“The initiative of the former President of the Republic of Moldova, Igor Dodon, to ensure transparency in the work of NGOs in the Republic of Moldova, is a salutary one and must be strongly supported. But in order to be credible in his approach, ex-president Igor Dodon should demonstrate that he complies with the provisions of the Law on Noncommercial Organizations, which he promulgated in 2020. In this regard, according to Article 7(3) of the mentioned law, and taking into account the memory gaps, we remind Igor Dodon that he has the obligation to publish, by the end of June each year, a report for 2022 and 2023 on the work of the noncommercial organization he leads – the Moldova-Russia Business Union ...”
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Socialist leader’s innovative initiative - forcing doors open
During the program “Live with Igor Dodon” of May 17, 2024 the leader of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM) referred to the recent protests mounted in Georgia (see min. 28.28 – 43.25), related to the adoption in three readings of the Law on transparency of external influence. He compared the situation in Georgia with that in Moldova, proposing solutions to make transparent the work of nongovernmental organizations in our country: “What happens in Georgia is its internal business. They did nothing else that many countries in the West did... Georgia fights for its national interests. What is our position? In this situation, let’s at least see where the money is from and what it is spent on, not to ban it, as Orban did... We need to develop transparency mechanisms for NGOs... Such laws are necessary and they must be approved. They must be adopted. At least, we, the Socialists, will stand firm on this position. Maximum transparency also in civil society and the mass media”.
The solution proposed by the Socialist leader seems to be a relatively sensible one, which is why the initiative can only be welcome. There is, however, one perplexity. The problem is that Article 7(3) of Law No. 86 of 11.06.2020 on noncommercial organizations, which regulates the work of all the NGOs, expressly provides the following: “The noncommercial organization shall make public the annual activity report no later than six months after the end of the year for which it is drawn up. If the noncommercial organization doesn’t publish the annual activity report, it shall transmit, within one month, a copy of the report to any applicant. At the request of the competent public authority, the non-commercial organization shall submit to it, within one month, the annual activity report. The annual activity report shall contain information on the activities carried out, the value of the financial means and supplies obtained and used, as well as other relevant information.”
We see that the Socialist leader’s recent initiative was implemented four years ago. It is curious that this law was voted by the PSRM group and signed by the current leader Zinaida Grechanyi, being promulgated by Igor Dodon himself, who at that time held the office of President of the Republic of Moldova. So, the Socialist leader’s initiative is similar to the forcing of doors open. The former Socialist President may be suffering from amnesia.
Proof of functionality of law on noncommercial organizations
It is worth noting that the PSRM leader had the opportunity to convince himself of the functionality of the law on noncommercial organizations, which he publicly confirmed. It happened when he participated in the launch, in 2020, of graphomania addressed to the NGOs of the Republic of Moldova, entitled Civil Society in the Republic of Moldova and compiled by PSRM MP Bogdat Țîrdea. The fact that the author was able to collect unrestrictedly all kinds of data about the work of NGOs in the Republic of Moldova is the strongest argument in favor of transparency of their work and accessibility of data.
It is noteworthy that the Socialist leader, Igor Dodon, reacted eulogistically to the compilation of the Socialist MP, triumphalistically exclaiming: “He roasted them all!” In fact, not all of them. There was one more subject that was to be brought back to public attention. The point is the Socialist MP didn’t examine and reflect the work of NGOs that are directly affiliated with the PSRM. For example, nothing has been written about the work and financing of the Chisinau branch of the Russian imperial movement – the Izborsky Club, led by Bogdat Țîrdea himself. The lack of information about the work and financing of the Russian imperial movement on the territory of the Republic of Moldova didn’t allow the Moldovan authorities to investigate the discrepancy between MP Țărdea’s wealth and property. It’s a pity and this error should be corrected because it’s not right for the Socialist MP to have the financial resources to build a house in the heart of Chisinau while reporting an annulled salary of about 20,000 lei.
It is also worth noting that the author of the mentioned compilation avoided writing about the work of the “Soluția” Foundation, which since 2011 has been working under the PSRM, without the sources from which it is financed being known. Or maybe the Socialist graphoman MP also suffers from amnesia? If he hadn’t suffered, he would have helped President Igor Dodon to find out who was financing the work of the Charity Foundation “Din Suflet”, led by the first lady, Galina Dodon. On the other hand, informed sources reported that one of the generous backers was the Russian Orthodox oligarch, Konstantin Malofeev, an active promoter of Russian imperialism. It’s a pity that the Moldovan authorities are not interested in the work of branches of particular Russian organizations on the territory of the country, especially since they have leaders with fascist views, such as Aleksandr Dugin, the author of the work “Fascism -Borderless and Red”. In fact, at the time of the publication of Țîrdea's compilation, the PSRM and Igor Dodon, who held the position of head of state, were at the helm of the country. Curiously, Igor Dodon is an expert of the Russian imperial movement and participated in the establishment of the branch of this imperial body in the Republic of Moldova. Who are yet considered foreign agents?
Who is to blame for NGOs’ involvement in promotion of public policies?
The Socialist leader’s objections towards the NGO community in the Republic of Moldova are very strange. The fact is that Țîrdea’s compilation clearly says who bears direct blame for the involvement of NGOs in public policies in the country: “This happened due to the fact that the Moldova-EU and Moldova-NATO action plans and also the Association Agreement with the EU were signed. This allowed NGOs to penetrate all the government bodies: Parliament, presidential administration, the National Anticorruption Center to monitor and conduct studies.” In such circumstances, the Socialist leader should clarify – who signed the documents mentioned by the graphoman Țîrdea? It’s not a difficult task for amnesiacs if they want to help.
So, the European Union – Republic of Moldova Action Plan was adopted by decision No.356 of February 22, 2005 by Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev, who was installed by the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM). The Tarlev Cabinet included the current leaders of the PSRM – Igor Dodon and Zinaida Grechanyi. Also, the Republic of Moldova – NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) was adopted by decision No.774 of 06.07.2006 of the same Tarlev Cabinet, and the decision was signed by the current honorary president of the PSRM, Zinaida Grechanyi.
Regarding the Association Agreement with the EU, it’s true that it was signed in 2014, when the PCRM was not in power, but it’s also true that the PCRM laid the foundations for signing that agreement, when Vasile Tarlev was no longer prime minister and was involved in the fight for the registration of the Association of Friends of Russia in Moldova. The decision on the obtaining the EU candidate status and the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU was adopted by the National Commission for European Integration (NCEI) on June 25, 2008 (see page 183): “On June 25, 2008, the meeting of the National Commission for European Integration (NCEI) took place in Chisinau and was attended by the President of the country and a number of European diplomats accredited in Chisinau. At the meeting, the head of state said that Moldova wants the future legal document that is to be negotiated with Brussels to take the form of an Association Agreement and provide a clear perspective of accession to the European Union.” In order to inform amnesiacs, it is useful to mention that according to the presidential decree No.1663-IV of 16.05.2008: the head of state Vladimir Voronin was the chairman of the NCEI, while Prime Minister Zinaida Grechanyi was the co-chairperson. Among the members was Deputy Prime Minister Igor Dodon. So, these are those to blame for the involvement of NGOs in the promotion of public policies as the mentioned documents expressly provided for cooperation with civil society.
Distortion of information on foreign agents
In addition to signing documents that he cannot remember, ex-president Igor Dodon distorts the information on the functioning of laws on foreign agents. In this regard, the ECHR judgment of June 14 2022, which said that Russia’s law on foreign agents violates the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights (Article 10), is relevant. The same will probably happen in the case of Georgia, if necessary. At the same time, references to a similar law, adopted in the U.S. back in 1938, are not relevant.
First of all, in the U.S. this law was adopted in connection with the existence in that country of the law on lobbying, which regulates the direct contact of possible foreign agents with state institutions. The need arose ahead of World War II, when bands of Cominternist and fascist spies were swarming in the U.S. and the Cominternists succeeded, anyway, in stealing the secrets of the Manhattan Project on the creation of nuclear weapons. Secondly, in the U.S., the burden of probing the activities of foreign agents, if they do not register as such, lies with the competent state institutions, which are obliged to prove that a person or institution is acting in the interests and for the benefit of another state. Respectively, in the U.S., civil society organizations working in the fields of human rights, democracy, rule of law, social assistance and receiving foreign funding are not required to register as foreign agents.
Returning to the situation in the Republic of Moldova, here, as in Georgia, the NGOs were invited by public institutions to co-participate in the European integration, as Socialist MP Țîrdea admits. So, normally, those who are invited to cooperate with state institutions cannot be labeled as foreign agents.
Causes of Socialist leader’s caution
As it was already mentioned, the PSRM leader doesn’t believe that in the Republic of Moldova it would be good to adopt any law on foreign agents, similar to those of Russia and Georgia, insisting only on maximum transparency in work and funding. Why is this happening? Probably, Igor Dodon understands that if such a law was adopted, then its first victim could be the Orthodox Church of the Republic of Moldova, which was separated from the Metropolitan Church of Moldova that was founded in 1381 and recognized by the Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1401 for being incorporated into the Moscow Patriarchate. About the current very specific relations between the Metropolitan Church of Chisinau and the Moscow Patriarchate we know from the letter of Metropolitan Bishop Vladimir, addressed to Patriarch Kirill, who supports the holy war of the Putin regime against the brotherly Ukrainian people.
In line with the aforementioned, it is interesting to look at the recent involvement of the Church in Armenia, which is not incorporated into the Russian Church, but which is actively involved in the political life of this country. Respectively, we see the reactions of the Armenian authorities. Recently, the Speaker of Armenia’s Parliament Alen Simonyan was forced to remind the public opinion that the church is engaged in business, but doesn’t pay taxes: “Stop playing with people’s emotions, our history, getting involved in politics already, going to raise money from the diaspora. Sell candles, Coca-Cola, wine, have restaurants, but don't pay taxes.”
Therefore, the conclusion is that the Church should concern itself with eternal values, not with mundane ones. Obviously, as a good Christian, even if he has pagan tendencies and believes in egg divination, Igor Dodon doesn’t want an eventual law on foreign agents to be adopted in the Republic of Moldova. It’s gratifying. There’s no doubt about it.
Recommendations
The initiative of the former President of the Republic of Moldova, Igor Dodon, to ensure transparency in the work of NGOs in the Republic of Moldova, is a salutary one and must be strongly supported. But in order to be credible in his approach, ex-president Igor Dodon should demonstrate that he complies with the provisions of the Law on Noncommercial Organizations, which he promulgated in 2020. In this regard, according to Article 7(3) of the mentioned law, and taking into account the memory gaps, we remind Igor Dodon that he has the obligation to publish, by the end of June each year, a report for 2022 and 2023 on the work of the noncommercial organization he leads – the Moldova-Russia Business Union, which was launched on February 22, 2022. It would be very important for the public opinion to find out about the successes of economic and commercial cooperation between entrepreneurs from Russia and Moldova, about the volume of Russian investments attracted to our country and also about his salary, which should be directly proportional to the attracted investments.
Also, within the mentioned initiative, by the deadlines set by the law on noncommercial organizations, it would be of great utility for the public opinion to be familiarized with the activity report, accompanied by a financial one, of the “Moldova Platform” led by the former governor of Gagauzia, Irina Vlah, who actively cooperates with Igor Dodon. Of course, of particular interest is the way of combining the civic and political activities of the “Moldova Platform”. It’s not clear why a public organization should concern itself with the unification of opposition political forces, which could be successfully dealt with by the 60 or so existing parties.
In general, all the noncommercial organizations in the Republic of Moldova should comply with the law and publish activity and financial reports, while the so-called civil society researchers should study and publish complex analyses, not biased ones with serious omissions, with the aim of manipulating public opinion and misinforming by omission.
