Important
Moldova Weekly News Digest, 5 February 2017
-On February 2nd, the Moldovan President Igor Dodon proposed to make the date of February 2nd the day of Statehood Day of Moldova. As a true Moldovenist, he argues that the date is important for the Moldovan statehood- on 2 February 1365, the Moldovan Principality was founded by Bogdan I. Moreover, Dodon wants the old flag of the Principality to be established as an official symbol of the Republic of Moldova. The historian Octavian Țîcu commented that the Statehood Day proposed by Dodon would be an aberration, because the origin of the Moldovan state is uncertain and because Romania is the true heir of the Moldovan principality, resulting from the 1859 Union, while the current territory of Republic of Moldova was annexed by the Russian Empire.
Dodon also awarded 5 public persons with the order of “Bogdan, the Founder”: Vladimir Curbet- Head master of the National Folk Dance Group “Joc”; Eva Gudumac- University professor, Doctor of Medicine, member of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova; Leonid Talmaci- Former Governor of the National Bank of Moldova, who was previously proposed by Dodon’s Socialists’ Party for another term; Valentin Beniuc- University professor, Doctor of Political Sciences, announced his support for Dodon during the Presidential elections with other historians from association “Pro Moldova”; Viorel Mihail- writer, editor of “Săptămîna” newspaper, praised Dodon during the Presidential campaign.
President Dodon said that the awards for these persons are for exception merits in “developing and consolidating the statehood of the Republic of Moldova”.
-Moldova President Dodon discussed with Russian MPs on cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union. On January 30th, the President of Moldova, Igor Dodon, had a meeting with a delegation of 3 members of the Russian Duma led by Leonid Kalashnikov, head of the committee for CIS problems, Eurasian integraton and diaspora relations. 
The Moldovan President and the Russian lawmakers agreed to organize in March or April 2017 an event dedicated to the collaboration between the Eurasian Economic Union and Moldova. The event will probably focus on signing the memorandum of cooperation with the Union and offering the observer role to Moldova.
-András Tóth-Czifra writes for the Atlantic Sentinel that Moldova’s pro-Russian Igor Dodon is just a president of smoke and mirrors by overemphasizing his geopolitical position and ignoring the fight against corruption, illustrated now by the oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc:
In the debate that really matters, Dodon and Plahotniuc are on the same side. They are both part of a political system that helps them and that they are keen to preserve.
Moreover, Tóth-Czifra argues that the EU must win a normative, not just geopolitical contest in Moldova.
-In his article on Parallel dialogues between EU and Moldova and Russian-Eurasian factor, Dionis Cenușă stresses that the European Union will have to put conditionality first in the dialogue with the so-called “pro-European” Government, but also to improve public communication in order the anti-EU rhetoric of President Dodon:
The ramifications and augmentation of conditionality, improvement of communication with the public, and the personality of the next head of the EU Delegation in Chisinau arriving in the course of 2017, are going to have a major impact on the EU’s image in Moldova…and notably will Pirkka Tapiola’s successor after 2017 sustain where necessary tough criticism of the Moldovan government?
-16 cross-border partnerships between Moldovan and Ukrainian communities will share grants, a total amount of 3,3 million euros, for solving community challenges within the frame of Eastern Partnership Territorial Cooperation Programme (EaPTC). The 16 awarded projects are almost proportionally shared among the objectives and priorities of the Programme: improving the living conditions of local communities, addressing common cross-border challenges, education, culture and sport.
-The political parties of Moldova will receive 40 million lei from the state budget in 2017. According to the Central Electoral Commission, the funds will be directed to the parties according to their performance at the Parliamentary elections from 30 November 2014 and the local elections from 14 June 2015. A party will get 1,11 lei for every vote at the Parliamentary elections and 0,47 lei for every vote at the local elections.
The Liberal-Democratic Party will benefit the most by getting over 8,5 million lei. The Democrat Party and the Socialists’ Party will each get approximately 7,5 million lei. 5,7 million lei will go to the Communists’ Party and 4,5 million lei will be directed to the Liberal Party. The extra-parliamentary “Our Party”, whose leader Renato Usatîi is Bălți’s mayor, will get almost 2 million lei for the results in the 2015 local elections.
-On February 4th, the Austrian Foreign Minister and current Chairman of the OSCE, Sebastian Kurz, made a visit to Moldova to discuss the agenda of the Transnistrian conflict settlement, but also the bilateral relations between Austria and Moldova.
Kurz met the Moldovan Prime-Minister Pavel Filip. While the Austrian was more focused on condemning the current escalations of the Russian aggression in Eastern Ukraine, Filip stressed the importance of withdrawing the illegally stationed regular troops of Russia from the breakaway Transnistria. The Moldovan premier added that his Government would continue the policy of small steps in the process of negotiation with the separatist left bank, but would also seek to settle the legal status of Transnistria. In his turn, the OSCE Chairman supported a solution of keeping the Transnistrian region within the Republic of Moldova, emphasizing its central position in the agenda of the Organization.
Kurz also met with the Transnistrian party, represented by the so-called foreign minister Vitaly Ignatiev and the leader Vadim Krasnoselsky. Kurz told Krasnoselsky that OSCE priorities for 2017 are fighting terrorism and aggression, confidence building, conflict solving in the countries of the region, but also, more specifically, improving the life quality of people of Transnistria and Moldova. On the other side, Krasnoselsky assured the Austrian Chairman that Transnistria is a peace-loving country that wants to live in peace with its neighbors– Moldova and Ukraine.
-On January 26th, during his visit in Moscow, the so-called president of the separatist Pridnestrovian Moldovan Republic, Vadim Krasnoselsky, commented on the proposal of the Moldovan President Igor Dodon to have a referendum on the settlement and further integration. Krasnoselsky stressed that Transnistria had chosen its future in a referendum in 2006.
“In Transnistria, in 2006, the people expressed their willing to get independence and further integration in Russia. We don’t see the necessity of organizing another referendum on this question. Our nation decided.
Moldova as a sovereign country can organize as many referendums as it wants, it’s their internal thing. Transnistria already had this referendum”, declared the Transnistrian leader to the newspaper of the Federal Assembly of Russia.
-Transnistria asks Russia for a long-term loan of $130 million for “budget and fiscal reforms”. The so-called Finance Minister of the breakaway Transnistria, Irina Molokanova, recently had a meeting with the Russian Finance Minister, Leonid Gorchin, to ask for a long-term loan and expertise in fiscal and budget reforms. the Transnistrian Ministry of Finance promises to plan a reformation of the fiscal and budgetary system. But, “since the reforms take time”, the separatist government asked the Russian Government to offer a long-term loan of 130 million US dollars, methodological help and expertise for the changes in the budget and fiscal spheres.
-On February 2nd, hundreds of people of Gagauzia autonomy took to the streets of the local capital Comrat to celebrate 3 years from the referendum from 2014 on the independence and foreign policy of the region and Moldova.
-On February 2nd, the Ministry of Justice of Moldova published the project drafts of the new prison which is expected to be built in Chișinău. The project of the 1536 places prison has been made by the Dutch “Archivolt architecten bv” together with “Halmos Adviseurs bv” and “IGC Construct SRL”.
The project of the new prison, expected to be built near Bubuieci village of the Chișinău municipality and meant to replace the overcrowded 13th Penitentiary, is funded with a loan of 39 million euros from the Council of Europe Development Bank.
-Over 500 soldiers of the National Army of Moldova accepted the 22 Push-Up Challenge as a sign of solidarity with soldiers suffering from the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.
Officers and subofficers of the 22nd Peacekeeping Battalion, the Special Destination Battalion, the Guard Battalion, the students of the “Alexandru cel Bun” Military Academy, soldiers of the National Army and the peace-keepers of Kosovo-based KFOR mission, did 22 push-ups each and challenged their colleagues from the United States, Romania and KFOR mission.
Important
#WorldForUkraine – a map that shows the magnitude of the world’s actions against Russian aggression
The international community and volunteers from all over te world have launched #WorldForUkraine as a platform that shows the magnitude of the world’s actions against the Russian aggression. In a digital world – it is an interactive map of public support of Ukrainians under the hashtag #WorldForUkraine – rallies, flash mobs, protests around the world. In the physical dimension – it is your opportunity to take to the streets and declare: “No to Putin’s aggression, no to war.”
„Today, along with the political and military support, emotional connection with the civilized world and truthful information are extremely important for Ukraine. The power to do it is in your hands. Join the #WorldForUkraine project and contribute to the victorious battle against the bloodshed inflicted on Ukraine by the aggression of the Russian Federation”, says the „about the project” section of the platform.
Go to the streets — Tell people — Connect and Unite — Become POWERFUL
Volunteers have launched #WorldForUkraine as a platform that shows the magnitude of the world’s actions against Russian aggression. In digital world – it is an INTERACTIVE MAP of public support of Ukrainians worldforukraine.net under the hashtag #WorldForUkraine – rallies, flash mobs, protests around the world. In the physical dimension – it is your opportunity to take to the streets and declare: “No to Putin’s aggression, no to war.” There you may find information about past and future rallies in your city in support of Ukraine. This is a permanent platform for Ukrainian diaspora and people all over the world concerned about the situation in Ukraine.
So here’s a couple of things you could do yourself to help:
* if there is a political rally in your city, then participate in it and write about it on social media with geolocation and the hashtag #WorldForUkraine
* if there are no rallies nearby, organize one in support of Ukraine yourself, write about it on social media with geolocation adding the hashtag #WorldForUkraine
The map will add information about gathering by #WorldForUkraine AUTOMATICALLY
Your voice now stronger THAN ever
All rallies are already here: https://worldforukraine.net
Important
How is Moldova managing the big influx of Ukrainian refugees? The authorities’ plan, explained
From 24th to 28th of February, 71 359 Ukrainian citizens entered the territory of Republic of Moldova. 33 173 of them left the country. As of this moment, there are 38 186 Ukrainian citizens in Moldova, who have arrived over the past 100 hours.
The Moldovan people and authorities have organized themselves quickly from the first day of war between Russia and Ukraine. However, in the event of a prolonged armed conflict and a continuous influx of Ukrainian refugees, the efforts and donations need to be efficiently managed. Thus, we inquired about Moldova’s long-term plan and the state’s capacity to receive, host, and treat a bigger number of refugees.
On February 26th, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Moldova approved the Regulation of organization and functioning of the temporary Placement Center for refugees and the staffing and expenditure rules. According to the Regulation, the Centers will have the capacity of temporary hosting and feeding at least 20 persons, for a maximum of 3 months, with the possibility of extending this period. The Centers will also offer legal, social, psychological, and primary medical consultations to the refugees. The Center’s activity will be financed from budget allocations, under Article 19 of Provision no. 1 of the Exceptional Situations Commission from February 24th, 2022, and from other sources of funding that do not contravene applicable law.
The Ministry of Inner Affairs and the Government of Moldova facilitated the organization of the volunteers’ group “Moldova for Peace”. Its purpose is to receive, offer assistance and accommodation to the Ukrainian refugees. The group is still working on creating a structure, registering and contacting volunteers, etc. It does not activate under a legal umbrella.
Lilia Nenescu, one of the “Moldova for Peace” volunteers, said that the group consists of over 20 people. Other 1700 registered to volunteer by filling in this form, which is still available. The group consists of several departments:
The volunteers’ department. Its members act as fixers: they’re responsible for connecting the people in need of assistance with the appropriate department. Some of the volunteers are located in the customs points. “The Ministry of Inner Affairs sends us every day the list of the customs points where our assistance is needed, and we mobilize the volunteers”, says Lilia Nenescu.
The Goods Department manages all the goods donated by the Moldavian citizens. The donations are separated into categories: non-perishable foods and non-food supplies. The volunteers of this department sort the goods into packages to be distributed.
The Government intends to collect all the donations in four locations. The National Agency for Food Safety and the National Agency for Public Health will ensure mechanisms to confirm that all the deposited goods comply with safety and quality regulations.
The Service Department operates in 4 directions and needs the volunteer involvement of specialists in psychology, legal assistance (the majority of the refugees only have Ukrainian ID and birth certificates of their children); medical assistance; translation (a part of the refugees are not Ukrainian citizens).
According to Elena Mudrîi, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Health, so far there is no data about the number of Covid-19 positive refugees. She only mentioned two cases that needed outpatient medical assistance: a pregnant woman and the mother of a 4-day-old child.
The Accommodation Department. The volunteers are waiting for the centralized and updated information from the Ministry of Labor about the institutions offering accommodation, besides the houses offered by individuals.
The Transport Department consists of drivers organized in groups. They receive notifications about the number of people who need transportation from the customs points to the asylum centers for refugees.
The municipal authorities of Chișinău announced that the Ukrainian children refugees from the capital city will be enrolled in educational institutions. The authorities also intend to create Day-Care Centers for children, where they will be engaged in educational activities and will receive psychological assistance. Besides, the refugees from the municipal temporary accommodation centers receive individual and group counseling.
In addition to this effort, a group of volunteers consisting of Ana Gurău, Ana Popapa, and Andrei Lutenco developed, with the help of Cristian Coșneanu, the UArefugees platform, synchronized with the responses from this form. On the first day, 943 people offered their help using the form, and 110 people asked for help. According to Anna Gurău, the volunteers communicate with the Government in order to update the platform with the missing data.
Translation from Romanian by Natalia Graur
A new football club has earned a leading place in the UEFA Champions League groups and starred in the headlines of worldwide football news yesterday. The Football Club Sheriff Tiraspol claimed a win with the score 2-1 against Real Madrid on the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid. That made Sheriff Tiraspol the leader in Group D of the Champions League, including the football club in the groups of the most important European interclub competition for the first time ever.
International media outlets called it a miracle, a shock and a historic event, while strongly emphasizing the origin of the team and the existing political conflict between the two banks of the Dniester. “Football club from a pro-Russian separatist enclave in Moldova pulls off one of the greatest upsets in Champions League history,” claimed the news portals. “Sheriff crushed Real!” they said.
Moldovans made a big fuss out of it on social media, splitting into two groups: those who praised the team and the Republic of Moldova for making history and those who declared that the football club and their merits belong to Transnistria – a problematic breakaway region that claims to be a separate country.
Both groups are right and not right at the same time, as there is a bunch of ethical, political, social and practical matters that need to be considered.
Is it Moldova?
First of all, every Moldovan either from the right or left bank of Dniester (Transnistria) is free to identify himself with this achievement or not to do so, said Vitalie Spranceana, a sociologist, blogger, journalist and urban activist. According to him, boycotting the football club for being a separatist team is wrong.
At the same time, “it’s an illusion to think that territory matters when it comes to football clubs,” Spranceana claimed. “Big teams, the ones included in the Champions League, have long lost their connection both with the countries in which they operate, and with the cities in which they appeared and to which they linked their history. […] In the age of globalized commercial football, teams, including the so-called local ones, are nothing more than global traveling commercial circuses, incidentally linked to cities, but more closely linked to all sorts of dirty, semi-dirty and cleaner cash flows.”
What is more important in this case is the consistency, not so much of citizens, as of politicians from the government who have “no right to celebrate the success of separatism,” as they represent “the national interests, not the personal or collective pleasures of certain segments of the population,” believes the political expert Dionis Cenusa. The victory of FC Sheriff encourages Transnistrian separatism, which receives validation now, he also stated.
“I don’t know how it happens that the “proud Moldovans who chose democracy”, in their enthusiasm for Sheriff Tiraspol’s victory over Real Madrid, forget the need for total and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria!” declared the journalist Vitalie Ciobanu.
Nowadays, FC Sheriff Tiraspol has no other choice than to represent Moldova internationally. For many years, the team used the Moldovan Football Federation in order to be able to participate in championships, including international ones. That is because the region remains unrecognised by the international community. However, the club’s victory is presented as that of Transnistria within the region, without any reference to the Republic of Moldova, its separatist character being applied in this case especially.
Is it a victory?
In fact, FC Sheriff Tiraspol joining the Champions League is a huge image breakthrough for the Transnistrian region, as the journalist Madalin Necsutu claimed. It is the success of the Tiraspol Club oligarchic patrons. From the practical point of view, FC Sheriff Tiraspol is a sports entity that serves its own interests and the interests of its owners, being dependent on the money invested by Tiraspol (but not only) oligarchs.
Here comes the real dilemma: the Transnistrian team, which is generously funded by money received from corruption schemes and money laundering, is waging an unequal fight with the rest of the Moldovan football clubs, the journalist also declared. The Tiraspol team is about to raise 15.6 million euro for reaching the Champions League groups and the amounts increase depending on their future performance. According to Necsutu, these money will go directly on the account of the club, not to the Moldovan Football Federation, creating an even bigger gab between FC Sheriff and other football clubs from Moldova who have much more modest financial possibilities.
“I do not see anything useful for Moldovan football, not a single Moldovan player is part of FC Sheriff Tiraspol. I do not see anything beneficial for the Moldovan Football Federation or any national team.”
Is it only about football?
FC Sheriff Tiraspol, with a total estimated value of 12.8 million euros, is controlled by Victor Gusan and Ilya Kazmala, being part of Sheriff Holding – a company that controls the trade of wholesale, retail food, fuels and medicine by having monopolies on these markets in Transnistria. The holding carries out car trading activities, but also operates in the field of construction and real estate. Gusan’s people also hold all of the main leadership offices in the breakaway region, from Parliament to the Prime Minister’s seat or the Presidency.
The football club is supported by a holding alleged of smuggling, corruption, money laundering and organised crime. Moldovan media outlets published investigations about the signals regarding the Sheriff’s holding involvement in the vote mobilization and remuneration of citizens on the left bank of the Dniester who participated in the snap parliamentary elections this summer and who were eager to vote for the pro-Russian socialist-communist bloc.
Considering the above, there is a great probability that the Republic of Moldova will still be represented by a football club that is not identified as being Moldovan, being funded from obscure money, growing in power and promoting the Transnistrian conflict in the future as well.
Photo: unknown
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