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
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