Government of Moldova does not ensure freedom and safety of people, experts

Moldova infringes the fundamental rights of the Moldovan people in Transnistria, says the study “Freedom and Security of People in Conflict Areas” that was presented in Chisinau by Promo-LEX Association on November 4. The study was made as part of a project implemented with support from the Balkan Trust for Democracy and the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the president of Promo-LEX Ion Manole, when violations are identified in Transnistria, the Moldovan law enforcement bodies say they can do nothing as they do not control this territory. However, the Government of Moldova is obliged to make sure that the rights of all the citizens are observed. According to Manole, the Transnistrians do not have access to justice as only two of the Transnistrian settlements have police commissariats and prosecutors' offices controlled by the Moldovan authorities - Tighina and Dubasari. On the other hand, all the settlements except Camenca have courts with only 12 judges, not 55 as required. Speaking about the detention conditions in Transnistria, Manole said that the number of detainees infected with AIDS rose from 6 to 168 during the last ten years. According to him, the Government of Moldova must open legal cases over each Transnistrian case of conviction and negotiate them within the Joint Control Commission, together with OSCE officials and other international organizations. Manole said the methods used by the Moldovan authorities to solve the problems are inefficient and should be replaced. Eleonora Cercavski, director of the Grigoriopol high school “Stefan cel Mare” that moved to Dorotskaia, said the Moldovan authorities do not address the problems encountered by the Moldovan schools working in the region. She stressed that the former Minister of Reintegration Vasili Sova never came to talk to the teachers, students and parents. Human rights expert Doina Ioana Straisteanu said the work of the judiciary in Transnistria should be reviewed by Moldova's Supreme Court of Justice. She stated that the persons who discussed the problem of the Romanian schools in Transnistria negotiated with the Transnistrian authorities on the basis of the Transnistrian legislation, which bans the Latin script and violates the Constitution of Moldova. Deputy Prime Minister on reintegration matters Victor Osipov said the authorities should concentrate their efforts on the real problems faced by the Moldovan people in Transnistria, which cannot be seen from behind the political problems. “The Moldovan authorities must develop policies and ensure access to justice for the Transnistrians. This issue, the violation of the right to free movement and the situation of the persons held in the remand center in Tiraspol will be discussed at the coming Vienna meeting,” he said. The negotiators in the Transnistrian dispute will meet in Tiraspol on November 6 to consider the possibility of resuming the Transnistria conflict settlement talks in the 5+2 format.