The government in Chisinau must have a dialogue with the authorities of the Gagauzia autonomous region in order to overcome the situation which arose after the People's Assembly in Comrat decided to hold a referendum on Gagauzia's delayed status in regard to external self-determination. The opinion was voiced by political analyst Igor Botan. Fellow commentator Anatol Taranu told IPN that central authorities could organize round tables to discuss with the people and not only with the region's politicians and to explain to them the risk of such actions for society.
“The government must discuss with the authorities in Gagauzia because this is the only way to reach a solution. This is serious. The government in Chisinau must remember that it came to power with aces up its sleeve and that if it was possible to govern in this way on national level, they should not be surprised that at regional level they also work with aces up their sleeve”, stressed Igor Botan.
The analyst is of the opinion that this is the downside of governing with aces up the sleeve. “Those who criticized the use of aces thought about this – that there would come a time when others would employ similar methods. Those in Gagauzia have strong backing from abroad, but also are encouraged internally to use such trump cards. But we must have a dialogue. They must be told to give up such actions, to follow the law, to avoid causing surprises and to work together to find the best solutions for Moldova. Any threats or forceful actions would mean a failure of the current government”, said Botan.
Political analyst Anatol Taranu thinks that several opportunities to solve the situation in the southern region have already been missed. “Gagauzia needs to be systematically worked on for years. We need to find political forces there that could support Chisinau. We need to work with the people. Gagauzia's politicians can hardly be influenced, because they enjoy the Russians' support, who have worked there more than Chisinau. A round table for political forces and civil society could be held to discuss the issue and search for solutions”, he said.
The experts think that the autonomous region's centrifugal actions are encouraged both from within, by the Communists' Party, and from abroad, by Russia. Igor Botan says that the occasions for such behavior were supplied by the current government that often takes decisions according to interests known only to it.
