Legislation on Moldova’s official language is neglected and violated, MAE

There is no public authority in Moldova that would supervise how the legislation on the official language is implemented. Therefore, it is neglected and blatantly broken, the president of the European Action Movement (MAE) Anatol Petrencu told a news conference in Friday. “The legislation on street advertising and advertising in mass media is seriously infringed. Normative documents are drawn up with violations. Everything is done in Russian. The employees in many companies speak only Russian and become aggressive when the people ask for information and explanations in the official language,” Anatol Petrencu said. Lawyer Nicolae Rosca, vice president of the MAE, said that many standard documents on the official language in Moldova are not observed and are neglected by the public authorities, especially the head of state. “Vladimir Voronin most often delivers his speeches in Russian, if he does not have the text written in Romanian, which they call the Moldovan language. But if this text exists you are ashamed to listen to it. On the national public broadcaster Teleradio Moldova and the TV channels NIT and N4, he speaks Russian,” Nicolae Rosca said. Jurist Iurie Tanase, a founding member of the MAE and councilor in Soroca town, said: “The official language is not respected. The local public authorities do not take measures to enforce the law. All the television channels with national coverage use mainly Russian. I, as citizen of Moldova, demand that my right to information in the official language be respected.” The party said it will take a series of measures to ensure the observance of the linguistic legislation, will sensitize the public opinion and will identify the persons holding important positions and the companies and organizations that do not obey the legislation on the official language. The MAE did not enter the Parliament, but committed itself to continuing the political fight outside the legislative body so as to fulfill the promises made to the voters.