Press Release
on the organization of the debate “Resetting the anti-corruption system: needs and realities. The CSO Forum's Statement 'Simulation of the justice and anti-corruption reform'”, the 47th installment of the “Developing Political Culture through Public Debates” Series

Public debates series held by the news agency IPN in its conference room with the support of the German Foundation “Hanns Seidel”

Debate 47 brought together Lilia Carasciuc, executive director of Transparency International Moldova and signer of the Statement; Tudor Deliu, Liberal-Democratic MP; Arcadie Barbăroşie, director of the Public Policy Institute and signer of the Statement; and Igor Boţan, the Project's standing expert.

The topic was quite widely debated during the previous week, including during two 'national' conferences: one held by an NGO and another by the governmental National Anticorruption Center, both occasioned by the International Anti-corruption Day. After the introductory statements, discussions followed that were both opportune and useful, but which remained limited to a narrow, purely technical range of issues. For example, of the NAC Conference's 22 listed speakers, only one was a politician, and even so his role was limited to opening and closing the event that spanned one full day. This was unjustifiably inadequate, considering that the political factor plays a considerable, if not primordial role in this major challenge of Moldovan society. This was a gap that needed to be filled. The 47th debate was occasioned by the Statement adopted by Moldova's EaP Civil Society Forum titled “Simulation of the justice and anti-corruption reform”.

While the conclusions of the Statement have directly and indirectly emphasized the importance of the role played by the political factor in improving the situation in the anti-corruption area, the document has so far remained without a response from both the authorities and the political parties.

The speakers in the debate agreed the current anticorruption system needs to be re-formed, but this re-formation should be complex and genuine and should involve new upright political forces, selected out of the existent ones, which weren’t discredited. At the same time, all the theories concerning re-formation are nonsense because there is political control and interests within the captured institutions of the system. The current crisis can be overcome only through the pressure of the people who will harshly penalize the lack of political will at the possible early elections, which are a solution.

ADEPT executive director Igor Botan, who is the project’s standing expert, said the country is now robbed by those who promised the European integration and that the Republic of Moldova will have investments and will fight corruption. But these promises haven’t been delivered during six years. It’s not for the first time that mechanisms needed to overcome the current crisis are proposed. “This is the sixth attempt made to re-form the system, by the same parties and leaders, and this re-formation is useless if a veritable change in this mechanism is not made. It’s better to have early legislative elections and go through the voters’ purgatory than to implement the same mechanisms,” stated Igor Botan.

Arcadie Barbarosie, director of the Institute for Public Policy, said that a series of surveys showed that the people no longer trust the current political class because no political will is shown, the reforms and corruption fighting are simulated and what we see is a struggle for control over the state institutions. Society should wake up, react and push the politicians towards a correct direction. Going through the purgatory of elections is a solution and we should not be afraid of this exercise. The protests resulted in the creation of a new party, which can be an alternative for the people who want changes and wait for new political forces.

Lilia Carasciuc, executive director of Transparency International Moldova, noted that the state institutions are not politically controlled as they say, but were captured by narrow interests. Even if the political forces are changed, there is a risk that those persons who hold control will switch from one party to another. Not much is now said about the effect of corruption on democracy. In such conditions, there is a risk that we will live in a country where they forget what democracy is.

Liberal-Democratic MP Tudor Deliu said that complete anarchy is now witnessed in Moldova because all those who hold power do not realize that corruption is the biggest scourge and if the fight against it is simulated by all kinds of bills, this scourge will continue to affect society. The priorities included in the plans of action in time are mainly the same, but now the PLDM no longer wants to form a coalition for the sake of coalitions and will insist on the conditions it put forward earlier. The party will struggle to achieve these objectives even if early elections could take place and even if it could lose these because there is another greater risk – that of being penalized for being loyal to a noxious system.  

Member of the Political Bureau of the Liberal Reformist Party, ex-MP Valeriu Saharneanu said that for a rather long period we have witnessed the undermining of the law. The current power is no longer legitimate and society should resort to the most drastic legal measures to remove it. To ensure veritable re-formation, we need political will and each of those who come to power need to respect the Constitution and to show courage and express their dissatisfaction with the acts of corruption and wrongdoings. The purgatory of elections is a solution, but this thing should take place simultaneously with the freeing of the captive state institutions.

The Agency published 6 news stories on the debate (see the English version of www.ipn.md): on 14.12.15, “Current anticorruption system needs to be veritably and complexly re-formed, debate” - http://www.ipn.md/en/special/73574; “Tudor Deliu: We will insist on de-politicization even if we face early election and could lose these” - http://www.ipn.md/en/politica/73586; “Valeriu Saharneanu: Government does nothing but recruit new members who are blackmailable” - http://www.ipn.md/en/politica/73587; “Arcadie Barbarosie: Parties are businesses in which they invest and then make money” - http://www.ipn.md/en/special/73588; “Lilia Carasciuc: State institutions are not politically controlled, but were captured by narrow interests” - http://www.ipn.md/en/special/73589.

Valeriu Vasilica, director of IPN