Ghenadie Valuța says he regrets his decision to chain a dog to the rear of his car and drive off, but what followed next has been “a vicious slur campaign” mounted by “non-traditional forces” to malign him and the Church itself. Giving his own account of events, the deacon said the dog had scared one of his young children, and under the impression of a recent case of a boy killed by rabies, he and the neighbors decided the animal had to be “evacuated.” Put inside the deacon’s SUV, the dog started “jerking itself free”, so the “owner” suggested they should chain it to the bumper. Ghenadie Valuța and the community members attending the news conference proposed opening Church-sponsored animal shelters. More than 25,000 people signed a petition demanding that Ghenadie Văluța be prosecuted for animal cruelty. Meanwhile the deacon was given a 1,200 lei fine, in addition to being suspended from his duties in an Anenii Noi church pending an ecclesiastical trial.
The Cabinet didn’t support the draft Parliament decision concerning the setting up of a working group for designing a bill on the modification of the Constitution so that this envisions the dismissal of MPs. The irrevocability of the parliamentary mandate is a generally accepted basic principle of European democracies that is promoted by the Venice Commission. In this connection, in its Resolution No.1303(2002) on the functioning of democratic institutions in Moldova, the People’s Assembly of the Council of Europe requested the Moldovan authorities to clearly stipulate in the legislation the principle of irrevocability of the parliamentary mandate. The Venice Commission estimated that the possibility of removing MPs by the voters or by parties is incompatible with the generally accepted traditional doctrine of representative democracy and is contrary to the European norms. The idea of reducing the number of MPs from 101 to 61 wasn’t supported either.
The meeting of the High Council of Prosecutors (CSP) has been postponed indefinitely for lack of quorum, after only 4 out of 12 members showed up on July 26. President Igor Dodon took to Facebook to express his frustration, noting that a recent legislative amendment explicitly gives to Parliament the prerogative of selecting candidates for Acting Prosecutor General before proposing them to the President. “I ask Parliament to propose candidates until July 31 the latest, so that I can appoint an Acting Prosecutor General no later than August 1,” wrote Igor Dodon.
The Special Operations Directorate of the National Investigations Inspectorate (INI) will be dissolved. Interior Minister Andrei Năstase said an internal evaluation has revealed some “very serious details” about how this Directorate was created and operated. Founded by order of the former head of the General Police Inspectorate Alexandru Pânzari, the Special Operations apparently had powers overlapping with other INI agencies. For example, illustrates the minister, the Special Operations took over the role of monitoring potential crimes against the state, whereas this is clearly the jurisdiction of the Security and Intelligence Service. Or, the Directorate was given the power of investigating first degree felonies, despite INI already having a Directorate One doing exactly that. “So a question begs itself, rhetorical of course, who was profiting from this Political Police force,” asked Năstase?
The Democratic group leader Dumitru Diacov has replaced his party colleague Pavel Filip in Parliament’s Standing Bureau after the latter stopped being group leader last week. Pavel Filip suggested he just needed a break: “Sometimes you need to step back and reflect on what is going on at the moment, before you go back and make decisions that can help out your team.”
“Yesterday the Cahul Court of Appeals judges treated the law like a joke,” declared Ilan Shor in a video posted on Facebook in reaction to the tribunal ordering him to be arrested as a fugitive from justice. The politician also affirmed he was a victim of threats and political persecution. According to Ilan Shor, a hearing was scheduled for July 19 and he intended to show up together with his lawyer. But a few days before the date, the lawyer was contacted by the Court and told that the hearing was off because one of the judges had gotten sick. When a new hearing was slated for July 25, says Shor, his lawyer requested another postponement “for personal reasons”, but got dismissed. According to Ilan Shor, “people these days are talking about the need of staging protest rallies against the dire situation in the country” and his party is ready to support this. “If the people ask it, I promise, the current government will not have a sweet life, because we will seek genuine justice and liberation,” declared Shor.
Fifty stands with different national organic products will be installed at 32 embassies of Moldova abroad and at head offices of partner and international organizations. The stands will contain processed food products, dried fruit and vegetables, tees and cans, honey, walnuts, cold-pressed oils, wines, cosmetic products, etc. These were certified as organic products and were selected according to the regulations worked out by the Investment Agency.
Ion Osipov, mayor of Popeasca village in Ştefan Vodă district, is asking President Igor Dodon for help because he is compelled by “abusive court orders” to sell a 2.8 ha plot of land in Popeasca with a market value of 3 million lei for just a fraction of the amount. During a press conference at IPN, the mayor denounced this as a “dispossession of Popeasca citizens of public property.” He accuses the court of passing a manifestly illegal ruling and says that all the law enforcement agencies have refused to initiate a criminal investigation into this case. After the Supreme Court of Justice pronounced a ruling in the claimant’s favor, Osipov says the President is now the last resort.
The Cabinet approved the appointment of three secretaries of state, Gheorghe Balan, Ianoș Erhan and Dorin Purice, at the Ministry of the Interior. Also, two secretaries of state were named at the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure: Ionela Costache will coordinate the economic diplomatic service, while Svetlana Dogotaru will be in charge of road building and urbanism. Also, a number of 65 persons with executive posts in the Government will be notified that their workplaces will be made redundant. These include 33 persons who hold posts of secretary general of state and secretary of state and 32 heads and deputy heads of local offices of the State Chancellery.
The Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices suspended the registration certificate for the injectable solution 100 UI/ml 10 ml N1 Strim (international common name: Insulinum glarginum). The number of reported side effects of this medicine in the recent period increased progressively, being also reported serious side effects. According to the Agency, the decision to suspend the certificate will immediately reach the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection, which is to pronounce on the further import and use of this type of drug nationwide.
Details on IPN!
