The official Chisinau is late in establishing a dialogue with the authorities of Gagauzia, where a referendum is to be held with the aim of slapping the central authorities so as to attract their attention to the regional problems and the demands of society. The issue was discussed in the public debate “Chances of a civilized dialogue between Chisinau and Comrat and its dangerous alternatives” that was staged by IPN Agency.
Liberal-Democratic MP Valeriu Ghiletski said that from the viewpoint of the Liberal Democratic Party and the government coalition, the Gagauz authorities’ intention to hold a referendum has three serious faults. The first is the legality of the referendum; the second is its relevance and necessity, while the third is the political aspect. It is evident that by this referendum they try to obstruct Moldova’s European course. However, a dialogue is necessary and possible.
Fiodor Gagauz, deputy of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia representing the United Gagauzia faction, said the situation is worsened artificially in order to affect the image of the autonomous unit. “We understand that the central authorities have the prerogative to choose the external development course, but consider that the regions can influence this option. I want to underline that the referendum on the country’s foreign course is consultative in character,” he stated, adding the Moldovan authorities can convince the authorities of Gagauzia to give up holding the plebiscite, but nothing serious will happen if the referendum is held. Fiodor Gagauz added that no serious dialogue took place between Chisinau and Tiraspol during 19 years.
Communist MP Artur Reshetnikov considers that establishing a dialogue is the only way of solving this situation. “We think there is no alternative. Such a dialogue with Comrat should have been established last year. A dialogue must have been held with the people before the initialing of the Association Agreement with the EU. We, the Communists, agree that the situation is tense, but this is due to the lack of a dialogue that should have been established by the government,” he stated.
Mihail Sirkeli, executive director of the Comrat Youth Center “Piligrim-Demo”, said the cause for the developments in Gagauzia should be looked for not in Comrat or Moscow, but in Chisinau. “The central power does not consider it necessary to discuss what they do with the regions. Referendums were proposed one year ago. But the official Chisinau discusses nothing. There is a myth about Moldova’s union with Romania and this myth is maintained as the central authorities do not talk to the people who are afraid of this union. Chisinau should have reacted when the first actions were taken. A lot of problems accumulated,” he stated.
Executive director of the Association for Participatory Democracy ADEPT Igor Botan said the Gagauz authorities know that the largest part of the population in Gagauzia is for integration into the Eurasian union and it’s no use holding a referendum whose outcome is known. The goal of these actions is rather to slap the central authorities. No court will validate the referendum results. The Gagauz people should not be afraid of the statements about the union made by Romanian President Traian Basescu. They should ask him to say what the status of Gagauzia will be after a possible union.
The debate “Chances of a civilized dialogue between Chisinau and Comrat and its dangerous alternatives” is the 25th of the series “Development of political culture by public debates”, which is supported by the German foundation “Hanns Seidel”.
