Barred entry to Moldova of Romanian delegations ‘a barbaric act’, CMC majority coalition says

The representatives of the majority coalition in the Chisinau Municipal Council (CMC) have labelled the interdiction to cross the border imposed on the Romanian delegations heading for Chisinau as an irresponsible and barbaric act. [The leader of the Moldova Noastra Alliance Party, Serafim Urecheanu], told Info-Prim Neo that this is an irresponsible and unfriendly gesture of President Vladimir Voronin, whom he blames for the incident. This reveals Voronin’s attitude towards the EU, for the delegations that were denied access to Moldova represented Romania and the EU likewise. The AMN leader further stated that these actions are beyond the pale and represent an undeclared war of the head of state against Romania and the EU, which shows that the ruling party has reversed its political vector eastward. Urecheanu added that this incident will be discussed by the Party’s Permanent Bureau and might serve as ground for drafting a joint statement with other parties represented in the Council. [Liberal leader Mihai Ghimpu] stated that he will also convene the Permanent Bureau of the Party to formulate a statement concerning the Romanian delegations and the incident at the border. The case will be discussed with other parties too, he added. At the same time, Ghimpu says, the authorities will have to produce some reasonable arguments to the European Union to explain these serious violations of human rights. The Communist government cannot talk about the European integration and at the same time refuse EU citizens access to Moldova, exactly at the moment when Brussels hosts talks on visa-free travels for Moldovan nationals across Schengen, Mihai Ghimpu pointed out. [Eduard Musuc, the leader of the Social Democrat Party] and the Social-Democrat group in the Council believe that the respective actions by the government are barbaric and violate the diplomatic and European principles. There was no legal ground for the interdiction and the real reason behind the move was to spoil the holiday in Chisinau; the current government has proved again its bad temper, Musuc said. It is revolting and inadmissible to see such a situation happening in a state that is said to be based on the rule of law, [the leader of the Liberal-Democrat faction, Alexandru Tanase] commented on the same subject. It is obvious that the Communist regime is losing ground and it’s aware of that; it is also obvious that this stupid restriction was ordered by the head of state, said Tanase, adding that the other parties in the Council are likely to release a joint statement to deplore the actions by the central authorities. Three Romanian delegations heading for Chisinau to take part in the celebrations dedicated to the City Day were stopped by the Moldovan border officers and returned home. During his visit to Chisinau, [Franco Frattini, European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security] told a news conference that, following discussions with Moldova’s Foreign Minister Andrei Stratan, he learned that such incidents happened just at one border-crossing point. For his part, [Moldova’s Foreign Minister Andrei Stratan] asserted that relevant bodies are examining the case which happened at the Leuseni checkpoint. [Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs] said in a press release that this hostile act against Romania is essentially a political gesture, and most likely premeditated. By alleging an invented pretext, the move apparently also targeted the reputation of Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca. "Those who decided this regrettable act would do well to understand that the road of Moldova toward Europe is not built on such offenses brought to Romanian citizens", the statement reads, quoted by Info-Prim Neo.