The situation in the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia is tense, but can be overcome by a constructive dialogue, consider representatives of the government coalition. On the other hand, the representatives of the Communist parliamentary group believe that the government’s actions are not delicate and the situation in the southern districts can degenerate into a conflict similar to the Transnistrian one of the start of the 1990s. Representatives of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia think the situation will not worsen. The opinions were stated in the public debate “Chances of a civilized dialogue between Chisinau and Comrat and its dangerous alternatives” that was staged by IPN Agency.

Liberal-Democratic MP Valeriu Ghiletski believes that the situation in Gagauzia became tense after the Gagauz authorities decided to hold a referendum on the country’s foreign course and on the local population’s right to become independent if Moldova loses its sovereignty. “The situation is tense, but not dramatic. The dialogue can continue. Even if the referendum takes place, we will have to continue the dialogue,” he stated.

Communist lawmaker Artur Reshetnikov said the government behaves towards Gagauzia as if it is an elephant in a porcelain shop. “It removed the cannons and hides behind the prosecutor’s office and the courts of law. If it continues to behave this way, Moldova may witness events similar to those that took place on the Nistru River in the 1990s,” he said.

Fiodor Gagauz, deputy of the United Gagauzia faction in the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia, said that nothing extreme will happen if the central authorities do not create artificial tensions. “The parties increase their popularity ratings by giving Gagauzia as a bad example, but no important issues are addressed,” he stated.

Mihail Sirkeli, executive director of the Comrat Youth Center “Piligrim-Demo”, said the authorities in Gagauzia are actually trying to slap the central authorities so as to attract their attention to the key problems. “I think they should allow holding the referendum and then should start dealing with major problems,” he added.

Executive director of the Association for Participatory Democracy ADEPT Igor Botan considers that before organizing the referendum, the People’s Assembly should have submitted a legislative initiative concerning the holding of a plebiscite in parallel in the region, if Moldova decides to hold a referendum on the union with Romania.

The debate “Chances of a civilized dialogue between Chisinau and Comrat and its dangerous alternatives” is the 25th of the series “Development of political culture by public debates”, which is supported by the German foundation “Hanns Seidel”.