The Labor Union Party “Patria-Rodina” promises that if it enters the Parliament, it will adopt a new law to administratively and criminally punish the publications that damage the image of the state. At a news conference on March 10, the party’s leader Gheorghe Sima said that the given law will be passed within half a year. “The state must sanction the unionist publications that question the existence of the Moldovan state, damaging thus not only the image, but also the pocket of the state. If we are citizens of Moldova, we must contribute to maintaining the sovereignty and independence of Moldova and there should be no publications that allege that the Moldovan state would disappear from the political map,” said the leader of the “Patria-Rodina”. The party says that if it passes the election threshold, it will promote the establishment of strategic economic and political cooperation relations with the CIS states and with the European Union. A referendum will be held to decide on the status of the Russian language. “If the Russian language speakers make up 15%, their language should automatically become the second official language. It is rumored that the residents of Transnistria want to have Russian the second official language,” Gheorghe Sima said. According to him, the relations between Moldova and Romania must be mutually advantageous and of good neighborhood. Speaking about the cooperation with other political organizations, the leader of the “Patria-Rodina” said that he is open to cooperate with the Moldova Noastra Alliance, the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova, but does not rule out cooperation with the Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party. Gheorghe Sima said that his party will not field candidates for president or prime minister, but will support the candidates put forward by other parties. “Patria-Rodina” also pledged to raise the average salary to 5,000 lei and the pension to 2,000 lei if it enters the Parliament. According to the party’s leader, the modifications concerning the rises will be made during half a year. “There are available resources but they should be redistributed so as to support the working people of Moldova,” Sima said. The Labor Union “Patria-Rodina” has 6,200 members. At the March 5, 2005 legislative elections, the party did not pass the election threshold, polling 0.92% of the vote.