On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the declaration of Moldova’s Independence, IPN News Agency decided to depict the portrait of the current Republic of Moldova. For the purpose, it challenged a number of people, including state officials, politicians, businessmen, civil rights activists and persons without posts and titles, but who have what to say. The generic picture is entitled “Thoughts about and for Moldova”.
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The head of the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova, Viorel Cibotaru: Even if the Russian Federation’s troops today have a more limited role, they serve as a symbol of occupation and are a serious obstacle in our transition from an autonomous Soviet republic into an independent country.
– How do you see Moldova after 25 years of independence?
– Moldova had to choose between several conflicting paths. One option was to strengthen the Moldovan state as an independent country, a member with full rights of the international community and the UN. Another one was to join a reformed and restructured version of the Soviet Union. We partly subscribed to this project by joining the Commonwealth of Independent States in 1994. Another option was to unite with Romania. This was an expression of our culture, of an unfulfilled historical dream, but with few real political or geopolitical consequences.
These choices have marked the first years of independence. Even though we overcame these moments, they continue to be a hot topic of debate and influence present political processes. On one side, we have a nostalgic part of society who wants to be part of the so-called family of peoples of the Soviet Union. On the other side, some are nostalgic about the unification in 1918 of the Democratic Moldovan Republic with Romania and hope to be part of Romania again. Then we have some unsolved issues that slow us down like a rock tied to our neck. I mean the Transnistrian conflict and the presence of Russian troops on Moldovan soil. Even if today they have a more limited role, they serve as a symbol of occupation and are a serious obstacle in our transition from an autonomous Soviet republic into an independent country.
– Do you see any solutions?
– We have little power to influence geopolitical process, but at least to strengthen the Moldovan state, we need two essential things: the withdrawal of Russian troops and to change the status of these occupied territories with a special constitutional provision. On the other hand, we need to intensify our natural integration within the larger pan-European globalization process, especially by getting closer to Romania, our neighbors who are already members of the EU and NATO. It’s natural that Romania should accompany us during our European integration, because we are part of the same people, of the same nation, and share a common history and the dream of living together.
When the national political class shows cohesion, when everyone’s efforts are focused on issues of national importance, when politicians actually concentrate on tasks that are vital, then nothing is impossible. However, our political class is undermined by a high level of corruption and allowed an oligarch to capture the government institutions and use them for his clan’s evil purposes, to the detriment of state interests. This is a huge problem that became a systemic one. As long as we don’t solve it, the external circumstances, which are not favorable to the strengthening of Moldovan statehood might, might lead to the disappearance of Moldova as an independent country.
– How can we get out of this situation?
– The simplest and most recommendable way are the elections, by supporting political forces that can implement reforms towards the de-oligarchization of the government regime. We need to change the political forces that are governing us. Things have gotten so bad that people realized the danger and started a protest movement. And the protesters are mostly supporters of the government parties, not of the opposition. I don’t rule out a new peak of people’s unhappiness with the government. The people may not be on the streets today, but the protest spirit is still there.
The Liberal Democratic Party thinks that a joint candidate of the rightist opposition parties for this fall’s parliamentary elections is one the best ways to change the regime, the government, to bring reforms that would de-oligarchize and liberate the state institutions. Then we can continue European reforms within the Association Agreement framework. Such an effort would allow Moldova to became an independent, able state, integrated in the European and Euro-Atlantic system.
– Who can be the candidate that will win the people’s votes and what are your expectations about the upcoming elections?
– A president must meet all the constitutional requirements and be a person with great political experience, who can lead this movement to liberate state institutions, get rid of oligarchs and fight against corruption. These must be the priorities of the next president. All the other tasks emerge from the president’s role as guarantor of the Constitution.
Even though this formula of announcing presidential elections doesn’t fit with my understanding of the Constitution, one way or another it met the people’s expectations. Voters want the president to be elected by the people directly. How does this fit with our political system, are we becoming again a half-parliamentary, half-presidential republic, it’s a separate discussion.
We will monitor the electoral process and will not allow the attempt to rig the elections, which already underway, to become a major electoral fraud. What I mean is that government representatives have already started working in the districts, preparing for early elections, influencing future electoral commissions, the way funding for parties will be alloted, etc. Everything indicates that the Democratic Party is already violating the Electoral Code. We will denounce them, appeal to the Central Electoral Commission and do our best to ensure that the ballot will be fair, transparent and honest.
– Let’s return to our main topic – the Independence. According to you, which are the country’s main achievements and failures?
– The main achievement is the continuation of the geo-historical self-identification of the people living in Moldova, realizing that we are Europeans. The second biggest achievement is the civic education of people. It may not be something obvious at first sight, but it’s a process going on for several decades during which our way of life and thinking have changed. However, this should not affect our traditions, which pretty specific.
Our failures are related to our achievements. Our movement towards pro-European integration made Moldova a country open towards commerce and the movement of people. But when most of your state institutions don’t work in accordance with the rules of good governance, even the slightest attempts to undermine the independence of the country become very efficient. We saw, after the attack on the banking system, how Moldova can be transformed into a “laundromat” for dirty money. The way “the billion” was stolen from our state reserves shows how fragile our institutions are. They were defeated by the first raider attack and endangered the existence of our country.
Moldova is dependent on the conditions imposed by other players, it is dependent on foreign aid and assistance, especially from the West. On the other hand, it’s dependent on the Russian military occupation and on Russian continuous interference in our domestic politics. Moldova is thus vulnerable to a lot of negative phenomena and cannot react in a decisive and timely manner to attempts from abroad to direct our lives in a way contrary to our wishes.
– How do you see our country in 10 years?
– I don’t think we’re going to move to Asia, Australia or the North Pole in 10 years. We’re still going to be here, in the center of Europe. I wish to see a civilized country that would make it into the top 50 positions of any international rankings, whether we’re talking about the national development report, the GDP per capita charts, or about how human rights are respected. I want us to be in the top 50 most developed countries, this is my dream.
Today, countries join in big groups. The most successful one and the most practical for us is the European Union. I believe that in the EU, we won’t only survive as a country, but we’ll develop as a nation and offer our people the highest quality of life.
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Viorel Cibotaru has been the head of the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova since June 18, 2016. He previously worked as a journalist and political pundit, then served as Minister of Defense in the Gaburici Cabinet.
Anastasia Rusu, IPN
The articles of the series “Thoughts about and for Moldova” started to be published on July 18. Among the protagonists are: Dumitru Alaiba, Iurie Ciocan, Ana-Maria Tulea, Ion Manole,Olga Gagauz, Stella Ciobanu, Iurie Leanca, Victor Parlicov, Doru Curoşu, Igor Meriacre, Valeria Seican, Ciprian Raetski, Andrei Nastase Ghenadie Gilca, Arcadie Barbarosie,Valeriu Matei, Eugen Doga, Dumitru Postovan, Petru Macovei, Tatiana Negrus, Maia Sandu, Viorel Soltan, Valentin Gutan, Gheorghe Erizanu, Nicolae Botgros, Igor Dodon, Iulia Iabanji, Mariana Onceanu Hadarca, Aureliu Batranac, Viorel Cibotaru, Eugen Bendilic, Petru Bodarev, Sergiu Prodan, Gheorghe Erizanu etc. When contacted, Nicolae Timofti, Andrian Candu, Pavel Filip, Marian Lupu, Vladimir Voronin, Mihai Ghimpu, Renato Usatyi, Valeriu Turea and others also agreed to give interviews.
