European Action Movement to sue Justice Ministry

The European Action Movement (EAM) vows to sue the Justice Ministry as it refuses to register the modifications to the party's statute, operated after the Law on political parties entered force in February 2008. The EAM's leaders made such statements at a news conference at Info-Prim Neo News Agency on Monday. The change operated to the EAM's statute at its congress on June 29 refers to the name of the party. Now it is called the European Action Movement Party, as required by the law. According to EAM's president, Anatol Petrencu, the Justice Ministry reasons its refusal by the fact that the party has not produced an act certifying the notification on the reorganization. In the EAM's view, these requests are absolutely illegal, on reason the party does not need to get reorganized, only to adapt its statute to the legal requirements. EAM finds in a statement that the Justice Ministry's arguments are part of the “totalitarian procedures” of the Government aimed at intimidating and destabilizing EAM's activity. “This brutal behavior of the totalitarian Communists regime, which neglects any democratic norms, is part of the continuous strangulation of our party and is meant not to allow EAM to participate the 2009 parliamentary elections,” the statement reads. EAM is determined to defend its constitutional rights in the court and does not rule out protests. EAM's deputy president, Andrei Covrig, has read out a letter to the Justice Minister Vitalie Parlog, signed by 33 veterans of wars in Afghanistan and Transnistria, asking “to re-establish the truth”, to register the modifications in EAM's statute and to detach the Justice Ministry from the Communists Party. The new law on political parties placed the political organization in unequal conditions,m requiring them to call themselves parties. Organizations called alliances, actions or unions need to modify their statutes and call themselves “political parties”. If EAM is obliged toi perform the operation of transforming itself, it won't have time enough to participate the 2009 parliamentary elections, as the procedure can take some 4 months. Earlier, the Justice Ministry lost two cases in trials with EAM.