The nongovernmental organizations this time didn’t make calls and recommendations to the parties that hold negotiations to form a government coalition either because they are dissatisfied with the previous performance of the government or because they simply are not heard by the politicians. At the same time, a large part of the NGOs continue to do their job by fulfilling the statutory tasks, including monitoring the government. Such opinions were stated in the public debate “What does civil society keep silent about? Views about the negotiations on the formation of a government coalition” that was staged by IPN News Agency in partnership with Radio Moldova.
National NGO Council head Ecaterina Mardarovici said the silence of civil society represents its regrets that it called on society to vote for parties that came to power and that disappointed again. Earlier, civil society asked for maximum transparency in the negotiation process, to make public the documents that were to be signed and to respect particular principles when naming the Government, but it wasn’t heard. That’s why it now does not state its opinion now. “Civic society continues to work as it did until now and implements different projects. It struggles for the human rights to be respected and pleads against corruption and for gender equality. The NGOs didn’t stop work when the country entered a profound crisis. We want to see what happens next, but I personally do not think that the ruling parties can take into account the opinion of civil society. If the new government is open, we will be ready to provide expertise and recommendations,” she stated.
Lilia Snegureac, who heads the Center “Pro dialog” and is the secretary of the Civil Society Platform “Pro-Europa”, does not think that the ‘silence’ of civil society is provoked by regrets. She simply sees no use in making collective calls to the political class because the latest developments show that all the political parties discredited themselves. The expert noted she doubts the legality of the current ruling class and considers that the ruling parties’ dialogue with civil society was held for the sake of appearance. “I’m sick and tired of these formalities: “We talked to civil society; now what do you want?” Civil society does not keep silent. It is not heard. I think a new call would have been made in vain again. But I doubt that the Strelet Government would have fallen if it had had a different discussion with the people protesting in front of the Government Budding, if it had initiated these discussions,” she stated.
Ion Dron, head of the Center for Initiatives and Public Authorities Monitoring, said it’s good that today civil society keeps silent as it must focus on its goals. “If the organization’s aim is to inform or to do something else, it should do this. The government should be allowed for form coalitions, but should be closely monitored. To talk to someone, you must have confidence that this someone listens to you. Today civil society does not have confidence in these parties. It’s no use making calls when there is no confidence. I often informed the state institutions, but these do not hear what civil society says. In 2012, we asked not to accept particular legislative changes because these transformed the prosecutor general into a monster. They didn’t listen to us. But now the parliamentary group that promoted this bill agrees with us. We must be perseverant and tenacious. They want us to stop criticizing them and to stop making calls. But we will yet change the situation, gradually. We must not make appeals to them, but must do our job,” he stated.
Igor Botan, executive director of the Association for Participatory Democracy ADEPT, said that civil society does not keep silent, noting there are four institutional types of civil society: parties, cults, trade unions and nongovernmental organizations. The parties, in particular the extraparliamentary ones, actively promote different views and positions. The religious cults also do not keep silent, but are geopolitically divided. The trade unions are invisible. “Neither the NGOs are mute. For example, two farmers’ leaders have protested nonstop in the Great National Assembly Square. Among the protesters are leaders of pensioners, veterans and youth movements. We cannot say that civil society does not have a voice,” stated the expert. He admits that civil society does not have a common message that would make the political class form a Government, but this is because the latter is not a uniform, conscious entity, but a mosaic that pronounces on different segments and in different forms.
The public debate “What does civil society keep silent about? Views about the negotiations on the formation of a government coalition” is the 44th installment of the series of debates “Developing political culture by public debates” that are organized with support from the German foundation “Hanns Seidel”.
