MPs argue in Parliament over official language’s name

The parliamentarians disputed about the name of the state language at the meeting of October 19. The Communists maintained that the name of the language is Moldovan, while the Opposition said that the language spoken by the native people is Romanian. Disagreement arouse after several Communist MPs asked the Deputy Minister of Health Mircea Buga questions in the Russian language, and he answered also in Russian. Parliamentarian Gheorghe Susarenco said that there are MPs that have been in the Parliament for 20 years and they do not know Romanian, or the state language as the Communists call it. He demanded that the officials at the Parliament’s central rostrum speak only in the Romanian language. While Susarenco was speaking, a number of Communist MPs protested, saying that the Constitution stipulate that the Moldovan language is the official language. Speaker Marian Lupu tried to mediate in the dispute, saying that by their actions the Members of Parliament must contribute to the consolidation of the society and not to its dismemberment. Everybody has the right to name the language as they want, but the official name of the state language is provided in the Constitution, he said. MP Leonid Bujor said the Opposition agrees that the people can name the language as they want, but the Communists should not throw remarks when the Opposition legislators speak Romanian. Bujor was taunted and mocked by his Communist colleagues, while Marian Lupu called on the MPs to be tolerant. At the end of the meeting, the Communist MP Victor Stepaniuc returned to the subject, saying that certain language name-related incoherencies identified in documents were clarified by the Constitution, which is the supreme law of the state. Even if the Declaration of Independence calls the language Romanian, Article 13 of the Constitution explicitly calls it Moldovan, he said. The Opposition asked for the right to reply, but the Speaker closed the sitting. Therefore, a part of the MPs protested nosily for several minutes.