Heads of Transnistrian schools teaching in Romanian glad that justice was done to them

The heads of the schools teaching in Latin script in Moldova’s Transnistrian region are contented that justice was done to them after eight years of expectation. However, they are skeptical that the situation will improve after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found Russia guilty of violating the right to education of the Moldovans living in the breakaway republic of Transnistria. Maria Roibu, principal of the Bender-based school “Alexandru cel Bun”, has told Info-Prim Neo that she fears that the Russians will not pay the damages awarded by the ECHR to the plaintiffs. She said that if she had had power, she would have forced Russia to buy a building for the school as the students do not have normal conditions for study. Ion Iovcev, head of “Lucian Blaga” High School based in Tiraspol, regrets that the case they prepared to file to the ECHR did not get there. “We gathered the proofs and prepared the case, but the lawyer who was to deal with it disappeared with the documents,” he said. He also said that after the Tiraspol administration was replaced one year ago, the situation changed only apparently. The attitude towards the education institutions teaching in Latin script remained the same. “Instead, the constitutional authorities’ attitude towards the Transnistrians is much better than in 2009, when we did not receive support from the central authorities. Now we enjoy support and financial assistance,” stated Ion Iovcev. On October 19, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) convicted Russia in the case of the Transnistrian schools using the Latin script. The cases were sent to the ECHR in 2004 and 2006 by parents, teachers and students from three Transnistrian schools, who denounced the violation of the rights to education, private life and non-discrimination. Russia was obliged to pay €1.2 million in respect of non-pecuniary damage and €50,000 court costs within three months. The Reintegration Office said the ECHR’s decision is a very important one for ensuring the respect for the human rights in the Transnistrian region and will contribute to solving the problems existing in this field by legal ways. According to the Office, the decision is an additional argument for confirming the correctness of the steps taken by the Moldovan authorities and of the need to step up efforts to guarantee the human rights in Transnistria.