The language problem and the economic interests remain current challenges in the Transnistrian region even after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The dissolution of the former Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (MASSR) did not cancel these challenges and pressures on the Romanian-speaking citizens living on the left bank of the Nistru, the president of the Association of Former Deportees and Political Prisoners of Moldova Alexandru Postica stated in a public debate hosted by IPN News Agency. 

“The language issue is one of the most important aspects as regards the ensuring of human rights in the Transnistrian region and has a long history that begins in 1924, when the MASSR was established. Although Romanian/Moldovan and Ukrainian were recognized as official languages, in reality official communication was carried out exclusively in Russian. Another important problem that is not much discussed is the forced industrialization and urbanization that began in 1924, which brought great distortions in the ethnic composition of that space,” explained Alexandru Postica.

“The short period during which the Latin script was used between 1992 and 1994 in the Transnistrian region was followed by its prohibition, which led to the continuous persecution of schools teaching in Romanian. “Ștefan cel Mare” High School in Grigoropiol was the first educational institution subjected to persecution. It was evacuated in 1998 because its language of instruction was Romanian and writing there was based on the Latin script. The persecution of Romanian schools began then and continues to this day. It is a constant process, despite the taken measures,” stated Alexandru Postică.

According to him, Promo Lex Association reported over 170 cases of discrimination against students to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), demonstrating that the problem remains topical. “The 2012 ECHR ruling underlines that the children do not have the opportunity to learn freely in their mother tongue and are subject to punishment for using the Latin script,” added Alexandru Postica.

The expert said that economic interests are also a factor that influenced the situation in the region besides the language issue. “After the 1990s, not only the language problem persisted in Transnistria. There was also financial interest, which transformed the initial conflict, which was ideological in nature, into a political-financial problem. The military involvement of the Russian Federation had the primary purpose of controlling these two industrial centers, Tiraspol and Rybnitsa,” he concluded.

The public debate entitled “100 years under the sign of the MASSR” was the 42nd installment of the series “Impact of the past on confidence- and peace-building processes”. IPN News Agency implements this project with the support of the German Foundation “Hanns Seidel”.