On August 21, IPN published an interview with the ex-President of Moldova Vladimir Voronin, chairman of the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova, on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of the declaration of Moldova’s independence. In the interview, the former President said he can’t see a clear development perspective for Moldova. The state institutions today have no right to be called democratic, but rather oligarchic and crooked. The independence period, except for the period of Communist rule, was marked by the “from worse to worse” tendency. “Much of the political class today is deeply corrupt and that’s about it. I can’t talk about the professional and other capacities of the political class, and I specifically mean the government here. Nothing matters as long as they are corrupt. The reasons of corruption are many, and I don’t just mean in the sense that they take money and stuff their pockets, but also in the sense that people are getting promoted to key posts based on party affiliation. These people are there to heed the boss’s orders rather than serve the people’s and country’s interest,” he stated.
The former Lib-Dem MP Chiril Lucinschi will spend at least 30 more days under house arrest, as decided by the Buiucani District Court on August 21. On August 1, the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office completed the investigation and sent to court the criminal case against Lucinschi, who was arrested two months ago for alleged fraud at Banca de Economii, Banca Sociala and Unibank. The former MP is accused of using intermediaries to launder large amounts of money through those banks. He is also accused of failing to properly declare his wealth. While pleading not guilty, Lucinschi faces 10 years in prison under the charges.
Moldovan President Igor Dodon is worried that the country is living in a state of alarm unparalleled in the previous 25 years, caused by the “fear of armed conflicts”. The opinion was shared in an interview for IPN on the eve of the anniversary of Moldova’s independence, which was published on August 22. He thinks the post-Independence period is “special in the history of the Moldovan people”, but is sad that there have been virtually no improvements felt by the people and labeled the massive emigration rate “a true national tragedy”. “I think that now, when the country, the political class and our society are all divided by opposed geopolitical currents, when people are caught in conflicts and enmity, there is only one wise solution – to focus on the development of Moldova, outside of any geopolitical discussions. We should put a ban on geopolitical debates in order to calm the spirits in society,” he stated. President Dodon also said that the only solution for us to survive as a sovereign and independent state is to stay away from this new geopolitical conflict, the outcome of which is uncertain. Moldova must remain neutral and develop mutually advantageous relations both with the East and the West.
Chisinau Court’s Judge Serghei Lazari on August 22 pronounced a judgment behind closed doors in the case of the ex-deputy economy minister Valeriu Triboi, ordering him to pay a fine of 750 conventional units, equivalent to 37,500 lei, or about $2,100, and repay the full damages. The charges brought against the former official included “abuse of power” and “damages caused to the state budget in particularly large amounts”. During 2014-2016, Valeriu Triboi abused his official capacity to buy a building from the state-run Moldtelecom, using intermediaries, and rent it out to the company Furnizarea Energiei Electrice Nord. Then he influenced the management of the company to spend 4 million lei on repairing the building, four times the price paid for the building itself.
The Moldovan authorities on August 23 asked the United Nations to include the withdrawal of foreign troops from its territory on agenda of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly opening on September 12. This was announced by Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu. Adopted on July 21, the Declaration stated that the continuous stationing of Russian troops and the strengthening of military presence in the eastern part of Moldova amounted to violations of the Moldovan Constitution, in particular its independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and permanent neutrality provisions, as well as of international law. It urged Russia to resume and finalize the process of withdrawing its troops, ammunition, armament and military equipment from Moldova’s territory, in conformity with its international commitments and relevant principles of international law. Shortly after the Speaker made the announcement, President Igor Dodon provided a reaction, describing this act as a useless PR action.
The Government on August 23 approved the list of winners of the 2017 National Awards. National Awards for Science were given to the following doctors and university professors: Dragoș Vicol, for researching phenomenology in culture; Gheorghe Baciu, for his contribution to the National Service of Legal Medicine; Dmitrii Parmacli and Alexandru Stratan, for researching the economic potential and efficiency of agriculture; and Gheorghe Postică, for researching medieval civilizations and for his studies to preserve cultural heritage. National Awards for Culture and Art were given to the following laureates: author and translator Teodor Chiriac, for his literary achievements; composer Leon Ştirbu, for lifetime achievements; musician and singer Iurie Sadovnic, for lifetime achiemevements; theater director and actor Alexandru Cozub, for the originality of his plays and for innovative theatrical management; and film director and screenwriter Igor Cobileanschi, for his substantial contribution to the quality of Moldovan film. Olympic champion Larisa Popova got a National Award for Sports for her lifetime achievement and for promoting the Olympic movement. The Award comes with a money prize of 100,000 lei.
Prime Minister Pavel Filip said he was, is and will remain an active and engaged supporter of the return to Europe. “We do not rediscover the wheel. We should only be able to determine where our place is according to the used and shared values and where there is an authentic interest for Moldova to succeed,” the Premier states in an interview with IPN on the occasion of 26 years of independence, which was published on August 24. “The people want what they always wanted, legitimately: higher incomes, jobs, better hospitals and better equipped schools with sufficient and well-trained teachers. In general, they want a state that would solve their problems, but would not create new problems. During the last few years, as we know very well, many Moldovans left the country because they lost hope that everyone has a chance and can have a decent life near the family at home, in Moldova. There is yet a big fear of the future. The people do not trust each other and optimism is absent. The way in which the people behave towards the politicians and those who hold posts of public responsibility is what makes a difference now. The people are very critical and have bigger expectations of those who they elect to public posts. This is normal,” stated Pavel Filip.
IPN on August 25 published a summary of the Symbols of Independence in its view. Among the symbols are the Great National Assembly of August 27, 1991 and the Declaration of Independence, Presidents of the Republic of Moldova, armed conflict on the Nistru of March 2, 1992, Moldova’s acceptance into the UN, protests against governments during 25 years, admission to the Commonwealth of Independent States on April 26, 1994, Moldova’s entry into the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly on July 13, 1995, with the Republic of Moldova being the first post-Soviet state to do this and becoming the 36th member state, adoption of the song “Our language” as the national anthem of the Republic of Moldova. This was written by Alexei Mateevici, the music was composed by Alexandru Cristea and the song was arranged by Valentin Danga. Among other symbols are the official language, national currency, which is the Moldovan leu, decision of the Istanbul OSCE Summit of November 22, 1999, when Russian Federation, as the successor of the Soviet Union, was obliged to pull out its troops that were deployed in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova in the Soviet period, until January 1, 2003, the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, which was adopted by Parliament on July 29, 1994 as the main political-legal instrument that enshrined the separation from the totalitarian regime, offering the country a new constitutional order, liberalization of the visa regime with EU on April 28, 2014, Association Agreement between Moldova and the European Union that was signed on June 27, 2014 and took effect on a temporary basis on September 1, 2014 and definitively on July 1, 2016, migration and massive remittances, Russia’s bans, “Theft of the century”, arrests among “high-ranking officials” and the electoral system change.
President Igor Dodon on August 25 received the credentials of three new ambassadors. These are the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany Julia Monar, Ambassador of India Ramesh Chandra and Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates Salem Ahmed Salem Ali Al Kaabi.
Selection by Sabina Rebeja, IPN
