Does Moldova face the risk of experiencing the Ukraine scenario – intervention by another state on the pretext of ‘protecting’ the speakers of Russian, Romanian or Moldovan, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Gagauz etc? What should we do for the country’s people to feel at home in Moldova? IPN Agency is producing a series of articles where politicians, experts and representatives of national minorities provide answers to these and other questions.
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The Bashkan (Governor) of Gagauzia Mihail Formuzal said that the tradition of harmonious coexistence of different ethnic groups in Moldova is centuries old. At the level of regions or local communities, the people always achieved consensus and respected the interests of the others. In Moldova, there are many villages where there are many ethnic groups and multiple mixed marriages. If there are difficulties, they surely are not due to the national problem. At political level yet, most of the managerial posts are controlled by representatives of an ethnic community to the detriment of the others. In the Moldovan, multiethnic society, such policy surely leads to interethnic tension.
“I think that the greatest danger of separatism today comes from the Moldovan authorities that separate themselves from the people,” said Mihail Formuzal. According to him, the danger of separatism resides in the way the authorities allocates funds for territorial development, when the regions managed by ‘ours’ receive more funds than the others. “The promotion by the representatives of the government coalition of the idea of rejecting the sovereignty of Moldova in favor of the neighboring country can be considered popularization of separatism,” stated the Bashkan.
He also said that Ukraine’s example shows how destructive nationalism can be for a state, especially if we speak about a multinational society. The example of Ukraine shows how important is for the central authorities to listen to the voice of the regions and what can happen to a country when regions’ interests are ignored. Ultimately, Ukraine’s example teaches us that the government must be independent in promoting the state policy and must not be at the beck and call of the foreign advisors and emissaries that defend the interests of their countries, not of Moldova.
Mihail Formuzal reminded that Moldova accepts dual nationality. Tens and hundreds of thousands of Moldovans are simultaneously citizens of Russia, Romania, Ukraine. In order to avoid the intervention of one state in Moldova on the pretext of protecting its citizens, the country must pursue a balanced policy so as not to give reasons for this to happen. Ethnic diversity must be appreciated, not suppressed. The values and ideas that unite the people of different ethnic groups must be promoted at state level. Values that divide society should not be aggressively imposed. Everyone has ideals and deserve the right to the own position on the key historical events. The opponents must not be convinced of certain truths. We must learn to live peacefully, as our ancestors did during centuries.
The Moldovan multi-nationality is an advantage, not a weakness. Three great civilizations met in the country, three Worlds – Romanian, Slavonic and Turkish. One should be blind not to understand what development potential for the country exists in this diversity.
Mihail Formuzal does not know what the Russians or the Bulgarians need for them to feel at home in Moldova. He can say yet about the Gagauz people. The busts of Dimitrie Cantemir and Mihai Eminescu were placed on the Glory Alley in Comrat. This is homage rendered to the Moldovan people and a proof that they are patriots of the Moldovan state. The Bashkan believes that the Gagauz people will feel 100% at home in Moldova when there are the busts of Mihail Ciachir and Dumitru Cara-Ciobanu on the Alley of Classical Writers in Chisinau.
Mariana Galben, IPN
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IPN note: In this series of articles, IPN also presented the opinions of Prime Minister Iurie Leanca, head of the International Relations and Politology Department of the Free International University of Moldova Mihai Cernencu, politologist Vitalie Andrievschi, who manages a network of information-analytical portals in Moldova and Ukraine (ava.md, apn.md, and avaukr.com), and head of the Union of Ukrainians of Moldova Svetlana Mislitsky, and program director at the Foreign Policy Association Victoria Bucataru. Among those who accepted to answer the Agency’s questions are also Deputy Head of Parliament Andrian Candu, MP Alla Mironic, specialist in education economy Andrei Munteanu, who is a member of the Mediation Council of Moldova, head of the National Roma Center Nicolae Radita and others.
