Day of the Nistru will be marked in Moldova

The Day of the Nistru will be celebrated in Moldova every year. The Parliament adopted such a decision in first reading on May 22. But the date of the holiday has not been fixed yet, Info-Prim Neo reports. The legislative initiative was put forward by a group of Communist MPs that proposed instituting the National Day of the Nistru on July 11, a work day. On this day, the local public authorities, public organizations and children from schools and summer camps will clean the bottom of the river and carry out recreational activities. But the commission for culture, science, education, youth, sports and mass media suggested a simpler name – the Day of the Nistru. It said the day should be celebrated on the last Sunday of May because at the end of the school year, the students together with the teachers could participate in the holiday dedicated to the Nistru in an organized way. MP Vladimir Ciobanu stressed that the holiday cannot be marked before June 10 because there are a number of bans, including on fishing. The project authors argued that the Nistru has a major importance for Moldova and a day should be devoted to it. “The Nistru plays an important role in the region’s economy and in maintaining the ecological balance. Also, it is of historical, cultural and tourist importance,” MP Oleg Mantorov stressed. The authors say that the Nistru must not be regarded as a line that divides Moldova’s territory only, because it can be considered a symbol of union and peace in the poly-ethnic society of Moldova. At the same time, the leader of the Christian Democratic parliamentary group Vlad Cubreacov said that the project authors attach political importance to the Nistru. “We cannot divide the population according to geographic criteria,” Cubreacov said, adding that the Transnistrian dispute cannot be solved by a holiday that is mainly intended for school children. The Christian-Democratic MP proposed that the name of the holiday should contain the names of three important rivers, in alphabetical order – the Day of the Danube, Nistru and Prut. The parliamentary majority rejected the proposal. Other European countries also celebrate days dedicated to rivers, as for instance the Day of the Danube on July 29 and the Day of the Nipru on July 9.