A number of representatives of civil society are indignant at the way in which a forum organized by several NGOs that aim to monitor the implementation of the Association Agreement with the EU was held on February 22. They said the forum was staged by NGOs” obedient to the power”, which promoted the policies of the current government, while the public organizations that have a more critical position weren’t invited. The issue was discussed in the talk show “Politics” on TV 7 channel, IPN reports.
Lilia Carasciuc, Transparency International Moldova director, said she wasn’t invited to the forum. “A lot of students were brought. The forum was held under the logo of the Eastern Partnership Civic Society Platform, but a number of organizations that form part of this platform, including the organization I represent, weren’t invited and involved,” she stated.
Civic activist Valeriu Pasa said the forum was organized in secret in order to polish the image of the government. “Not all the representative experts from these fields were invited, while the debate was held in secret. Some found out about it only one day before the event. They tried to manipulate and show that the Association Agreement is implemented appropriately,” said the activist.
Vladislav Gribincea, director of the Legal Resources Center, said he does not agree with the statement on the justice sector adopted in the forum. “Problems related to justice weren’t discussed in the forum. The participants were provided with a statement that was formulated by someone else earlier. I would have never signed such a statement as it does not correspond to the reality,” stated Gribincea.
Civic activist Sergiu Tofilat said inaccurate reports on justice, environment protection and energy security were presented in the forum. “CReDo director Sergiu Ostaf is now an expert in all the fields. I saw the report on energy security. Things have been distorted. They said nothing about the Tiraspol-based intermediary firm Energocapital. It was noted that for the first time in Moldova’s history last year, the electric power tariffs were decreased. Nothing is said about the necessity of de-politicizing the National Agency for Energy Regulation and the government’s control over this. The agenda of the forum included the presentation of a report by Victor Parlicov. But this wasn’t announced beforehand and wasn’t even invited,” stated Tofilat.
Sergiu Ostaf, one of the organizers of the forum, earlier told the press that it was a communication problem and thus more experts could not be invited to the debate.
