LADOM organised seminars on promoting human rights in Transnistria and Gagauzia

The League for Protecting Human Rights in Moldova (LADOM) organised in the period April 2005 – March 2006 the program „Caravana”, on promoting international standards in the area of human rights in the regions Ggauzia and Transnistria. The program was assisted financially by the Helsinki Committee of Sweden. LADOM chairman Paul Strutzescu, said during Thursday conference, 23 March, on the topic „Human Rights in Moldova”, that the program has as goal to promote the democratisation and strengthening of Moldovan society through education activities of human rights and experience exchange to civil society of those two regions of Moldova - UTA Gagauz-Yeri and unrecognised Transnistrian. The program included a range of seminars on the topic of human rights, held in Comrat, Ceadar–Lunga, Vulcanesti, Tiraspol, Bender, Dubasari, Slobazia , Rabnita. Strutzescu noted with regret the fact that real situation regarding promotion and protection of human rights in Moldova is very bad. Therefore, certain participants at the training activities, held in Gagauzia, were called later by police to confess about the discussions of the seminars. More than this, Transnistrain frontier guards and customs house officers did not allow to distribute the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedom, as they considered inappropriate the intention of LADOM in this sense. “We have to admit that in order to have significant results in the field of promoting human rights in these regions, it is needed a multi-dimensional approach of existent problems, a large involvement of civil society, including diversification of activity fields”, he noted. According to him, organisation in last year by LADOM of a deep strengthening program of the representatives of ethnic groups of Moldova, it was noted that there is no emphasised discrimination of minorities in Moldova, and where there are problems these a political ones and not cultural or social. Deputy minister of foreign affairs and European integration, Eugenia Kistruga, said during the conference that applying the authoritarian and antidemocratic character in Transnistrian region in fact there are violated a range of fundamental human rights. Among them, she mentioned the right to education, in case when there were closed Romanian language schools and there were arrested innocent teachers and parents; the right to free speech and access to information, when local mass media, trying to present objectively the facts, is persecuted by authorities; the right to work and the right to property, in case when authorities limit the access of Moldovan farmers to their plots; as well as illegal arrest of those two prisoners of Ilascu Group in spite of decision of ECHR. In this context, Kistruga mentioned that recent decision of the regime of Tiraspol to prohibit foreign financing of NGOs is an obvious case of non-respect of human rights. The deputy minister mentioned that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration (MAEIE) would continue to inform the international community on situation of Trasnistria. “Recent resolution of the European Parliament referring to situation of human rights in Transnistria, especially shows the concern of European community, but as well its will to contribute to finding a solution to Transnistrian problem.” MAEIE will undertake further necessary actions to value the mechanisms of consolidating, developing and protection of human rights, in cooperation with international UN agencies, Council of Europe, OSCE, etc., she mentioned.