Communist government was a hindrance to realising Moldova’s potential in 2007. Interview with leader of the Moldova Noastra Alliance Party Serafim Urecheanu. SERIES OF INFO-PRIM NEO INVESTIGATIONS “HOW WAS 2007”

[ - How was the political year 2007 for Moldova and what are your political forecasts for 2008?] 2007 saw two important moments: the Communists confirmed that the European integration and the reforms have been a lie for the voters and for some of the democratic leaders and Western institutions, while the citizens at the local elections showed that they start to understand this mockery and they refuse to tolerate it further. There are a lot of proofs to support these assertions, but I will enumerate some of the most significant ones. The practical, absolutely negative effects of the pseudo democratic and pro-European reforms of 2005 began to emerge. These reforms had been adopted by the then MPs of the PCRM, PPCD, PD and PSL and justified the keeping in office of Vladimir Voronin, for whom they voted in April of the same year. Then, the Moldova Noastra Alliance Party was accused of lacking political vision. But the year 2007 proved the opposite – it was AMN that had an objective and consistent policy. The justice, freedom of the media and public broadcasting, the autonomy of the local public authorities, the political and electoral reforms, the control of public finances, the progress of the market economy, the cooperation with the civil society, the foreign relations and other areas – all of them witnessed negative developments generated by the Voronin Clan that remained in power and by the irrational laws adopted after some of the components of the parliamentary Opposition accepted services and public posts from the power in exchange for their votes. The electorate gave its mark for these results at the local elections and asked once again the democratic forces to defend the democratic values, offering them the chance to govern in most of the country’s raions in advance of the parliamentary elections. [ - What were the most important political events that had a positive impact on Moldova and what were those that influenced negatively Moldova’s development, in your opinion?] At internal level, as I already said, the major political event with positive impact was the general local elections as a result of which coalitions of the democratic forces took over the local power in 21 raions and in the municipality of Chisinau. At external level, the European organisations continued to offer even more political support for the democratic reforms implemented in Moldova. Regrettably, the Communist government constituted a hindrance to realising our country’s potential in 2007. [ - National and international experts says that Moldova lags behind in the areas of justice and mass media. What was done in these areas in 2007 and what is yet to be done?] In the previous years, the country’s administration at least pretended to be concerned about the reformation of the areas of justice and mass media. But in 2007 these formal efforts had been abandoned. The appearance of the National Institute of Justice is only a consequence of the older requirements that had to be fulfilled and we will yet see when and what effects it will produce. The Broadcasting Coordination Council failed publicly through a series of internal disputes that revealed its political constitution and functioning formula. The present Supervisory Board of Teleradio-Moldova is even more inefficient than the previous one, while the so-called public company bitterly opposed the implementation of the standards of a public institution, served again the Communist Party in elections and received for this an additional substantial subvention from the state budget for 2007. Instead, the independent press that counter-balances the Communist propaganda with its problems and concerns is obstructed and forced to deal with hostile economic conditions in order to develop. [ - What are your party’s priorities for 2008 and, possibly, for 2009?] In 2008, we will get ready and will step up the political measures designed to overthrow by democratic methods the present Communist power that promotes the country’s enemies to administration. The objective for 2009 is to take over the government at the parliamentary elections, if not alone than as part of a democratic coalition. This is an aim set at the sixth Congress of AMN of 2005 and I must say that the first stage was passed at the local elections and we are sure that everything will happen as planned.