number of schools in Transnistria, which teach through the medium of the Romanian language and the Latin script, were closed down by the authorities, and teachers and parents prevented by militia from entering the schools, and documents and equipment were removed. Ambassador Rolf Ekeus, the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, characterized the actions as “nothing less than linguistic cleansing” Publication date: 12 April 2006Download: ( 603.35 KB); Hits: 694 http://www.moldova.org/director/eng/5/530/

TRANSNISTRIA, 17 SEPTEMBER: REFERENDUM AND ITS ECHOES

The head of the Transnistrian central election commission, Pyotr Denisenko, has said there were 262 polling stations opened in the region, of which 52 in Tiraspol. The stations worked from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Denisenko added that “more than 170 experts from different countries monitored the referendum on the independence of the unrecognized republic”. It is worth mentioning that most of the observers were representatives of the Russian State Duma and non-governmental organizations, including a controversial group of independent observers, CIS-EMO, headed by Aleksey Kochetkov, and activists of the Nashi [Ours] movement.
On the eve and on the referendum day Tiraspol’s streets were patrolled by police groups on around-the-clock basis; the border guard was strengthened, and there were thorough checkups at the customs. To ensure a good turnout, all the markets in Tiraspol were closed, and the number of daily activities was cut down. Strengthened units of the power-wielding forces were on duty in Tiraspol. They were checking up the territory adjacent to the polling stations, as well as the IDs of citizens who seemed suspicious to them. Representatives of the region’s police and state security ministry were present at all the polling stations. In some cases, they were at a distance of some 20-50 metres from the station, while in others, they were right in the polling hall. In the palace of the republic in downtown Tiraspol, where Smirnov and other Transnistrian leaders cast their ballots, an employee of the state security ministry was minutely checking up the IDs at the entrance. ...
http://www.moldpres.md/default.asp?Lang=en&ID=50769

U.S. Secretary of State says USA will further back Moldova's efforts to settle

Deputy Premier, Foreign and European Integration Minister Andrei Stratan, on a two-day official visit to Washington DC, has had a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the Foreign and European Integration Ministry's press service has said. Stratan expressed Moldova's gratitude for the United States' consistent and continuous support for Moldova's efforts to ensure territorial reintegration, economic growth and progress along the democratisation path. The Moldovan official highly appreciated the USA's participation in the negotiations aimed at identifying a solution to the Transnistrian conflict, which would observe Moldova's sovereignty and territorial integrity...
http://politicom.moldova.org/stiri/eng/21686/

U.S. Condemns Transnistrian Action Against Moldovan Schools

Paul Jones at OSCE urges Russia to use its influence to settle dispute
The United States strongly condemns the actions of Transnistrian authorities against several Moldovan Latin-script schools and the orphans' shelter in Bendery and insists that they take steps to normalize the situation.
"These and other issues must be discussed at the five-sided roundtable under OSCE auspices," U.S. diplomat Paul W. Jones told the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna, Austria, July 29.
Jones applauded the July 19 statement by Russia that called for a halt to further administrative actions by the Transnistrian leadership, but he also urged Moscow to use its influence to help move the political settlement process forward.
"We fully believe this lies within the power of the Russian Federation, should it so choose," he said.
Following is Jones' statement:

United States Mission to the OSCE Vienna, Austria http://osce.usmission.gov
STATEMENT ON SCHOOLS AND LINGUISTIC CLEANSING IN TRANSNISTRIA, MOLDOVA
As delivered by Deputy Chief of Mission Paul W. Jones to the Permanent Council
July 29, 2004
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Recent closures and harassment of Moldovan Latin-script schools in the Transnistrian-controlled region of Moldova have led to an extremely tense situation and dangerous standoff that could potentially become violent.
These provocative steps contradict previous assurances the Tiraspol authorities provided the OSCE and Council of Europe that they would negotiate a mutually agreeable solution and take no measure against the schools while negotiations were ongoing.
We strongly condemn the Transnistrian actions of forcibly closing the school in Tiraspol, attempting to close by force schools in Bendery and Ribnita, and attempting to forcibly evict orphans from their shelter in Bendery. We insist that the Transnistrians reopen the schools immediately, restore the normal movement of people and goods, and stabilize the situation in the security zone.
These and other issues must be discussed at the five-sided roundtable under OSCE auspices. We strongly support the work of the OSCE Mission in Moldova. The existing five-sided talks remain the relevant mechanism both for working on contentious issues like the school crisis as well as toward an overall settlement.
Tiraspol authorities have been increasingly aggressive in pressing their political agenda and in provoking the Moldovan Government. Recently, Transnistrian negotiators boycotted the scheduled June 23-24 five-sided talks, and during the July 21 round, Transnistrian leader Igor Smirnov refused to meet either the three mediators or the Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister.
We applaud the Russian Foreign Ministry's statement of July 19, following the forced closure of the school in Tiraspol, that called for the Transnistrians to refrain from taking further administrative action against the remaining schools. We call upon the Russian Government to use its influence with the Transnistrian leadership, many of whom are Russian citizens, to halt their current provocations, ensure the observance of human rights of all Moldovans residing in Transnistria, and return to the political settlement process in a constructive manner.
We fully believe this lies within the power of the Russian Federation, should it so choose. Russia would also send a useful signal by restarting its military withdrawal, consistent with its 1999 OSCE Istanbul commitments.
We are open and eager to discuss further levers the international community could use to pressure the Transnistrians to be cooperative. For instance, we would be interested in seeing the Secretariat put forward a proposal for international monitoring of the Transnistrian segment of the Moldova/Ukraine border. If implemented, such a project could establish positive momentum toward tightening border controls between the two countries.
In addition, we and our EU partners are prepared to consider other appropriate measures against the separatist Transnistrian authorities to induce their cooperation. We also welcome Moldovan Reintegration Minister Sova's call for an international conference on the Transnistria conflict and stand ready to discuss this proposal in greater detail.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
(end text)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=July&x=200407291416221ACnosnhoJ0.3761408&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html

School Closures Latest Volley in Regional Autonomy Dispute

A row over the use of language in schools has caused the occupation and closure of schools in the breakaway region of Transdniester. Moldovan is the majority language in Moldova, except in that Slavic separatist region, where Russian and Ukrainian are the languages of the majority. Those advocating the use of Cyrillic script have now begun closing schools that teach in Moldovan. This move has sparked protest by teachers and students, as well as strong criticism from the European Union and the OSCE, which has labeled the closures ”linguistic cleansing.”
Transdniester authorities said in late July they have earmarked seven schools for closure because they teach Moldovan using the Latin alphabet. The controversy is the latest flareup in a dispute that goes back more than a decade. Transdniester broke away from Moldova in 1990, and the two sides fought a short war in 1992. But the region has no international recognition, and efforts to resolve the dispute have so far failed. Russian troops, which helped quell the 1992 war, remain there despite Moscow’s promise five years ago to remove them.
Leaders of the breakaway enclave, 58 percent of whose 700,000 people speak Russian or Ukrainian, have declared Moldovan a foreign language and say the targeted schools must register as private institutions. The schools were about to adopt the new rules when the closures began without explanation.
RFE/RLJuly 30, 2004
http://www.wes.org/ewenr/04sept/RussiaCIS.htm

The 3D Strategy

http://www.ad-astra.ro/library/papers/moldova_3d_strategy.pdf

Moldovan republic faces blockade

Four schools have been closed
Moldova has threatened to impose economic sanctions on the breakaway Trans-dniester region, amid a dispute over the language used in schools.
Officials in the Russian and Ukrainian-speaking Trans-dniester republic have closed several schools which use Romanian - Moldova's official language.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3940325.stm

15 July 2004

THE HAGUE/CHISINAU, 15 July 2004 - "Today's forced closure of the Moldovan School in Tiraspol is nothing less than linguistic cleansing," the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Rolf Ekeus, said on Thursday. He made the comment after local authorities in the break-away region of Transdniestria (Moldova) surrounded Tiraspol School No. 20 with armed police in the early morning hours and forcibly removed the school's furniture and equipment. Parents and teachers attempted to block the trucks carrying the materials but they were also forcibly removed by militia.The Transdniestrian action is especially provocative as it comes one day after the OSCE High Commissioner visited the school. He had received assurances from the local authorities that legal registration of all the schools could be allowed within one week."I am deeply disappointed by this illegal and inhuman action today in Tiraspol," said the High Commissioner. "It is further evidence of the Transdniestrian disregard for basic human rights and education standards. This indifference is damaging to thousands of children who are being used by the Transdniestrian authorities as pawns in a political game".The Tiraspol school remains surrounded by police and access is blocked to parents and teachers. This unprecedented and reprehensible measure is the latest by local authorities in a long-standing campaign designed to force the closure of all schools in the region which teach Moldovan/Romanian in the Latin script. In the City of Benderi (Tighina) the authorities recently shut off the water supply to a Moldovan school used by handicapped children. Other schools have had their property and utility contracts revoked. In a campaign of intimidation against schoolchildren and parents, the local broadcast media are announcing that all of the schools will be closed. In meetings with parents, directors and teachers, the OSCE has heard of a pattern of harassment by the local authorities reminiscent of forced assimilation efforts in other conflict regions.An estimated 40 per cent of the population in the Transdniestrian region has Moldovan/Romanian as their mother tongue. Approximately five thousand pupils have been studying the language in the Latin script for over ten years. However, Transdniestrian authorities claim that Moldovan is only an official language of the region when it is written in Cyrillic script, as it was in the Soviet Union. "The clear will of the parents of these children is that they should learn in the Latin script," Ambassador Ekeus said. "This must be respected by the Transdniestrian authorities."In 2003, after months of effort, the OSCE brokered a formula to allow the schools to be legally registered with local authorities in Transdniestria. "We went to great lengths to meet Transdniestrian concerns", said Ambassador William Hill, Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova. "But the agreement has been torpedoed at every step by the same authorities. The forced closure of the school in Tiraspol is scandalous and irresponsible. This is hardly the behaviour of a reliable negotiating partner."The OSCE is urging the Transdniestrian authorities to implement the agreement signed in 2003 for the schools to function unhindered while a broader accord on their status is being discussed. http://www.osce.org/hcnm/item_1_8447.html

WESTERN DIPLOMACY UNMOVED BY "LINGUISTIC CLEANSING" IN TRANS-DNIESTER

By Vladimir Socor
Tuesday, August 3, 2004
International organizations, as well as an indifferent U.S. State Department, are proving unable or unwilling to deal with "linguistic cleansing" in Trans-Dniester. All players involved are treating the Russian authorities' forcible closure of the last six Latin-script schools as an unwelcome distraction from negotiations toward Moldova's "federalization" in partnership with those same Trans-Dniester Russian authorities. The United States, European Union, OSCE, and Council of Europe, in unison with Moscow, are urging "both parties" (the usual formula equalizing Chisinau and Tiraspol) to return to the "five-sided" negotiations, (Russia-Ukraine-OSCE-Chisinau-Tiraspol), a format that consigns Moldova to Russian control while excluding the West. Western diplomats and international institutions are merely asking that Tiraspol reinstate those six Moldovan schools, for a quick return to business-as-usual, but the school issue is a symptom of the larger issue of linguistic russification of Trans-Dniester's Moldovan and Ukrainian indigenous populations.U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell wrote to Moldova's Foreign Affairs Minister, Andrei Stratan, on July 30, expressing concern over the assault on schools. Powell's letter warned Trans-Dniester's leaders that they might face isolation, unless they return to the "existing, international negotiating format." The message seemed to miss its address, since Trans-Dniester and Moscow strongly favor that negotiating format, which Moldova is now desperate to escape. The letter promised to "restore the positive course toward a political settlement" within that format, although no one considers that route to be "positive," including the State Department. Powell's message (as published in Chisinau) failed to warn Trans-Dniester over the linguistic cleansing (Moldpres, July 30; Vremya [Chisinau], July 31). In a statement to the OSCE's Permanent Council in Vienna on July 29, the U.S. delegation urged the Russian government to "use its influence with Trans-Dniester's leadership, many of whom are citizens of Russia, to halt their current provocations." With this, the statement acknowledged, perhaps unwittingly, that any "federalization" would be a gross misnomer as one contracting party represents, and is fully influenced by, a foreign power. Asserting against all evidence that "the existing five-sided talks remain the relevant mechanism," the U.S. statement expressed readiness "also" to give favorable consideration to Chisinau's proposal for an international conference on the Trans-Dniester conflict (OSCE press release, July 29). According to Moldova's ambassador to Washington, Mihai Manoli, the U.S. State Department had favored such a conference with participation by the U.S., the EU, Russia, Ukraine, and Moldova, thereby including the West and reducing Tiraspol's role. Such a conference had been envisaged as recently as May. But, according to Manoli, "certain parties" -- evidently meaning Moscow -- had thwarted the proposed conference (Basapress, Flux, July 29).On July 28 the European Union's High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, telephoned Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin personally; and two days later, the EU member countries' Chisinau ambassadors made a common demarche to Voronin. While criticizing the assault on schools, the EU asked Voronin to resume negotiations with Trans-Dniester. Voronin replied, "We cannot remain hostage to that unlawful regime and those backing it [i.e., Moscow]. We can no longer tolerate its abuse of our citizens and our children. As president, I cannot betray my country's interests." Voronin insisted on internationalization of the negotiating process. On July 31, Solana appealed to Russia's Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov, "in view of Russia's role as a key mediator . . . to persuade the Trans-Dniester leadership to halt their campaign against Moldovan schools and to return to the five-sided format of talks" (HR CFSP communique, July 31). The appeal reflected the EU's reluctance to become active in settlement efforts. By terming Russia a "key mediator," the appeal also unwittingly acknowledged that the OSCE and Ukraine play figurehead roles. In a July 31 statement, the Council of Europe's Secretary-General Walter Schwimmer decried the "dramatic deterioration" of the situation with the schools, and termed the Trans-Dniester authorities' actions "frightening" and "simply inhuman." However, Schwimmer merely urged tolerance and more efforts toward a peaceful resolution (CE communique, July 31). On July 26, the chairman of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister Jan Petersen, referred to Moldovans in Trans-Dniester as a national "minority," apparently taking a cue from U.S. ambassador Stephan Minikes' July 22 misstatement to the OSCE Permanent Council. Effective from August 1, the Moldovan government has introduced restrictions on the export operations of Trans-Dniester industrial and trading companies that do not pay Moldovan taxes. Such exports will no longer receive certificate-of-origin documents from Moldova's Chamber of Commerce and Industry; may no longer be cleared by Moldovan customs; and may no longer be transported on Moldovan railways. The government's decision, signed and publicized internationally on July 29, "temporarily" suspends the privileges that the same Moldovan government temporarily made available in June 2003. The main condition required in 2003 was registration with Moldova's legitimate authorities and submitting shipments to Moldovan customs inspection, without having to pay Moldovan taxes. Trans-Dniester's main export destinations are Russia and "Cyprus" (i.e., Cyprus-registered Russian firms), which account for slightly more than 50% of the value of Trans-Dniester's officially registered exports. Tiraspol is denouncing Chisinau's decision as a "blockade," and threatens retaliatory steps. For its part, Chisinau points out that it has merely suspended privileges granted earlier; that Trans-Dniester authorities have completely thwarted Moldovan customs inspection, thus breaching the 2003 arrangements; and that any "blockade" is out of question as long as Trans-Dniester freely, though unlawfully, exports its goods via Ukraine. Trans-Dniester is one of Europe's major channels of contraband and money laundering. Chisinau's restrictions may somewhat hinder those practices in the unlikely event that Tiraspol accepts Moldovan customs inspections on its territory. However, the real solution would be to introduce customs control on the Trans-Dniester-controlled sector of the Moldova-Ukraine border. The EU, reluctant to challenge Russia's proxies in Trans-Dniester, has asked Kyiv since 2001 to allow the introduction of joint customs posts on the Ukrainian side of that border sector. Kyiv refuses, partly to please Moscow, and partly because some Ukrainian authorities receive a cut for facilitating trade. http://www.jamestown.org/edm/article.php?volume_id=401&issue_id=3035&article_id=2368345