The Bessarabians were fully represented in all the central bodies in Bucharest after the Union of 1918, doctor habilitate of history Nicolae Enciu, stated in a public debate hosted by IPN News Agency. According to the historian, the Moldavian Democratic Republic could not remain independent because it did not have an army to secure its territorial integrity, and the Moscow regime already manifested its intentions to annex.
Nicolae Enciu analyzed the conditions imposed by the People’s Council before the Union of Bessarabia with Romania in 1918 and the reasons why they were later abandoned. According to the doctor of history, one of the main conditions was the maintenance of the People’s Council for the implementation of the agrarian reform.
"The first condition was that the People’s Council should remain in order to carry out the agrarian reform. But later, the agrarian reform was fully implemented in the composition of the united Romania. The second condition was that Bessarabia should keep its provincial autonomy. After the Union with Romania, delegates of the population of Bessarabia were designated to all the governments of interwar Romania and to all the legislatures of the Parliament of interwar Romania. The Bessarabians were fully represented in the central bodies in Bucharest," said Nicolae Enciu.
He explained that, a few months after the Union, these conditions were waived, as Bukovina united with Romania without any preconditions. Also, Romania, participating in the Paris Peace Conference, had to be perceived as a unitary national state.
"Following the example of the people of Bukovina, the People’s Council gave up the initial conditions. On the other hand, Romania was to participate in the works of the Paris Peace Conference and appeared as a national united state, and the initial conditions would have aroused useless debates in Paris. Last but not least, in the course of 1918, both the population of Bessarabia and its political representatives in the People’s Council could convince themselves of the practical implementation of all those conditions," said Nicolae Enciu.
During the debate, the historian also explained why the Moldavian Democratic Republic could not remain independent. According to him, the state did not have the necessary resources to secure its territorial integrity as its army was insufficient.
"The independence of the Moldavian Democratic Republic could not be maintained and defended. The Moldavian Democratic Republic had some cohorts, but they were insufficient to maintain an army that would guarantee the territorial integrity of Bessarabia. On the other hand, the Bolshevik government in Moscow expressed very clearly its intention to annex Bessarabia," pointed out historian Nicolae Enciu.
The public debate entitled "The Union of 1918: why was it necessary, why was it possible?" was the 45th installment of the series "Impact of the past on confidence-building and peace-building processes". The project is supported by the German “Hanns Seidel” Foundation.
