"Moldova is a tolerant country, but identity challenges remain relevant. The issue of language and ethnicity needs to be clarified, not politically speculated," Iulian Groza, executive director of the Institute for European Policy and Reform, told IPN's public debate "Promoting European values in interethnic relations".
Iulian Groza emphasized that although our country has not had significant ethnocultural conflicts, issues related to identity have been politically exploited.
"We have never had ethnocultural conflicts in the Republic of Moldova. We are a fairly tolerant and peaceful country. Obviously, the identity issue is a challenge for Moldova and it has been politically exploited by very many parties for very narrow interests", the expert says.
"Unfortunately, for a long time, Moldova has been divided on the basis of language and ethnicity, and this has been exacerbated by foreign interference and local political agenda. However, when these issues came out of the realm of political speculation, they started to become much clearer," said Iulian Groza, referring to the clarification of the status of the Romanian language in the Constitution. The IPRE Director pointed out that one of the essential solutions to improve inter-ethnic coexistence is to promote the knowledge of the Romanian language. In this regard, he mentioned that the Government has initiated programs for learning Romanian language, and the number of those who want to learn the language has increased significantly, especially after the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
"Romanian is the key to interethnic integration. We need active policies to encourage Romanian language learning not only in schools but also for adults. In this respect, it is essential that the state and local authorities create mechanisms to facilitate this process", added Iulian Groza.
The executive director of the Institute for European Policy and Reform also spoke about the dangers of making Russian a language of interethnic communication, emphasizing that it is reminiscent of the Soviet period. "The language of interethnic communication in a state must be the official language. And for this to become a reality, we need to focus on creating an educational system that will provide conditions for learning the Romanian language," Groza said.
In the context of the challenges faced by ethnic communities in Gagauzia, Iulian Groza emphasized that the state should implement policies to encourage the study of Romanian and ensure the integration of these groups into public and social life.
"The language barrier is a major challenge. It is essential for the state to create opportunities for all citizens to learn the Romanian language and for those who do not know it not to be excluded from public life and state institutions", Groza concluded.
The Executive Director of the Institute for European Policy and Reform emphasized that for a better interethnic integration, the Republic of Moldova needs to adopt policies that support the knowledge of Romanian, but also to reach out to communities that speak other languages, to ensure them the same rights and access to essential public services.
The public debate on "Promoting European values in interethnic relations" is organized in the framework of the project "IPN News Agency for Social Cohesion and Pro-European Moldova", funded by IMS.
