No matter what they say about the Republic of Moldova, the country had yet a path that can be emphasized. Despite the existing hostilities, including the putsch staged in August 1991, the Republic of Moldova had courageous people who in those moments signed the Declaration of Independence, Igor Boțan, IPN project’s standing expert, said in a public debate entitled “Independence: steps forward and steps backward, in view of parties that held and hold administrative posts in the state”. He reminded that the Republic of Moldova was the last of the republics in the European area of the USSR that declared its independence without holding a referendum. “A group of courageous people did it and we should thank them for their courage,” stated the expert.
According to him, the first period of the Independence was influenced by the national renaissance movement that was also promoted by very courageous and respectable people from the first Parliament. The second period, of 1994 – 1998, was also very interesting. Pragmatics from the Agrarian Democratic Party came then to power and these people should also be respected for their pragmatism and for adopting the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, which was the most important merit of the second period. The European course started namely then and this is an important aspect of that period. The then President sent two letters to the President of the European Commission for Moldova to be accepted as a candidate for EU membership. The foreign policy conception was another important document adopted by the Agrarians. This says that special attention will be devoted to the cooperation with Romania and to Moldova’s integration into the European community.
Igor Boțan said later the Government was headed by Ion Sturza, who brought the barter economy in Moldova to an end. The country switched over to normal economic relations and could form a budget and stopped paying salaries and pensions in galoshes and food products. The next Premier Dumitru Bragiș didn’t change Moldova’s policy aimed at the European integration.
As to the eight-year rule by the Party of Communists, the expert said this party came to power after promising that Moldova will join the Russia – Belarus Union. But in a year and a half President Vladimir Voronin signed the decree on the European integration of Moldova. This foreign policy course began to take shape in the period of the first Parliament.
Igor Boțan reminded that the Moldova – EU Plan of Action was signed on February 22, 2005 and the European integration course was reaffirmed on June 16, 2009. The so-called integration period started. On March 24, 2010, Moldova was classed as a success story at a forum in Brussels. Assistance of billions of euros was announced for Moldova to help it implement a medium-term reformation program. The success story was confirmed on March 11, 2011 by the U.S. Vice President Joe Baden’s visit to Chisinau.
“In 2013, the period that continues nowadays started and we don’t know what this story will end with, but we are before the Independence Day festivities and I will probably not speak about said things,” stated the expert.
“The Republic of Moldova was born as a result of the secret protocols of 1939 and the European integration of the Republic of Moldova was undermined by the signing of secret protocols by parties that called themselves pro-European,” concluded Igor Boțan, making reference to secret documents by which the components of the ruling alliances shared control over the state institutions.
The debate “Independence: steps forward and steps backward, in view of parties that held and hold administrative posts in the state” forms part of the series of public debates that are staged by IPN Agency and Radio Moldova within the project “Developing political culture by public debates” that is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany.
