At the international level, the situation with the expulsion of Turkish teachers characterizes the Republic of Moldova by the word “shame” as the action was a shameful act of injustice against the teachers and their families, Ion Manole, executive director of the Promo-LEX Association, stated in IPN’s public debate “Two years of expulsion of Turkish teachers. Lessons learned and lessons to be learned”.

Ion Manole drew a parallel between the case of the Turkish teachers and the cases of kidnapping and illegal transportation of persons in the Transnistrian region that is under a separatist regime. “We try to draw attention to problems and phenomena that exist in the Republic of Moldova, on a territory that is not controlled by the constitutional authorities. We want to prevent a repeat of those situations. When the constitutional authorities act as the authorities from the left bank of the Nistru do, it’s hard to say who is more legitimate,” he stated.

The director of Promo-LEX noted that society in Moldova should mobilize by the model of the citizens who mounted protests in Belarus. The people should realize that their daily behavior generates a society.

In another development, Ion Manole said civil society in the Republic of Moldova reflects the state of affairs in the whole society and this is probably regrettable as this unites only when a serious situation is witnessed, as it happened on April 7, 2009 and in other difficult situations.

“From my viewpoint, we were unable to mobilize so as to be near these victims and their families during two years. I say it with regret. On the other hand, I realize that there are few real nongovernmental organizations that become involved. We need activists and NGOs to lend a hand,” stated Ion Manole.

The public debate “Two years of expulsion of Turkish teachers. Lessons learned and lessons to be learned” was the 150th installment of the series of debates “Developing political culture through public debates” that are supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation.