Summarizing results in the security sector with Valentin Dediu, general-major in reserve of the Security and Intelligence Service (SIS), within IPN’s series “2020 in Review: Good and Bad Aspects”.
Assessing the events that happened in the state security sector of the Republic of Moldova in 2020, Valentin Dediu said the year was marred by the worsening of the security environment and the appearance of new risks and threats in addition to those existing earlier. “It should be noted that since the declaring of independence until present, the Republic of Moldova and its citizens have been under the pressure of the “hybrid war” waged by the Russian Federation to prevent the national authorities from dealing with the risks and threats to national security, such as territorial integration, overcoming of the economic crisis and liquidation of poverty, strengthening of the interethnic relations, rapprochement with the European Union by implementing the rule of law values and other pressing problems for Moldovan society. During the past 15 years, the intensity of this war increased.”
Besides the risks to society, asymmetric risks appeared in 2020, such as the pandemic and the drought. “The COVID-19 pandemic generated serious consequences for the population’s health, the health system in general and the sectors of the real economy. Regrettably, the management of this crisis didn’t meet the expectations. There have been objective reasons typical for the world health system that didn’t earlier face such diseases and does not have a universal treatment protocol. But there were also subjective reasons, when the political class tried to instruct the health professionals how to address the problem. What is more serious is the fact that the government didn’t find sufficient financial and administrative resources to intervene promptly.”
The drought has had negative effects on food security and the agro-industrial sector. Its consequences will be probably felt the next few years too, if the government does not find financial resources to support the agricultural producers and, in general, the agro-industrial sector. To keep the situation under control, the state of affairs should be thoroughly analyzed and a balanced policy should be devised so as not to allow the sector to degenerate completely.
2020 also was marred by the lowest level of cooperation with the EU. The current administration of the Republic of Moldova ignored the necessity of implementing the action plan for putting the EU-Moldova Association Agreement into practice, didn’t do the justice sector reform, moved the cooperation with the authorities in Brussels to the second place or further. This year was also marked by the intensification of the information warfare against the Republic of Moldova, which was legalized by the country’s Parliament by abrogating the “anti-propaganda” law that banned the retransmission of particular Russian programs.
“I cannot ignore the conflict around the Security and Intelligence Service, which is a state institution that ensures national security. This institution became a bargaining chip in the relations between politicians. This situation is horrible. Moreover, this bargain between politicians demoralizes the officers. I’ve got the impression that the administration of the Republic of Moldova does not understand the role and place of the SIS in the national security system. They mix up the notions of “coordination of activity” with “control over activity”. The text of the adopted law stipulates only the Parliament’s control over the activity of the SIS. But who will ensure coordination?” asked the general-major in reserve.
Valentin Dediu noted the parliamentary control existed and was aimed at legalizing the activity of the Service, not its forms, methods and resources. “I, as a citizen and as a pensioner with over 30 years’ seniority in security, consider the activity of the Security and Intelligence Service should be coordinated by the President of the Republic of Moldova within the limits of the powers provided by law. I dare to assert that the SIS has become more combative. It obtained information and managed to counteract offenses related to smuggling of cigarettes and anabolic steroids. It stated a position different from Moldova’s President on the falsification of the diaspora’s participation in the elections of November 2020.”
Among the good aspects of 2020, Valentin Dediu enumerated the defeat suffered in the presidential elections by Igor Dodon, who pleaded for keeping the Russian troops on the left side of the Nistru and for federalizing the Republic of Moldova. The new President is pro-European and the people’s choice can serve as a turning point towards democracy and stability.
IPN
