21 years after it was adopted, the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Moldova isn’t respected. The opinion is shared by several historians in Chisinau who say that the country is stagnating because of identity and statehood issues, instead of developing, Info-Prim Neo reports. “Independence is the problem of problems for historians, a key problem not only scientifically, but of great national interest. The historians are not at fault, but those who want to use history as a tool for manipulating our citizens. The issue of national identity and statehood is in the spotlight now. Here the problems are faked and the established truths are ignored”, said historian Alexandru Mosanu, first Speaker of Moldova’s Parliament. The director of the Academy of Sciences’ Institute of History, State and Law Gheorghe Cojocaru said that the Declaration of Independence is the act that must the respected step by step, regardless of the governments that succeed each other over the time. “Unfortunately, this didn’t happen in Moldova. Many of the essential stipulations of the Declaration of Independence, fundamental to an independent state, weren’t respected properly. Many have been rejected and disregarded”, declared the historian. Gheorghe Cojocaru thinks that many ways were found to eschew the fundamental precepts of the Declaration of Independence, such as the one regarding the Romanian language, which could have been a victory of the movement of national emancipation. “When this fundamental certified stipulation was disregarded, absolutely unnecessary conflicts broke out in society. Had these conflicts been avoided, society could’ve focused on social and economic problems, and in a context favorable to identity development, things would have looked differently. Unfortunately, we got stuck in these duels, useless talks and reached a point where we have to restart a competition from the beginning”, added the historian. Historian Petru Casu, doctor in Law, said that after 21 years of independence, Moldova had to start a restructuration. “We have to speak about restructuration, not reforms; we need to revamp the whole system and society. Reform means changing one action into another, but restructuration means to create a structure, a whole system based on centralized democracy”, said the doctor of law. Petru Casu thinks that this situation was reached because Moldova inherited such a fortified and totalitarian-controlled system, that 21 years haven’t been enough to get rid of it. On August 27, Moldovan celebrates 21 years since it proclaimed its Independence.