The general director of the Interethnic Relations Agency (IRA) Vyacheslav Ryabchinski considers that the Romanian language must be the language of interethnic communication in the Republic of Moldova. According to him, 25% of the Russians living in Moldova speak or know Romanian. The situation is more difficult in Gagauzia because only 10% of the Gagauz speak and know Romanian. The topic was discussed at IPN’s public debate "Promoting European values in interethnic relations".
Vyacheslav Ryabchinski said research data show that 92% of the population has a benevolent attitude towards ethnic minorities. "I mean, if you ask Moldovans who they would like to be their neighbor, they will say that the nationality does not have any importance. The main thing is to be a good person. This is the answer," said the director of the Interethnic Relations Agency.
He noted that in Moldova, there is a problem of conservation of regions. "The Gagauz have isolated themselves in their autonomous unit, the Bulgarians – in their district, the Ukrainians are spread all over the Republic of Moldova. And, unlike other ethnic groups, they live more in villages, being also separated in those localities. Moreover, the schools teach in Russian," said the IRA director.
According to him, when Ukrainians from villages come to district centers, where the linguistic environment changed radically – more and more people start to speak Romanian – they feel this linguistic discomfort, after which this feeling of discrimination, of non-acceptance appears.
Vyacheslav Ryabchinski reminded that the Republic of Moldova signed the Framework Convention for the Protection of Ethnic Minorities in 2002. And since 2002, Moldova has been under the monitoring of the Council of Europe in terms of implementation of policies in the field of ethnic minorities.
"We already have the fifth report on the assessment of the situation of ethnic minorities in the Republic of Moldova. The report notes an improvement in the situation of interethnic relations. On the other hand, the report suggests particular measures that the Republic of Moldova must take to improve the situation," said the IRA director.
Among the recommended measures is to ensure a mechanism for the representativeness of ethnic minorities in decision-making institutions. The financial support for ethnic communities is also mentioned.
Vyacheslav Ryabchinski believes that the well-being of the Republic of Moldova must be a priority for everyone and this fact must also be realized by the ethnic communities.
"We have to take care of each other. If we move to such a principle at the national level, it will be very good," stated the Agency’s director.
The public debate entitled "Promoting European values in interethnic relations" was staged in the framework of the project "IPN News Agency for Social Cohesion and a Pro-European Moldova", which is funded by IMS.
