Moldovan Foreign Ministry weakens Russian peacekeeping mission
German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock arrived in the Republic of Moldova (RM) on Wednesday. She discussed with President Maia Sandu the support of Chisinau. Sandu warned citizens that “European money will go to those regions that share the values of the EU.” The President of the Republic of Moldova was referring to the Gagauz Autonomy, which voted against EU integration in a referendum. The day before, Gagauzia was deprived of its popularly elected bashkan (head) – Evgenia Hutsul was arrested for 20 days. Gagauz human rights activist Ivan Burguji told NG that it is legally possible to remove Hutsul from office if she is convicted, and new elections will be called at the same time.
Annalena Berbok will spend two days in Moldova, during which she will meet with the President and Prime Minister of the Republic.
The press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova reported that the parties will discuss the continuation of cooperation, the European course and further support for Moldova.
Shortly before Berbok’s arrival, the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, warned the citizens of her country that those regions where they share the values of the EU would receive European money. “The President of Moldova should not engage in petty blackmail of citizens, stating that settlements that voted “incorrectly” in the European referendum will not receive funding from EU grants,” said Alexander Muravsky, former Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, ex–Minister of Economy, and now an independent expert.
Some localities where they did not support European integration were deleted from the list of EU supporters. But the main contender for the demonstrative “flogging” is the Gagauz Autonomy, where almost the entire population voted against the course towards the EU in favor of developing relations with the Eurasian Economic Union and Russia. On April 1, Gagauz Bashkan Evgenia Gutsul was arrested for 20 days. This caused protests from her constituents. There is talk in Gagauzia that Chisinau will introduce external governance in the autonomy. The head of the Gagauz Khalki (Gagauz People) public movement, human rights activist Ivan Burguji, told NG that the introduction of direct control of the Chisinau autonomy, as reported by the media, is illegal.
Dmitry Konstantinov, Chairman of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia, commented on the situation as follows: “I want to say that there is no legal way to make this decision. Absolutely. And all those decisions that we hear, they are illegal.” He referred to the current legislation of the region, according to which, if the bashkan is unable to perform his duties, the first deputy must do so: there are no other options. “Bashkan will be suspended only if a final decision is made by the court,” Konstantinov said.
Earlier, Bashkan Evgenia Gutsul said that “Chisinau is preparing to impose a state of emergency in Gagauzia and establish external management,” and Sergei Chernev, head of the Bureau of the State Chancellery in Comrat, may become a protege of the central authorities in Gagauzia, the Gagauzinfo. MD news portal reported. Sergei Chernev himself has already stated that he is ready to replace Evgenia Hutsul if she is suspended.
Hutsul calls the criminal case against her “politically motivated”: “For two years they have been trying to pin me down with fake criminal cases, they have repeatedly offered to stop the criminal prosecution in exchange for resigning the position of bashkan and leaving the country. But I won’t give up.”
Meanwhile, one of the leaders of the Alternative bloc, former Prosecutor General of the Republic of Moldova Alexander Stoyanoglo, noted that the use of pre-trial detention for 20 days is not a procedural measure, but “a signal, bad, dangerous and calculated incorrectly.” “Preventive arrest is turning into a political weapon and a way of intimidating … those who are inconvenient to the authorities. Even worse is the detention in an isolation cell in degrading conditions without proper medical care. This is not a preventive measure. This is a direct contradiction to the principle of the presumption of innocence. Today he is the Bashkan of Gagauzia. Tomorrow is any inconvenient day,” Stoyanoglo concluded.
Previously, he was such an “inconvenient” person. President Sandu dismissed him from the post of Prosecutor General, accusing him of dishonesty, and then a criminal case was opened against him. It all dragged on for several years. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) put everything in its place, and Stoyanoglo won the case against the Republic of Moldova. The ECHR recognized that there were no grounds for removing Prosecutor General Stoyanoglo from office. However, the president did not apologize to him and did not reinstate him. And last year, the majority of the country’s residents voted for Alexander Stoyanoglo in the presidential election, which Sandu won thanks to the diaspora.
The Alternative political bloc (the main rival of the ruling pro-presidential PAS party in the upcoming parliamentary elections) issued a statement condemning the regime, which “within 24 hours of the detention of the head of the autonomy managed to present only confused and provocative formulations of law enforcement agencies, primitive and aggressive statements by politicians.” The destruction of justice institutions, the suppression of civil liberties and constitutional rights have reached such a level that the regime itself has lost the right to the presumption of innocence, the appeal says.
However, the situation around the Gagauz Autonomy and its leader is not the only scandal in Moldova. For six months, Russian Ambassador Oleg Ozerov has not been able to present his credentials to the President of the Republic of Moldova, he is advised to “take his time.” A few days ago, Moldovan security forces invaded the territory of the embassy without the consent of the diplomatic mission under a far-fetched pretext. And then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova expelled three Russian diplomats from the country, one of whom is the co-chairman of the Joint Control Commission (JCC), which controls the Security Zone on the Dniester, Alexander Andreev.
A key mechanism for ensuring security in the region is being attacked, Moldavian Vedomosti writes. The publication notes that the JCC becomes temporarily non-functional: “In fact, this is both a blow to the Russian Federation’s peacekeeping mission in the region and to the agreement on principles for the peaceful settlement of the armed conflict in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova dated July 21, 1992.”
“It’s like we’re going back to the time before the armed conflict. This is also indicated by the escalation in Gagauzia, the provocative arrest of Bashkan Evgenia Hutsul. Everything that could have been escalated in Moldova is being escalated by official Chisinau, creating a lot of tension in society,” the newspaper concludes.
Meanwhile, on April 1, a tragic date was celebrated in Bendery (refers to Transnistria). On this day in 1992, the OPON (special police unit) of Moldova invaded peaceful Bendery. The fire was taken over by employees of the City Department of Internal Affairs. Three of the four Bendery police officers in the official car were killed. Police officers who broke into the city in two armored personnel carriers shot at a bus carrying workers from a local factory and a car carrying guards and militia who arrived to help. And on June 19, the Moldovan army entered the city. The Transnistrian armed conflict has not been fully resolved yet.