Civil society notifies PACE chairman on Moldova's problems

Representatives of the civil society informed the chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Lluis Maria de Puig, on “the grave problems of Moldova”. The reunion between the PACE chairman and representatives of 12 NGOs took place on July 8, as the press was not allowed to attend it. Asked by Info-Prim Neo, [Eugen Revenco, program manager with the Foreign Policy Association], says he pointed out that the PACE and the rapporteurs for Moldova erroneously mentioned that the Chisinau Parliament had strengthened its positions as a law-making body by virtue of the checks-and-balances principle. “This has been seen very little, since the legislature is conducted if not by a single faction, then by an outsider,” the expert said. “A questionable issue is, in our opinion, Transnistria's impact upon the Moldovan democracy and Lluis Maria de Puig agreed that the report presented to the PACE was not successful enough. There are drawbacks but we welcome it has started,” Eugen Revenco says. At the meeting, he broached the special services' and the police's crackdown on people freely expressing their opinion, including on the Internet. They discussed on clampdowns on supporters of political parties. According to Eugen Revenco, the PACE president came to Chisinau with the message that Moldova needed to step up its reforms. “The Council of Europe has been waiting for a long time for the completion of the commitments assumed by this country, concrete solutions and not just promises as “we'll manage to implement something somewhere”,” the expert said. According to him, the European official spoke about Moldova's interest for the European integration. He noticed the progress the authorities made. He pointed out the crucial areas in which Europe expects concrete results. They are reforming the Procuratura (prosecutor's office), the independence of the judiciary, the freedom of speech, fighting corruption, the administrative reform and the conditions of municipalities. The preparation for the 2009 parliamentary elections was a separate topic. [President of Broadcasters Association APEL Alexandru Dorogan] has said he informed Lluis Maria de Puig on the Moldovan media, as passing the Broadcasting Code was a common concern for the CoE, Moldova and its Parliament. The scrutiny carried out by APEL and other 10 media NGOs has proved there a series of drawbacks on this segment. First, the political control over the Broadcasting Coordinating Council (BCC) is felt. No modifications have been operated in the editorial policy of the public broadcaster Teleradio-Moldova. The news programs aired by public broadcasters do not inform, but rather are meant to form the image of the rulers. The Parliament's hearing the BCC's 2007 report was formal and proved that the Legislature is not interested in essential changes in broadcasting, so far, Alexandru Dorogan has said. [President of Promo-Lex Association Ion Manole] informed the PACE chairman on the problems of the inhabitants in the Transnistrian area. “I informed that, for those over 400,000 Moldovan citizens living on the Nistru's left bank, the country's Constitution and law are dead letter,” Ion Manole has told Info-Prim Neo. Although they are full-right citizens, when they address problems to the Constitutional authorities, they keep getting answers as “we do not control that territory, we cannot help you for the moment.” Ion Manole has underlined this attitude is a severe violation of the human rights, as the state does not observe the Convention of Human Rights it ratified in 1998. The Promo-Lex president handed the PACE president reports related to the human rights in the Transnistrian area. Ion Manole says the PACE official has said Moldova will remain under the CoE's scrutiny and has expressed his hope the 2009 parliamentary elections will run democratically. Lluis Maria de Puig is ending his official visit to Moldova on July 9.