Press Release
on the organization of the debate ”Independence-30: Subjective view on the state of the nation”. Public debates series held by the news agency IPN in its conference room with the support of the German Foundation “Hanns Seidel”

Held on 23 August 2021, Debate No.202 brought together: Pavel Borșevschi, parish priest of the Church "Saint Dumitru" in Chișinău, Anatol Țăranu, doctor of history and signer of the Declaration of Independence and Igor Boțan, IPN project’s standing expert.

Igor Boțan, a permanent expert on the project, said that when talking about independence, state sovereignty should also be taken into account. This is the supreme power, which is an inalienable legal attribute of an independent state. "Sovereignty symbolizes political and legal independence, the supreme responsibility for the territory that belongs to the state in question, based on common values, which the citizens share. Sovereignty also denotes the primary subject status of international law of the state in question and the exclusive supremacy of state power implies disobedience to the power of any other state", the expert said. According to him, if states are sovereign, they can either decide to be totally independent or to cede part of their sovereignty. Specifically, to give up their independence by joining different confederations.

Igor Boțan said that currently national sovereignty is being eroded by the process of globalization and the strengthening of mutual ties and interdependence between states, such as the European Union. "From a political point of view, independence characterizes various principles and institutions of constitutional law. Independence implies sovereignty, separation of powers, the legal status of an individual and the status of judges in that community", said the expert.

Anatol Țăranu, signatory of the Declaration of Independence and doctor in history, said that the independence of a state implies the existence of certain conditions for this state. An independent state, which was created as a result of a natural historical process, is a state which forms around a nation. The nation is the community of people, that provides stability and give an element of legality in the factual sense of things for the existence of an independent and sovereign state. "Along the way, states with a vague and less established national element emerged. From this point of view, we can talk about interdependencies that exist as a result of external and internal circumstances regarding the establishment of an independent and sovereign state", Anatol Țăranu said.

In his opinion, the nation-state or nation-state element is very important. In Europe, where Moldova is located, the nation-state has been a reality since the 17th-19th century. "The 19th century marked history as the 'century of nations'. The nation states were created then, which determines the political physiognomy of Europe to this day", said Anatol Țăranu.

Pavel Borșevschi, parish priest at "Saint Dumitru" Church in Chișinău, said that over time, the church, in fact, has not changed in any way, "because it has nothing to change, because Christ is democratic from the very beginning, when he said: "I have not come to be served, I have come to serve you and to give you what I can", which is very important. Today, some try to argue that the Church must change, without actually delving into the essence of the Orthodox Church dogma. In fact, the greatest Christian virtue in the Orthodox Church is what we have lacked from the beginning – thought and discernment. Without discernment, good deeds don't exist", said Pavel Borșevschi.

The parish priest said that, as a young man, when Independence was proclaimed, he thought that everyone would stay at home and "carry out this Independence". However, some took advantage of the fact that the borders were opened and left. Others tried to get rich from the so-called wealth of the kolkhozes and sovkhozes and divided the farms and vineyards into pieces and sold them to each other. Afterwards, bribery, and other forms of corruption began to appear. "I am very glad that those who were born in a different time have now come to Parliament, those who have tasted democracy in countries that were once Christian and European. And I hope that Christianity will still be able to save Europe. Because we import culture from there. We have nothing to question and nothing to change - the Bible is still relevant today", said Pavel Borșevschi.

The Agency published 4 news stories on the debate (see the English version of www.ipn.md): on 23.08.21, „Independence-30: Subjective view on the state of the nation, IPN debate”- https://www.ipn.md/en/independence-30-subjective-view-on-the-state-of-the-nation-8004_1083931.html; „Igor Botan: Moldova's independence is circumstantial” -  https://www.ipn.md/en/igor-botan-moldovas-independence-is-circumstantial -8004_1083936.html ; „ Fr. Pavel Borșevschi: There's no political culture in Moldova” - https://www.ipn.md/en/fr-pavel-borsevschi-theres-no-political-culture-in-moldova-8004_1083938.html , „Anatol Țăranu: Moldova lacks national identity” - https://www.ipn.md/en/anatol-taranu-moldova-lacks-national-identity-8004_1083939.html.

Valeriu Vasilica, director of IPN