Separatist leader willing to meet with new Moldovan authorities

Igor Smirnov, President of the separatist Transnistrian Moldovan Republic in Eastern Moldova, said today during a press conference that he is ready to talk to the new Moldovan authorities when they are elected.

Mr. Smirnov added that Mihai Ghimpu, the newly-elected Speaker, "considers himself to be a Romanian" and that he had a meeting with the official in 1989. Mr. Smirnov is essentially referring to Mr. Ghimpu's participation in the pro-Romanian national front movement at the end of the 1980s that contributed to the downfall of the Soviet Union.

The spearatist leader stressed, however, that he would only negotiate with Chisinau if Moldovan authorities accept the fact that "the choice of the Transnistrian people is an independent state."

Moldova fought a short but bloodly civil war in 1992, as a result of which Transnistria broke away and formed its own country. The region, which hosts most of Moldova's heavy industry, is not recognized by any country in the world, but receives financial and political support from the Russian Federation. For example, Russia donated 14 million U.S. dollar to the region between 2007 and 2008, and many Russian State Duma officials often visit Transnistria.

Communists: We will not show up to second meeting of Parliament on September 2

Party of Communists (PC) officials have said that they will not attend the second meeting of the Parliament, scheduled by the ruling Alliance for European Integration for September 2.

PC representative Mark Tkaciuk, said that "we asked for a break until September 4, which is when we're going to show up for a meeting. We don't know what's happening on September 2, we don't know about any meeting."

During the first meeting of the legislature last week, the PC asked for a ten-day break and then left. The ruling Alliance continued the session and elected Liberal head Mihai Ghimpu as Speaker. The PC has announced that it will contest the legality of this appointment and of the continuation of the meeting in general.

h/t www.stireazilei.md
www.jurnal.md

Moldova celebrates Romanian Language Day today

Moldova is celebrating Romanian Language Day today, a rather unique holiday to honor the return to the use of Latin script twenty years ago.

During the Soviet Union, Romanian was written in cyrillic and was called Moldovan.

The controversy over the name of the language continues today. The Constitution says that Moldovans speak "Moldovan written in Latin script" despite the fact that every schoolchild in the country officially learns Romanian.

In addition, many continue to use the term "Moldovan." The Party of Communists has been a big proponent of this approach, emphasizing that a country can pick the name of its language despite the fact that some of its leaders have acknowledged the language's virtual similarity with Romanian.

The four leaders of the ruling Alliance for European Integration seem somewhat divided over this issue. The heads of the three liberal parties - the Liberal Democrats, the Liberals, and Moldova Noastra - called the language "Romanian" today, while Democratic Party head Marian Lupu, who recently defected from the Communists, did not want to specify what he calls the language.

Whatever the term is, however, Alliance members and other civil society activists and intellectuals have complained that the language of the majority population in Moldova is often underused and that Russian still dominates a large part of the public sphere.

h/t www.stireazilei.md

Public Television station refuses to give Alliance requested airtime, claims "technical difficulties"

Moldovan Public Television head Adela Raileanu told Jurnal de Chisinau that her company cannot give airtime to the ruling Alliance for the European Integration because of "technical difficulties."

The Alliance asked for an hour of primetime to be able to send an "unaltered message" to the Moldovan people after it voted in a Speaker today and announced the distribution of leadership seats (the President will be nominated by the Democrats, while the Prime Minister will come from the Liberal Democrats).

Ms. Raileanu also said she cannot make a decision about broadcasting legislative meetings live, which the Alliance also asked for. She said only the Public Television Council of Observers or the television station's administration can make that call.

The four parties making up the Alliance for European Integration have often criticized Moldovan Public Television for being biased in favor of the Party of Communists.

Democrats to get Presidency, Liberal Democrats to appoint Prime Minister

Newly-elected Speaker Mihai Ghimpu said that the Alliance for European Integration has decided on the distribution of leadership seats.

The Democratic Party will get the Presidency, while the Liberal Democrats will be the ones to pick a Prime Minister.

Mr. Ghimpu would not say what position has been given to the Moldova Noastra [Our Moldova] Alliance, the fourth member of the ruling coalition.

h/t www.stireazilei.md

Democrats ask Public Television and Public Radio to broadcast legislative meetings live

The Democratic Party, a member of the Alliance for European Integration, made a proposal asking the Public Television and Public Radio stations to broadcast the legislative meetings live.

The Alliance voted unanimously in favor of this request.

New majority coalition asks Public Television and Public Radio for one hour of primetime to send "unaltered message" to the Moldovan people

The new majority coalition has asked the Public Television and the Public Radio stations to allot one hour of primetime to send an "unaltered message" to the Moldovan people.

Speaker Mihai Ghimpu (Liberal Party) said that Moldovan Public Television "is not really public," suggesting that it is subordinated to the Party of Communists.

Every Alliance member voted to make this request.

h/t www.jurnal.md

First meeting of the new legislature ends, next one to take place on September 2

The first meeting of Moldova's 18th legislature has ended. The next one is scheduled for September 2.

During the meeting, the Alliance for European Integration unanimously elected Liberal Party head Mihai Ghimpu as Speaker.

The Communists did not participate because they asked for a ten-day break and left despite the Alliance's refusal to grant this request.

A press conference by the Alliance members is currently taking place.

Update at 2.20 P.M., Party of Communists to contest the legality of the Alliance's decision to continue the first legislative meeting

Update at 2.20 p.m. - Constitutional Court Dumitru Pulbere has said he cannot make any statements about this challenge. Janeta Hanganu, a well-known Moldovan lawyer, however, said that the first legislative meeting was legal.

Party of Communists M.P. Vladimir Turcan told Jurnal de Chisinau that the his party will contest the legality of the Alliance for European Integration's decision to continue the first meeting of the legislature after the Communists asked for a ten-day break and left the building.

”According to the Constitution, we announced a break in order to form our faction. Any decision like the election of a Speaker can only be made after that happens. The fact that the Alliance for European Integration started the voting process is illegal and anti-constitutional. It is a direct step toward early elections, so we can see very well who wants the country to have new elections. Voting in Parliament has to be within the bounds of the law, and at this point, since our faction has not yet been formed, the rights of the 48 M.P.s [Imedia: belonging to the Party of Communists] have not been respected," Mr. Turcan suggested.

Liberal Party head Mihai Ghimpu is new Speaker of Parliament, Communists leave the building and refuse to vote

Liberal Party head Mihai Ghimpu was elected Speaker of Parliament during the new legislature's first meeting today. Mr. Ghimpu received 53 out of 53 votes, which is the number of seats the Alliance for European Integration has. Nobody opposed the candidacy.

The Party of Communists refused to vote and left the building, asking for a ten-day break. The Alliance refused to grant it and took over the meeting, which according to tradition had until then been conducted by the oldest M.P. - Communist Ivan Kalin.

The meeting is ongoing at this point, and it is likely that the Party of Communists will contest its legality.

Liberal Democratic Party head Vlad Filat just finished speaking. Chisinau mayor and Liberal Party vice-president Dorin Chirtoaca is currently making a statement.

h/t www.jurnal.md
www.unimedia.md
www.stireazilei.md
www.privesc.eu

Ruling Alliance members still unsure whether they will manage to elect a Speaker tomorrow

The new legislature has its first meeting on Friday. Members of the Alliance for European Integration have said that they would like to elect the Parliament's leadership structure, including a Speaker, but were not sure if that would happen.

"We will see," said Liberal Democrat Vlad Filat. "I hope we elect the Parliament's leadership," he continued.

Liberal Party head Mihai Ghimpu noted that "it is not important when we elect a Speaker ... because a Speaker will be elected anyway."

h/t www.stireazilei.md

Columnist: Marian Lupu will be nominated for the Speaker position

Petru Bogatu, a well-known columnist with Jurnal de Chisinau, said today that the four members of the ruling Alliance for European Integration have decided to nominate Democrat Marian Lupu for Speaker.

Media outlets previously said that Mr. Lupu would be nominated for the Presidency, but the Alliance had to change this plan because the Party of Communists said it would only provide the eight additional votes the Alliance needs to elect a head of state if Mr. Lupu were nominated by a center-left coalition in which the Communists would be the major element.

Liberal Democratic Party head Vlad Filat told the press today that "the Liberal Democrats aren't the ones who will make problems in the Alliance," but refused to say what exactly he meant by that.

h/t www.stireazilei.md
www.jurnal.md

Alliance leader: Everything has been settled within the Alliance

Moldova Noastra [Our Moldova] Alliance head Serafim Urechean told the press that the Alliance for European Integration "has settled everything, including the distribution of leadership positions" before the legislature's first meeting on Friday.

Mr. Urechean added that "you will find everything out at the right moment. Now we just need the Communist comrades to want tomorrow's meeting to happen."

Moldova Noastra is one of the four non-Communist parties that have formed a ruling coalition called the Alliance for European Integration. The Alliance holds 53 seats, which is enough to elect a Speaker and a Prime Minister, but is eight short of single-handedly picking a President. The Party of Communists has thus far been very reluctant to having talks with the Alliance and has said it will only negotiate with each individual party since the coalition "doesn't exist."

h/t www.unimedia.md

Moldova celebrates Independence Day today

The Republic of Moldova celebrates Independence Day on August 27. Local and national authorities have planned various festivities for today.

This year's celebrations are taking place under the shadow of the mass disorders on April 7 that ended in the devastation of the Parliamentary and Presidential buildings, as well as the repression of protesters immediately afterwards (particularly during the night of April 7).

In addition, during the protests, the original Declaration of Independence burned down almost completely, in what looks like an accident.

It is also unclear who will take over power in Moldova, since the ruling Alliance for European Integration and the Party of Communists are in a stalemate over the election of the President. None of the two sides have the 61 out of 101 seats necessary to vote in a head of state.

Leading Democrat meets with Communist representative for lunch

Dumitru Diacov, former head of the Democratic Party and its current honorary president, as well as Democrat Valeriu Guma, met with Communist M.P. Vadim Misin on Tuesday, at about 4 p.m., for lunch at a Chisinau cafe, says Stirea Zilei.

Mr. Misin confirmed the meeting, but said they "didn't speak about politics."

Mr. Diacov refused to confirm, however.

The Party of Communists recently refused to have talks with the Alliance for European Integration and said it would try to form a center-left coalition with either the Democratic Party or with the Moldova Noastra [Our Moldova] Alliance.

The four Alliance members, however, including the Democrats and Moldova Noastra, have said they will not hold any individual negotiations with the Communists.

Democratic Party head Marian Lupu: the Alliance still hasn't decided on the distribution of leadership seats

Democratic Party head Marian Lupu said recently that the Alliance for European Integration (AEI), of which he is a member, still has not decided on the distribution of leadership seats. The AEI needs to find a way to distribute the positions of the President, the Prime Minister, and the Speaker among four parties.

Previously, Liberal Party head Mihai Ghimpu stated that the Liberal Democrats, the Liberals, and the Democrats would get these, and that Moldova Noastra, the fourth AEI member, agreed with the distribution.

Moldovan media outlets said on Wednesday that Marian Lupu is now requesting the Speaker position after the Party of Communists said it would not vote for him if he is nominated for the Presidency. Mr. Lupu has denied these rumors.

h/t www.info-prim.md

Acting President Vladimir Voronin and former Communist cabinet present activity report, say Moldova is much better off than eight years ago

Acting President and Party of Communists head Vladimir Voronin spoke during the cabinet's last meeting today. Among other things, the head of state argued that before the Communists came to power "mortality among children less than one year old was worse than in Africa." He added that "before we came to Government, people used to till the soil with bulls. [...] Even human beings were being harnessed to carts."

Economy Minister Igor Dodon echoed his party colleague, and argued that agriculture, industry, foreign trade, imports, and other branches of the economy are much better off than they were eight years ago, when the PC won parliamentary elections and came to power.

h/t www.jurnal.md
h/t www.unimedia.md

Former President criticizes Party of Communists

Petru Lucinschi, the second Moldovan President, criticized the Party of Communists (PC) during a press conference today. Mr. Lucinschi said that the PC should accept defeat and join the ranks of the "constructive opposition" it has been talking about.

The former head of state added that he would like for Liberal Democrat Vlad Filat to become Speaker and for Democrat Marian Lupu to be President.

h/t www.hotnews.md
www.unimedia.md

Government resigns

Prime Minister Zinaida Greceanii and her cabinet presented their resignations to acting President Voronin and to Parliament today.

Any Government has to resign once the new legislature is validated. Until a new cabinet is elected, the old one will act as a caretaker Government.

If the Parliament fails to elect a new President, however, the cabinet will remain in office until early elections in 2010.

This possibility looks likely since neither the Party of Communists nor the ruling Alliance for European Integration have the 61 seats necessary to vote in a head of state without the other side's assistance.

h/t www.rfi.ro

Communists don't show up to meeting proposed by Alliance, say Alliance "exists only in the imagination of some media outlets"

The Party of Communists (PC) refused to attend a meeting for "dialogue" scheduled by the Alliance for European Integration for Tuesday at 11 a.m.

The four Alliance leaders came to the Palance of the Republic at the scheduled time, but no Communist representatives showed up. The new ruling coalition reacted by releasing a statement in which it accuses the PC of refusing to give up power in a "legal, democratic, and civilized manner." The statement adds that the former ruling party will be responsible for the disastrous consequences of its refusal to hold talks with the Alliance, which include "a humanitarian catastrophe caused by the inability to pay salaries and pensions."

The PC replied that the Alliance "exists only in the imagination of some media outlets" and restated its desire to negotiate with individual parties. Communist representative Mark Tkaciuk told ProTV that his party has appointed two people to hold official talks with the parties that have seats in Parliament.

Alliance leaders have said they will not hold separate negotiations.

h/t www.unimedia.md
www.moldova.org

Communists: We will send each of the four other parties invitations for talks on Tuesday

The Party of Communists (PC) recently announced its refusal to hold talks with the Alliance for European Integration and said it would negotiate with each party individually.

PC representative Vladimir Turcan said that his party would send individual invitations to the four parties making up the Alliance.

Alliance representatives have said they will only talk to the Communists as representatives of the new ruling coalition.

Democratic Party head and potential Presidential candidate Marian Lupu: We will not hold separate negotiations with the Communists

Marian Lupu, head of the Democratic Party, one of the four parties making up the Alliance for European Integration, told Stirea Zilei that his party would not hold separate negotiations with the Party of Communists (PC) after the PC refused to hold talks with the Alliance as an entity.

The PC said it would try to form a center-left coalition with either the Democrats or with Moldova Noastra. Mr. Lupu defected from the Party of Communists after the April 5 legislative elections. He had been Speaker between 2005 and 2009, and many expected him to be the Communist presidential candidate after April 5. The PC nominated Prime Minister Zinaida Greceanii instead.

Mr. Lupu said that "the PC is probably hoping that the long-circulated idea that Lupu wants to be President at any cost becomes true, so they're trying to play this card. But, I repeat, the Democrats and me personally have never been obsessed by the desire to be President."

The PC said it would vote for Mr. Lupu for President if the Democrats join it in a center-left coalition.

Mr. Lupu suggested that he would speak to his Alliance partners about not getting the Presidency as a result of the leadership seat distribution in order to put an end to speculations.

Liberal Democratic Party leader: Western countries aren't pushing Communists to vote for a President like they pressured us in 2005

Vlad Filat, head of the Liberal Democratic Party, the largest member of the ruling Alliance for European Integration, told Romanian news agency NewsIn that Western diplomats in Chisinau have not expressed an interest in asking the Party of Communists to vote for a democratic President.

Mr. Filat said that their attitude was different in 2005, when the Party of Communists (PC) needed a few non-Communist votes to re-elect Mr. Voronin. At the time, said the Liberal Democrat, Western countries asked opposition parties to provide those missing votes.

In fact, the Alliance representative stressed that after the April 5 election this year, some Western partners "suggested, sometimes in a very undiplomatic manner" that the non-Communist parties talk to the PC about the election of a Communist President.

Mr. Filat's statements come right after the PC recently announced it would not hold talks with the Alliance about the election of a President and that it would talk to each individual party that made it to Parliament instead. The only non-Communist parties are, however, members of the Alliance, and have said they will not have individual talks with the former ruling party.

Footage from Great National Assembly in 1989

JurnalTV has some very interesting footage from the Great National Assembly in downtown Chisinau, which took place on August 27, 1989. August 27 subsequently became Moldovan Independence Day.

One can see Moldovan, Romanian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, and Georgian flags in the crowd. This was a high point of the struggle for national independence and the ability to speak and learn Romanian. The three major slogans in the footage are "Unire Moldoveni" ["Unification, Moldovans" - which refers to unification with Romania], "Noi suntem acasa" ["We are at home" - referring to the refusal of the protesters to legalize Russian as a second state language], and "Noi suntem poporul" ["We are the people"].

The two people speaking are Ion Hadirca and Grigore Vieru, both well-known poets at the time. Mr. Hadirca recently became an M.P. on the Liberal Party list, while Mr. Vieru, who is probably the most beloved poet by Moldovans, recently passed away after a car accident.

Alliance members refuse to negotiate separately with Communists

The Party of Communists recently refused to hold talks with the new ruling Alliance and said it would engage in discussions with each individual party that won seats in the Parliament.

The four parties making up the Alliance, however, said they will not hold individual talks with the Party of Communists.

As a result, it looks like communication between the Party of Communists and the Alliance has come to a standstill. The two political groups are supposed to meet tomorrow at 11 a.m., but the Party of Communists has said it will most likely not show up.

Chisinau city hall adds four new free wi-fi hotspots in the capital

The Chisinau City Hall opened the first free wi-fi hotspot in May 2009 in the Stefan cel Mare public park downtown, and plans to open up four more in the Square of the Cathedral, the park on Mircea cel Batrin Boulevard, the Valea Trandafirilor Park, and the memorial square for Aghanistan war heroes.

h/t www.info-prim.md
www.azi.md

Communists: we will only vote for Marian Lupu if he is part of center-left alliance with us

The Party of Communists met today to decide what to do next after the ruling Alliance invited it for a dialogue this coming Tuesday.

Communist representatives announced that they would not vote for any Alliance candidate - "not even if the Pope asks us to" - but that they would consider voting for Democratic Party head Marian Lupu for this position if his party joins a center-left Alliance with the Communists and with a few other left-wing parties that did not make it into Parliament.

h/t www.actualpress.md

Communists: we will not vote for any Alliance candidate, "not even if the Pope asks us to"

The Party of Communists had a closed-door meeting today to decide on how it will interact with the new ruling Alliance for European Integration. Communist representative Mark Tkaciuk said that his party would talk to every individual party instead of the four-party Alliance, and that he does not want early elections.

"We aren't afraid of being in the opposition, but we are bothered by the fact that once the Communists leave the situation in the country will worsen," Mr. Tkaciuk noted.

The Communist representative also harshly criticized the ruling Alliance, saying that they are acting in a "promiscuous manner" and that they do not care about Moldova's future. They should stop "trying to see who's the handsomest and strongest one," he suggested.

Late last week, Alliance representatives invited the Communists for a dialogue this coming Tuesday, but Party of Communists head and acting President Vladimir Voronin refused to accept a paper invitation from Liberal Democratic Party head Vlad Filat. Mr. Filat mailed the document and it is yet unclear if the meeting will take place since Mark Tkaciuk called it an "ultimatum" to which he said the Party of Communists will not react.

h/t www.unimedia.md
www.stireazilei.md

Communists refuse to recognize existence of Alliance, say they want separate talks with each individual party

"What Alliance? We don't know of any alliance," said Communist M.P. Mark Tkaciuk after his party had a plenary meeting to decide what to do next.

Mr. Tkaciuk added that the Party of Communists would only negotiate with individual parties "in the name of the homeland," and that it would try to form a center-left coalition.

Communist M.P. Vadim Misin noted that his party would be willing to have talks with the Democratic Party and the Moldova Noastra [Our Moldova] Alliance.

Liberal Party head Mihai Ghimpu said, however, that none of the four Alliance for European Integration members will have separate talks with the Communists. Moldova Noastra representative Leonid Bujor echoed his colleague, as did Democratic Party head Marian Lupu. Liberal Democrat Alexandru Tanase told the press that the Communist refusal to have talks with the Alliance "is a first step toward early elections."

h/t www.jurnal.md

Acting President Voronin meets Russian counterpart in Sochi (Russia)

Acting President Vladimir Voronin met with his Russian counterpart Dmitri Medvedev in Sochi (Russia) today.

A press release from the Moldovan Presidency said that the two heads of state spoke about the economic crisis, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Transnistrian conflict, as well as the "rather difficult political situation" that appeared in Moldova after the July 29, 2009 elections.

This is Mr. Voronin's third visit to Russia this year. Please see here for how Alliance leaders reacted to Mr. Voronin's visit.

h/t www.comunicate.md

Ukraine "willing to" suspend new border-crossing rules asking Moldovans to carry 1,100 Euros to enter the neighboring country

Liberal Democratic Party head Vlad Filat told the press today that he met with Ukrainian Ambassador to Moldova Sergei Pirojkov, who expressed his country's willingness to suspend the new border-crossing rules until a new Moldovan Government takes office.

The neighboring country recently passed a law requiring Moldovan citizens to carry at least 1,100 Euros if they want to enter Ukraine, which would prove that they are able to survive for 30 days in the country.

Most Moldovans would have a very hard time coming up with this amount of money, particularly because Ukraine is a summer destination for tourists who are less wealthy than the ones going to Turkey, for example.

Acting President Voronin refuses to accept written invitation for "dialogue" from Alliance leaders

Acting President Vladimir Voronin refused to take a written invitation for "dialogue" from Liberal Democratic Party head Vlad Filat. Mr. Filat is also one of the Alliance for European Integration leaders.

Right after M.P.s picked up their identification cards, Mr. Filat went up to Mr. Voronin with a piece of paper and tried to hand it to the President. Mr. Voronin told him to "give it to [Communist M.P.] Mandru." The two then turned their backs on each other and left.

Mr. Filat told the press that "I have the impression that he [Mr. Voronin] has not come back from vacation yet and is not in contact with reality. He is probably still in the pre-July 29 mood, when he was dreaming about 70 seats. I hope that after he goes to Russia, where it's cold, he gets a cold shower and reacts."

Stirea Zilei has the footage of the interaction.

M.P.s pick up their identification cards

The members of the new Parliament picked up their identification cards today. Stirea Zilei, which reported the event live, said that Communist M.P.s did not clap for the members of the Alliance, and vice versa.

The crowd seemed rather animated and in good cheer, and Democratic Party members picked on their head Marian Lupu, telling him not to mistakenly sit by the Communists. Mr. Lupu defected from the Party of Communists after the April 5 legislative elections, joined the Democrats, and led the party to a 13-seat win in the new legislature.

Alliance leaders invite Communists to "dialogue" on Tuesday

The four leaders of the Alliance for European Integration (AEI) signed an invitation today, asking the Party of Communists to join them for "dialogue" this coming Tuesday at 11 a.m.

Stirea Zilei writes, however, that Vladimir Voronin rejected the invitation after Liberal Democratic Party head Vlad Filat spoke with him for a few minutes.

Chisinau mayor in talks with internet provider to bring wi-fi to every school in the capital

Chisinau mayor Dorin Chirtoaca told the Annual Conference of Chisinau Teachers that he is currently in talks with an internet provider that would be willing to provide wi-fi internet service to every school in the capital.

Mr. Chirtoaca added that he also hopes to find a way to create online libraries in these schools.

It is unclear how much money will be needed for these projects.

h/t www.jurnaltv.md

Acting President and Party of Communists head Vladimir Voronin to meet Russian head of state tomorrow

Acting President and Party of Communists head Vladimir Voronin is headed to the city of Sochi, Russia, to meet his Russian counterpart Dmitri Medvedev tomorrow. The presidency did not say what the goal of the visit is.

The four leaders of the Alliance for European Integration wished Mr. Voronin luck. Liberal Party head Mihai Ghimpu said that "maybe Voronin can stay there since he's been going to Russia quite often recently." Moldova Noastra [Our Moldova] Alliance Serafim Urechean said sarcastically that "Voronin has already solved a lot of problems in Moscow, so I wish him luck."

On the other hand, Democratic Party head Marian Lupu said that any foreign contact is good as long as Moldova profits from it.

h/t www.info-prim.md
www.hotnews.md

New Government may add two new ministries

On Thursday, August 20, after a new meeting between the four leaders of the Alliance for European Integration, Democratic Party head Marian Lupu suggested that the new Government may add two new ministries in the future cabinet: one for youth issues and one for regional development.

Liberal Party head Mihai Ghimpu added that the current Ministry of Local Administration could be scrapped because "it has actually taken away from local autonomy."

Priest detained after April 7 mass disorders to write book about prison ordeal

Johnattan Netanyahu, a Romanian Christian Orthodox priest who was detained under the accusation of participating in the April 7 mass disorders which resulted in the devastation of the Parliamentary and Presidential buildings, told JurnalTV that he intends to write a book about his experiences.

Mr. Netanyahu was arrested after April 7 and was detained for a few months. He was one of the most visible detainees, in part because he was also an American citizen.

The priest said he was "interrogated with fists" and beaten.

Hundreds of people, mostly young men and women, were arrested or detained after the April 7 disorders. At the time, there were widespread accusations of police brutality, especially on the night of April 7, and at least one suspicious death - that of Valeriu Boboc - has been said to be related to the repression on that night.

Romanian media company wants to open national television station in Moldova

Romanian media company Realitatea-Catavencu, which owns 24-hour news station Realitatea TV and Cotidianul, a well-regarded Romanian daily, intends to open a national television station in Moldova in February, 2010.

Realitatea-Catavencu owner Sorin Ovidiu Vintu made this announcement recently after a stockholder meeting.

This intention comes at a time when Romanian media outlets are showing more interest in Moldova, especially after the mass disorders on April 7. Romanian Public Television is mulling over the possibility of doing a show dedicated entirely to Moldova and has been organizing talkshows which often include discussions about what is going on in the country.

ProTV was the first Romanian station to enter the Moldovan media market, and is often among the three or four most popular stations in Moldova.

The new Alliance may also allow the national broadcast of Romanian Public Television after the Party of Communists withdrew its license in 2007.

h/t www.europalibera.org
www.unimedia.md

Adventists may sue Moldova at European Court of Human Rights

The Adventist Church in Moldova said it could sue Moldova at the European Court of Human Rights after the Supreme Court ruled it could not conduct a public gathering in Chisinau's main public square (for background information, see Imedia coverage here, here, and here).

Adventist representatives said there was no legal ground for this ruling.

Chisinau mayor to give up recently won M.P. seat

Chisinau mayor Dorin Chirtoaca, who was first on the Liberal Party list both during the April 5 and the July 29 elections, said he would keep his current job and give up his M.P. seat for the next person on the party list. Moldova uses a closed-list proportional representation system to elect its legislature.

Mr. Chirtoaca joked that he may remain in history as one of the few people to have been first on a party list during two consecutive elections who refused to join the Parliament, but stated that he said he would not leave Chisinau city hall even during the electoral campaign.

This issue came up during the electoral debates, when Christian Democratic People's Party head Iurie Rosca repeatedly asked Dorin Chirtoaca to tell voters that even though he was first on the list, he would not join Parliament. Mr. Rosca then urged Moldovans not to vote for someone who did not even want to be an M.P.

Jurnal de Chisinau's Nicolae Negru, one of the most astute political commentators in Moldova, said after the July 29 election that the Liberal Party profited from having Dorin Chirtoaca at the top of the list because of his visibility as mayor, but that the Liberals also suffered because they were too much of a one-man party instead of a team like the Liberal Democrats (who are the second largest party in Parliament).

Communist M.P.: Either we get absolute power or we join opposition

Former Presidential advisor and Communist M.P. Mark Tkaciuk said that his party would not accept half-measures and would either try to gain control of every reign of power or join the opposition, and return to governing a few years later. Mr. Tkaciuk added that his party is ready to lose possible early legislative elections again. „Four or eight years in opposition is not a long time for a party like the Party of Communists,” he stressed.

Mr. Tkaciuk's statement come a few days before the ruling Alliance and the Party of Communists (PC) are supposed to begin talks about the presidential election. The Alliance has enough seats (53) to elect a Government and a Speaker, but is eight short of electing a head of state without Communist help.

Another Communist M.P., Vladimir Turcan, said the Party of Communists would vote for an apolitical President and said it should get one of the three main leadership positions in the country. Veronica Abramciuc (PC) said earlier that her party should get to pick the President.

The four Alliance members have said they will not conduct "negotiations" with the Communists and focus instead on "dialogue."

Russian oligarch's construction company leaves Moldova because of crisis

Austrian-German construction company Strabag recently announced that it will be suspending its activities in Chisinau, writes ECOnomist.

Strabag, one of whose major stockholders is Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, entered the Moldovan market in 2007.

Despite the company's low public visibility in Moldova, acting President Voronin awarded Strabag CEO Peter Haselsteiner with the Order of Honor on November 24, 2008, as a "sign of appreciation for special merits in implementing certain socio-economic projects and in intense sponsoring activities."

Acting President Voronin: We do not want early elections

Acting Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin told Moldovan Public Television that he does not want another early legislative election. "We cannot step on the same rakes again," he said.

The head of state added that "we have not received any offers for a dialogue from any of the parties or from the whole coalition. That is why we cannot make any judgment calls and conclusions about the intentions of these coalition organizers."

h/t www.info-prim.md

Acting President Voronin: Moldova could return to a time of interethnic conflict and "cynical experiments"

Acting President Vladimir Voronin, who is also head of the Party of Communists, attended the opening of the second World Gagauz Congress in Comrat. The Gagauz are a Turkic Christian minority that lives in an autonomous region in the south of Moldova and in other neighboring states.

Nearly 78 percent of the voters in the region cast a ballot in favor of the Party of Communists on July 29.

Mr. Voronin said that "your Congress is taking place as Moldova is at a crossroads. It is a difficult situation: either we go back to the beginning of the 1990s and have to deal with interethnic conflict and a complete professional and state incompetence, or we continue to walk the path of creation which took Moldova out of oblivion and turned it into a country of dynamic transformations that is persistently headed toward European integration and toward keeping its partnership with Russia.

"You have made the choice," he continued, "an unequivocal and uncompromising choice. You have picked stability, confidence in tomorrow, peace, prosperity, and Moldovan independence."

Mr. Voronin's statements come at a time of tense ties between the Party of Communists (PC) and the new ruling Alliance for European Integration. The Alliance needs eight votes from the PC to be able to vote in a President, but the Communists have put forth conditions which the new ruling coalition seems unwilling to compromise on. See here and here for details.

Alliance leaders meet today as Party of Communists members return from vacation

The four leaders of the Alliance for European Integration (AEI) met today at the Moldova Noastra [Our Moldova] Alliance headquarters to talk about the distribution of seats in the Government and the Parliament, and to set up a strategy for dialogue with the Party of Communists.

Talks will most likely be very tense considering the fact that the Alliance refuses to negotiate with the Communists and to share leadership seats with them.

h/t www.jurnaltv.md

President signs decree scheduling first meeting of the new legislative for August 28, opposition wants to meet earlier

Acting President Vladimir Voronin signed a decree today scheduling the first meeting of the new Parliament for August 28.

Leaders of the four parties making up the new ruling Alliance for European Integration (AEI) said the date should have been set earlier.

Liberal Party head Mihai Ghimpu said that "this proves that the Communists want to keep their jobs as long as possible, but they don't understand that the more they stay, the larger their responsibility, because poverty is deepening, and they're the ones guilty of that."

Tens of peasants block Chisinau road to protest lack of places to sell goods and police abuse

Stirea Zilei posted footage of a few peasants blocking a road in Chisinau to protest the lack of places to sell their goods, as well as police abuse.

One of the protesters complained that a booth at the Central Market in Chisinau costs 700 Euros, and that other markets have no more space available. She added that police officers often confiscate her goods, drag her around, and kick her goods, "like we're killers or something."

A city hall official eventually managed to convince the protesters to stop blocking traffic, but the peasants threatened that if their problems aren't resolved, they will resume protests.

Communists will not get any of the three leadership positions: Alliance member

Vlad Filat, head of the Liberal Democratic Party, the largest member of the Alliance for European Integration, said today that the Party of Communists will not get any of the three leadership positions in the state (President, Prime Minister, and Speaker).

Mr. Filat added that the President will be a political appointment. Alliance members echoed the Liberal Democrat's message, which comes right after Communist M.P. Vladimir Turcan said that the Party of Communists would vote for an apolitical President and suggested that his party should be given one of the three leadership positions in the state.

Ruling Alliance: President will be political appointment

Leaders of three of the four parties that make up the new ruling Alliance for European Integration told ProTV that the President will be a political appointment. Democratic Party head Marian Lupu could not be found in time for the broadcast.

These statements were made after Communist M.P. Vladimir Turcan said that the President should be apolitical and that his party should get at least one of the three main leadership posts in the country - the President, the Prime Minister, or the Speaker position.

Mr. Turcan added that the Party of Communists is waiting to be invited to have a political dialogue with the new Alliance.

The Alliance for European Integration holds a combined 53 seats and needs eight more to elect a President. Those votes need to come from the Party of Communists. If the new Parliament fails to elect a head of state, Moldova will have early legislative elections in 2010 since legislation does not allow the dismissal of the Parliament more than once every year.

Asia Times article on Moldovan-Chinese ties

China has become an increasingly visible presence in the Republic of Moldova, both politically and economically. Ties seem to have reached a new high after the Moldovan and the Chinese Governments reached an agreement according to which Beijing would offer Chisinau a one-billion-dollar loan. A preliminary agreement was signed a few weeks ago, but it needs to be passed by the new Parliament.

It is unclear if that will happen since the ruling Alliance for European Integration has expressed its desire to receive loans from the IMF, the EU, and the US.

Whatever the case may be, China is more interested in Moldova than a few years ago.

The Asia Times recently published an article suggesting why that might be.

h/t www.actualpress.md

Romanian Gagauz fail to get visas to visit World Gagauz Congress in Moldova

Representatives of the Gagauz minority in Romania failed to receive Moldovan visas to be able to visit the country for the second annual World Gagauz Congress, scheduled for August 18 and 19.

The Moldovan Embassy in Chisinau refused to grant the visas because the applicants did not have the necessary documents from the Moldovan Interior Ministry.

The Gagauz are a Christian Orthodox Turkic people who live in an autonomous region in the south of Moldova.

Moldova imposed a visa regime on Romanian citizens immediately after the April 7 devastation of the Parliament and Presidential buildings, when President Voronin accused Bucharest of involvement in a coup. The Prosecutor General later contradicted Mr. Voronin by saying that Romania was not involved in the mass disorders "as a country."

After the visa regime was imposed, Moldovan and Romanian media outlets covered numerous cases of family members being unable to see each other because of the difficulties of getting a Moldovan visa.

h/t www.actualpress.md

Report on the Moldovan homeless

JurnalTV has a short report on a homeless couple that lives in one of the Moldovan cemeteries. It is unfortunately only available in Romanian, but one can get a relatively good impression of their living conditions.

Valentina and Ion lost their homes eight years ago. Their main concern at the moment is a place to stay during the winter.

Chisinau has about 3,000 registered homeless people, only 60 of which temporarily live in a shelter in Chisinau.

Chisinau to host eighth annual ethno-jazz festival

In the last few years, Chisinau has become rather famous for its international annual ethno-jazz festival, organized by Moldovan jazz band Trigon.

This year, the eighth edition will take place between September 24 and 27, and will include acts from Austria, the United States, and Brazil, among many others.

Part of the proceeds are normally donated to charity.

Ethno-jazz combines elements of folk and ethnic music with jazz sounds. Some of Trigon's work can be listened to here and here.

Russian-Israeli news agency says Israeli Foreign Minister visiting Chisinau

Russian-Israeli news agency AEN writes that Israel's Foreign Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman will make an unofficial visit to Chisinau soon. Mr. Lieberman was born in Chisinau.

Sources say he may meet with acting Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin.

h/t www.hotnews.md
izrus.co.il

Party of Communists members begin making statements about presidential election

Veronica Abramciuc, an M.P. on the Party of Communists (PC) list, told Radio Free Europe that the future Moldovan President should be nominated by her party. Mr. Abramciuc stressed that she was expressing a personal viewpoint.

"If this coalition really won enough votes to elect a Speaker, /.../ a Prime Minister, and a Goverment, that's no problem. But there is also the Party of Communists, which has a rather large electoral basis. These people are Moldovan citizens and their interests need to be respected," Ms. Abramciuc stressed.

On the other hand, Vladimir Turcan, third on the PC list, told Radio France Internationale that the presidential "candidate should be someone who is less involved in politics, so that he or she doesn't become hostage to one or another party, considering the fact that there are five political parties in Parliament and that the voting results on July 29 proven that opinions are pretty different."

Russian daily Kommersant, however, quotes slightly different statements made by Mr. Turcan, in which he says that "the presidential candidate should not, first of all, be a traitor, and, second, should not share national-radical ideas." The Communist M.P. added that "my colleagues will not vote for Marian Lupu, who previously left the ranks of the PC and joined the Democratic Party."

h/t www.hotnews.md
www.politik.md

Chess to be taught in primary schools

Victor Paginu, a representative from the Ministry of Education and Youth, said during a press conference that chess will be taught in primary schools across Moldova beginning with this school year.

School-children will take these classes during P.E.

Over 9,000 textbooks explaining the basics of chess have been printed for this purpose.

h/t Ziarul de Garda

Ruling Alliance member to challenge Constitutional Court's refusal to change seat distribution formula to European Court of Human Rights

Imedia has previously written about the conflict between two Alliance for European Integration members and the Central Electoral Commission over the formula to be used for the distribution of seats in the new Parliament.

The Moldova Noastra [Our Moldova] Alliance (7 seats) and the Liberal Party (15 seats) are asking for one more seat each to make the vote-to-seat proportion fairer. The two parties say that the d'Hondt method, which is currently used to distribute seats gained in a proportional representation system like Moldova's, favors large parties and distorts the choices expressed by Moldovans.

The Constitutional Court recently rejected Moldova Noastra's appeal for changing the formula, and Nicolae Railean, the party's representative, said he would appeal this decision at the European Court of Human Rights.

h/t www.jurnal.md

First meeting of the new legislature could take place between August 24 and 29: Communist M.P.

Vladimir Turcan, a Communist M.P. and deputy Speaker in the previous Parliament, told state-run news agency Moldpres that the new legislature may have its first meeting between August 24 and 29.

Mr. Turcan did not say whether his party would vote for a presidential candidate put forth by the new ruling Alliance for European Integration. He stressed that the Communists' next steps would depend on "negotiation conditions."

h/t www.unimedia.md

Sixth case of A(H1N1) confirmed in Moldova

Moldovan authorities confirmed the fifth and sixth A(H1N1) infection cases in Moldova: a four-year-old whose mother carried the virus and a ten-year-old child who came in contact with them.

Imedia did an in-depth analysis of whether Moldova could handle an A(H1N1) pandemic (available through our subscription service), and experts concluded the country can deal relatively well with a few thousand cases.

The Atlantic Monthly publishes short article on Moldova

The Atlantic Monthly, one of the leading magazines in the United States, recently published a short article about the economic crisis in Moldova.

Excerpt:
"Roiled by recent political tensions, beset by a long-standing separatist conflict over its eastern territory of Transnistria, dependent on Russia to supply energy and import its wines and agricultural produce, Europe’s poorest (and only Communist) country would appear to have nothing at all to boast of."

Liberal Democrats ask Ukraine for moratorium on tough new border control measures

Vlad Filat, head of the Liberal Democratic Party, the largest faction in the new ruling Alliance for European Integration (AEI), met with the Ukrainian Ambassador to Moldova today.

Mr. Filat said he asked Ukrainian authorities to temporarily suspend their new border crossing measures which requires Moldovans who want to visit Ukraine to prove they have at least 1,100 Euros on their person.

The money is supposed to indicate that foreign citizens can sustain themselves while in Ukraine.

Mr. Filat argued that the new policy was implemented because "the officials that have governed Moldova until now have not been able to communicate properly" with Ukraine. He expressed his hope that a new Government will start negotiations about this new policy in September.

h/t www.jurnal.md

UPDATE: Adventist gathering will no longer take place in public square

Imedia has been following the ongoing conflict between the Moldovan Orthodox Church and the Adventist Church over the latter's intention to organize a public gathering and concert in Chisinau's main square (see here and here).

Jurnal de Chisinau writes that the Chisinau Appeals Court just decided to not allow the gathering to be organized in the public square. The Court offered a series of alternatives to the Adventist Church, but its representatives have rejected all options and have decided to hold their meeting at their headquarters in Chisinau.

It is still unclear whose request the Court honored - Jurnal says that both Chisinau mayor Dorin Chirtoaca and the Moldovan Metropolitan Seat both put forth legal requests about this issue.

In a related story, the Adventists attempted to present their Bible to residents of Balti, the second-largest city in Moldova, but were prevented from doing so by a group of Orthodox priests.

h/t www.jurnal.md
www.stireazilei.md

Former Moldovan Prime Minister and potential presidential candidate Ion Sturza quits primary job with Rompetrol

Ion Sturza, a former Moldovan Prime Minister (1999-2000), has recently submitted his resignation from his position as deputy director of Romanian oil giant Rompetrol.

Mr. Sturza was one of the most visible figures of the Alliance for Democracy and Reforms, a non-Communist coalition Government that activated for a short time before the Communists took power in 2001.

His name has been circulated as a potential Presidential or Prime Ministerial nominee, particularly after Liberal Democratic Party head Vlad Filat said that Mr. Sturza "has all the necessary qualities" to be President. In addition, the two met for lunch in Chisinau three days ago.

Mr. Sturza denies that his resignation is connected with Moldovan politics, and said he will continue working with Rompetrol. His resignation was part of an agreement with the Kazakh company that bought 75 percent of Rompetrol shares at the end of 2007.

h/t www.interlic.md

Conflict over Adventist religious gathering downtown continues

A few days ago, a newly-formed non-governmental organization presented a letter from Moldovan Metropolitan Vladimir, in which he was asking local authorities to cancel an Adventist gathering in downtown Chisinau.

Chisinau City Hall said it could not make judgments on the content of public get-togethers, so the meeting is to take place on August 15. A religious music concert is also scheduled at that time.

Today, a Christian Orthodox initiative group held a press conference to express its outrage at the Adventist meeting and reinforce the Metropolitan's request for its cancellation or relocation to a more isolated part of Chisinau.

Viorel Ciubotaru, a representative of the initiative group, said that the Adventist meeting, entitled "Follow the Bible," shows defiance toward a Christian nation like Moldova.

Teodor Olarasu, a priest and university lecturer, added that "even homosexuals find justification in the Bible."

The Christian Orthodox Church in Moldova - which is itself split into two Metropolitan seats that are under Romanian and Russian jurisdiction respectively - has often had a tense relationship with other denominations in the country. About 93 percent of Moldovans say they are Orthodox.

Liberal Democratic Party leader: "We aren't seeking revenge or a vendetta" with the Party of Communists

Vlad Filat, head of the Liberal Democratic Party, told Infotag that the ruling Alliance for European Integration (AEI) isn't "seeking revenge or a vendetta" with the Party of Communists.

Mr. Filat's comments are intended to clear up some of the rumors about the potential concessions the AEI will make to the Party of Communists in order to convince the former ruling party to vote for a President. Some have said that President Voronin could get immunity from prosecution in exchange for the eight votes the Alliance needs to vote in a head of state.

Mr. Filat stressed that the Alliance would be willing to accept certain "guarantees" but that immunity was unlikely since "those who have broken the law will have to pay."

h/t www.jurnal.md

Constitutional Court validates July 29 election results

The Constitutional Court of Moldova has validated the results of the July 29 parliamentary elections. The legislature can now proceed to elect its leadership structure, a Government, and a President.

The final seat count is as follows:
Party of Communists - 48
Liberal Democratic Party - 18
Liberal Party - 15
Democratic Party - 13
Moldova Noastra [Our Moldova] Alliance - 7.

The four non-Communist parties have announced the creation of an Alliance for European Integration, but are still short of the 61 votes necessary to elect a President.

Liberal Democratic Party head Vlad Filat meets U.S. Ambassador

Vlad Filat, head of the Liberal Democratic Party, told Unimedia that he met with U.S. Ambassador to Moldova Asif Chaudhry today.

The LibDems hold the second-largest number of seats in the next Parliament and are part of the new ruling Alliance for European Integration (AEI).

Mr. Filat said he spoke about bilateral ties and the possibilities of Moldova's "strategic partnership" with the United States, which is part of the AEI's platform.

Original Declaration of Moldovan Independence burned down on April 7, country to celebrate Independence Day without it

The original Declaration of Moldovan Independence burned down during the mass disorders on April 7, and Moldovans will have to celebrate Independence Day on August 27 without it.

Deputies from the first Moldovan Parliament also said today that they will commemorate the 20-year anniversary of the Great National Assembly, which was a turning point in Moldova's history as an independent state.

h/t www.stireazilei.md

Ruling Alliance to restructure Interior Ministry

Veaceaslav Untila, deputy head of the Moldova Noastra [Our Moldova] Alliance, one of the four parties making up the new ruling Alliance for European Integration (AEI), told JurnalTV that AEI plans to reform the Interior Ministry by making "a lot of changes." Some of these changes would include transferring municipal police from central to local jurisdiction.

Interior Minister Gheorghe Papuc has been criticized for being partly responsible for the repression that followed after mass disorders on April 7, and has often been in direct conflict with some opposition leaders like Vitalie Nagacevschi.

Constitutional Court accepts Christian Democrats' appeal for vote recount, final decision to be made on August 14

The Constitutional Court has accepted a request put forth by the Christian Democratic People's Party (CDPP), which asked for a full vote recount because of alleged irregularities in the voting process.

CDPP mentioned problems like electricity being disconnected at polling stations during ballot counts. Its report is 45 pages long.

The party also noted in a press conference today that more than 4,000 ballots are missing. Radu Busila, CDPP's representative at the Central Electoral Commission, said that if these ballots disappeared, there were definite irregularities in the voting process and, as a result, "the newly-elected Parliament has no legitimacy."

The CDPP failed to cross the electoral threshold both on April 5 and on July 29. Until 2009, it had been an important presence in Moldovan politics, especially because of its leader Iurie Rosca. The party began losing popularity after it decided to vote for Vladimir Voronin for president in 2005. It has been one of the staunchent anti-Communist parties until then.

h/t www.stireazilei.md
www.jurnal.md

Chisinau mayor presents second yearly activity report in public square

Dorin Chirtoaca, deputy head of the Liberal Party and Chisinau mayor, presented his second yearly activity report (a sort of State of the Union address for Chisinau).

Just like last year, Mr. Chirtoaca spoke in Chisinau's Europe Square in the Stefan Cel Mare public park downtown.

The mayor said that his successes include the full payment of Chisinau's 500-million-leu debt (a little over 50 million U.S. dollars), salary hikes for public servants, and the new free Wi-Fi internet access system in the public park.

In terms of failures, Mr. Chirtoaca pointed to problems with providing heating bill subsidies to socially vulnerable individuals, as well as the ongoing issues with Chisinau's waste disposal and purification system (the capital has become notorious in the last few years for the occasional unpleasant smell that spreads throughout the entire city).

Information about leadership post distribution in ruling Alliance emerges

Jurnal de Chisinau says that its "reliable sources" have leaked information about the distribution of leadership posts in the new ruling Alliance for European Integration.

Democrat Marian Lupu would be nominated for President, Liberal Democrat Vlad Filat would be nominated for the Speaker position, Moldova Noastra head Serafim Urechean would be Prime Minister, and Liberal Mihai Ghimpu would be deputy Speaker.

It is still unclear how reliable this information is, but it confirms some earlier rumors about Marian Lupu's desire to be President (the Democratic Party's campaign was based on this idea).

Communist M.P. says Romania does not recognize Moldovan identity

Grigori Petrenco, a Party of Communists M.P. in the new Parliament and former deputy Speaker, told Puls that the main reason why Chisinau and Bucharest have difficult ties is Romania's refusal to recognize Moldovan identity.

Mr. Petrenco stressed that the "crisis in our ties with Bucharest will end when they realize that Moldova is not a second Romanian state."

The Communist M.P. is probably referring to Romanian President Traian Basescu's frequent public arguments that Romania and Moldova are "two countries, but one nation."

The identity problem in Moldova is, unsurprisingly, extremely complicated, and cannot be explained fully here. Charles King's The Moldovans includes a good summary of the main conflicts and disagreements in Moldova over what it means to be Moldovan or Romanian.

h/t www.actualpress.md

Public figures detained after April 7 disorders released

Today's Jurnal de Chisinau has an interesting article on a few Moldovan public figures that were detained immediately after the mass disorders on April 7 under accusations of organizing the protests.

Police authorities arrested or detained hundreds of men and women after April 7, but
most of them were released after President Voronin called for an amnesty (the issue of the amnesty is very unclear - Moldova's General Prosecutor has said that authorities are continuing investigations regarding the involvement of people who have been released).

Jurnal de Chisinau says that only five people remained in police custody throughout the electoral campaign, all of them relatively well-known public figures in Moldova (with the possible exception of Romanian priest Jonathan Netanyahu, who was not a visible public figure before his arrest).

Gabriel Stati, a famous Moldovan businessman, and his bodyguard Aurel Marinescu, were released before July 29, and the other three were released afterwards.

At this point, then, there seem to be no people being held for their alleged involvement in the April 7 protests.

National Bank denies allegations of massive capital flight from Moldova

Last Friday's issue of Jurnal de Chisinau had a front-page news story about massive capital flight from Moldova in the wake of political instability and unclarity about the ability of the Party of Communists to stay in power.

The paper said that goods worth over 700 million U.S. dollars have been withdrawn from the reserves of the National Bank of Moldova. Most of this money allegedly belongs to businesspeople that had worked closely with the Party of Communists since 2001.

Liberal Democratic Party head Vlad Filat has publicly asked the National Bank and Moldovan Customs to prevent this illegal flight of capital.

Today, media outlets published a statement from Moldova's National Bank, which denies the allegations made by both by Jurnal de Chisinau and Vlad Filat. The central bank stresses that the value of authorized transactions involving the export of capital between January 1 and April 5, 2009 stood at about 0.5 million U.S. dollars.

h/t www.businessexpert.md
www.jurnal.md

U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission) holds hearing on Moldova

The U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission) recently held a hearing on Moldova. Speakers included Andrei Galbur, Moldova's Ambassador to the U.S.; Valentina Cusnir, a former M.P.; Nadine Gogu, the acting director of the Center for Independent Journalism (a leading media NGO in Moldova); and Louis O'Neill, former head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova (2006-2008).

The full unofficial transcript can be accessed here.

Mr. O'Neill also recently authored an article urging Moldova to "beware the Kiev trap."

Both are very good reads.

Negotiations between new Alliance members continue today

ProTV's 5 p.m. evening news showed footage of the four Alliance member leaders walking into the Moldova Noastra headquarters in Chisinau. They said very little, but mentioned the talks would focus would be on the organization of the new Alliance.

The Liberal Democratic Party, the Liberal Party, the Democratic Party, and the Moldova Noastra [Our Moldova] Alliance announced on Saturday that they will form a new governing coalition. The four parties have 53 seats combined, which allows them to form a cabinet and elect a Speaker, but are still short of the 61 seats necessary to elect a President. It is still unclear where those eight votes will come from since the Alliance members said they would not negotiate with the Party of Communists.

Democratic Party representative expresses hope Communists will vote for a presidential candidate

Valeriu Lazar, a member of the Democratic Party, recently told Radio Free Europe that he thinks the new President needs to have political support. Mr. Lazar was responding to some Party of Communists representatives who have asked for a potential opposition candidate to be apolitical.

After the four non-Communist parties announced the creation of an Alliance for European Integration on Saturday, analysts have been wondering how they will manage to get the Party of Communists to vote for their presidential candidate. The Alliance has 53 seats, which is enough to form a Government but short of the 61 seats necessary to elect a President.

Leading Moldovan economist says local economy is "very close to catastrophic"

Imedia spoke with Veaceslav Ionita, a well-known Moldovan economist and Liberal Democratic Party M.P. in the new Parliament. Please find a passage below (full interview is available via our subcription service):

"The situation is very close to catastrophic. The branches that had been developing in the last few years have now completely collapsed. Construction is dead, and neither homes nor industrial spaces are being sold. Transportation cannot recover from the shock. A few thousand trucks are stationary, and railroad transportation volumes have plummeted at a unimaginable rate, by at least seven times. Finally, retail sales are also down.

Most recently, 50,000 out of Moldova's 600,000 employees are unofficially unemployed. They are either on vacation or work fewer hours in the day. I would not be suprised if the unemployment rate creeps up to 100,000 people by the end of this year."

Good English-language analysis of post-election Moldova

EUObserver.com recently published an analysis of the situation in Moldova after the July 29 election, written by Nicu Popescu, a research fellow with the London-based European Council on Foreign Relations.

Mr. Popescu is originally from the Republic of Moldova and has authored numerous commentaries for Imedia. He also has a personal blog mostly in Romanian.

The article concludes:
"The Communists (reformed or not) might be back in power one, four or eight years; or they might disintegrate as a party when Voronin retires. What matters at this stage for Moldova is to drastically, quickly and irreversibly de-monopolise the political and economic system of the country. Moldova is not yet “Central Europe”, but has so far managed to avoid a typically authoritarian post-Soviet model of political and economic power that makes elections irrelevant."

Full article is available here.

Update: New Ruling Coalition Called Alliance for European Integration

Unimedia has posted the document about the formation of the coalition, which has been signed by the four party leaders. Its official name is the Alliance for European Integration.

Four non-Communist opposition parties form ruling coalition

The Liberal Democratic Party, the Liberal Party, the Democratic Party, and the Moldova Noastra [Our Moldova] Alliance held a press conference today to announce the formation of a Coalition for European Union Integration.

Leaders from the four parties signed a coalition document which includes, among other things, a commitment to ensure the freedom of the mass media and scrapping the visa regime with Romania.

The four parties said they will soon decide on leadership seat distributions and that they would talk to the Party of Communists (PC).

The Coalition needs at least eight votes from the PC since it has enough seats to form a Government (53), but not enough to elect a President (61).

Opposition leader confirms meeting with IMF, World Bank, and EU representatives yesterday

Serafim Urechean, head of the Moldova Noastra [Our Moldova] Alliance, the smallest non-Communist parliamentary party (seven seats), told JurnalTV that the four opposition parties met with representatives from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the European Union yesterday.

Mr. Urechean said the meeting lasted for four hours.

The opposition leader's statements were a direct response to statements made by Igor Botan, head of the Association for Participatory Democracy and a leading civil society activist, on ProTV yesterday.

Mr. Botan suggested that coalition talks between the four opposition are in an impasse.

Stirea Zilei posted some video of the Western officials coming to the Moldova Noastra headquarters yesterday.

Party of Communists says it could vote for a presidential candidate "if every deputy accepts" the nominee

The Party of Communists (PC) parliamentary faction met recently to discuss the group's next steps.

Noutati-Moldova reports that the PC said it was willing to vote for a presidential candidate "if every deputy accepts" the nominee.

The party also said that the election of a new President would guarantee stability in the face of an economic crisis. Otherwise, the PC warned, Moldova could turn to "chaos and Ukraine-style permanent parliamentary elections."

h/t www.jurnal.md

New type of dragon fly discovered in Moldova

A most welcome break from Moldovan politics!

The Entomology Laboratory in the Moldovan Science Academy's Zoology Institute announced that its scientists discovered a type of dragon fly that has never before been encountered on Moldovan land - Leucorrhinia pectoralis (Charpentier, 1825).

A picture is available here.

Pro-Communist paper attacks Western powers, some say ruling party getting ready for political battle

The August 6 edition of Moldova Suverana, a paper analysts believe to be close to the Party of Communists (PC), includes an article that is very critical of the European Union and the United States of America. The Western powers are accused of trying to force the Party of Communists out of power.

Oleg Cristal, a blogger and analyst with the Association for Participatory Democracy, says the article is a sign that "we could witness a Belarussification of Moldova in the near future, intended to reestablish the PC's influence during early elections in 2010."

Vlad Lupan, an independent analyst, suggests that "the Communists may be thinking about blocking the presidential election."

Whatever the case may be, there is currently a lot of uncertainty about the formation of a non-Communist coalition or about the Party of Communists' next move in the ongoing political crisis in Moldova.

Moldova suffering because of economic crisis: foreign trade, exports, imports down

Moldova's foreign trade keeps falling, exports are down 20.7 percent in the first six months of 2009, and imports have lost 35.8 percent of the value they had reached by this time last year.

Analysts told Imedia they are pessimistic about the Moldovan economy's speedy recovery, and say the situation is most likely to improve in the first or second half of 2010.

Four cases of A(H1N1) influenza registered in Moldova

The National Center for Preventive Medicine (NCPM) in Chisinau said on August 5 that two more people have been contaminated with the A(H1N1) influenza virus: a five-year old boy and a 29-year-old man who recently returned from Turkey and Portugal, respectively.

That brings the number of cases registered in Moldova to four.

Constitutional Court head: Parliament can be dissolved again on January 1, 2010

Moldovan politicians and analysts have been discussing the meaning of Article 85 in the Constitution, which says that the "Parliament can only be dissolved once in one year."

The main question has been about whether this means 365 days since the last time Parliament was dissolved or whether once the year changes the legislature may be dismissed.

Dumitru Pulbere, Constitutional Court head, clarified this issue a bit in an interview for Infotag.

The most telling passage is below:

"Question: If the current political crisis cannot be overcome, can the acting President dissolve the Parliament on January 1, 2010?

Answer: Yes. At least that is what the logic of the article in the Constitution tells us. Theoretically, we can all celebrate New Year's Eve on December 31, and then enter early elections."

Leu/Euro exchange rate widens as Moldovan national currency weakens

In the last five days, the Moldovan leu lost 2.4 percent of its power in relation to the Euro, reaching an official exchange rate of 16.1342 lei per Euro on August 5, says the National Bank of Moldova.

The exchange rate has thusly reached a high this year, and analysts believe last week's increase in the amount of lei necessary to buy one Euro is the quickest rise in the exchange rate in 2009, given the short period of time it took for the leu to go down relative to the European currency.

EU Special representative to Moldova: Discriminatory visa regime for Romanian citizens must be abolished

The Kyiv Post has an August 4 story quoting the European Union Special Representative to Moldova Kalman Mizsei as saying that "the discriminatory visa regime for Romanian citizens must be abolished."

Moldova imposed the visa regime immediately after the devastation of the Presidential and Parliamentary buildings on April 7, when President Voronin accused Romania of trying to stage a coup. Later, Moldova's Prosecutor General said that Romania was not involved in the devastation "as a country."

Mr. Mizsei added that talks about a new cooperation agreement between Moldova and the EU could begin in the fall, depending on the formation of a new Government and the stabilization of ties with Romania.

Liberal Democratic leader says his party wants the Speaker seat

Vlad Filat, head of the Liberal Democratic Party, said in an interview with Romanian daily Evenimentul Zilei that his party would like the Speaker of Parliament seat. Mr. Filat is negotiating a non-Communist coalition government with three other parliamentary parties.

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is the largest opposition party in Parliament. It holds 18 seats, making it the second largest faction in the legislature after the Party of Communists (48 seats).

Please see a translated excerpt below:

"Question: The Liberal Party launched an idea according to which Marian Lupu [Imedia: head of the Democratic Party] would become President and you would take the Prime Ministerial position. Did you reject such a proposal?

Vlad Filat: Any option is possible, but if we were to speak honestly, LDP has the first move [Imedia: implying that the party is the largest one in a potential non-Communist coaliton Government]. Our current choice is the Speaker position. This is a moral right we have acquired as a result of the election returns. We'll speak about the other posts later on."

h/t www.unimedia.md
www.stireazilei.md

Moldovan Metropolitan Vladimir asks Chisinau mayor to cancel Adventist gathering downtown

Moldovan Metropolitan Vladimir, the highest Christian Orthodox religious authority in the country, sent a letter to Chisinau mayor Dorin Chirtoaca yesterday, urging him to cancel an Adventist Church gathering planned for August 15.

Met. Vladimir said he was "hurt and disappointed" by the city hall's decision to allow the meeting because 93 percent of Moldovans are Orthodox and could get their "feelings hurt."

He added that if cancellation is not possible, Mr. Chirtoaca should at least change the place of the gathering to a "more isolated location."

Chisinau City Hall said it cannot make a judgment on the content of public gatherings, so the Adventist concert will probably take place.

The Orthodox Church of Moldova and other Christian denominations in the country have always had a tense relationship.

h/t www.unimedia.md (for full text of the Metropolitan's letter to Dorin Chirtoaca)
www.protv.md

Liberal Party head says negotiations for ruling coalition "99.9 percent" done

Liberal Party head Mihai Ghimpu held a press conference today, during which he said that negotiations with the other three opposition parties are moving slowly, but are "99.9 percent" done. He added that "everything will be all right."

Mr. Ghimpu reinforced his party's objection to the d'Hondt method of counting proportional seats in Parliament, and added that he would be meeting with the Russian Ambassador to Moldova today.

h/t www.unimedia.md
www.jurnal.md
www.privesc.eu

Analyst: potential non-Communist alliance may have the same problems as the one in 1998

Igor Botan, head of the Association for Participatory Democracy, told Imedia in an interview yesterday that „to a large degree, the situation today is similar to the one in 1998, when the Alliance for Democracy and Reforms was put together. PC's announcement that it is ready to withdraw into the ranks of the opposition actually says that the party is ready to throw Moldova's ruined economy into the hands of the so-called liberals and democrats, so that it can later claim that while the Communists were in power there was economic growth, and that once the democrats came to power, the same thing that happened when the Alliance for Democracy and Reforms was in power began once more.”

In 1998, when the Communists held 40 seats in the legislature, numerous non-Communist parties created the Alliance for Democracy and Reforms, which led to the formation of a reformist Government. Disagreements that appeared within the alliance, caused to some degree by displeasure with seat distributions, led to its disintegration in 2000 and an overwhelming Party of Communists victory one year later.

To see the full interview, please contact Imedia about a subscription to its news analysis service.

Moldovan farmers to collect less grain this year, but expect better quality

On August 4, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry released the final tally for the grain harvest this year, which has been rather bleak for most farmers.

According to official data, farmers collected about 770,000 tons of wheat in 2009, which is about half of the harvest last year, when Moldova gathered the highest per annum volume of grain in a decade. Quality (defined in terms of gluten content) has, however, gone up.

Analysts say the economic crisis has clearly affected Moldovan agriculture.

Former Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister suggests temporary "decoupling" of Transnistria from Moldova

Adrian Cioroianu, a former Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister (2007-2008) and a well-known intellectual, recently authored an article in Foreign Policy Romania, in which he recommends that Moldova "decouple" itself from Transnistria, at least temporarily in order to focus on European integration.

Mr. Cioroianu argues that Transnistria "is and has been the easiest and most efficient means" used by Russia to keep Moldova under its sphere of influence.

Transnistria is a breakaway republic in Eastern Moldova, which Chisinau authorities have not been able to control since the end of a short but bloody war in the region in 1992. During the electoral campaign for the July 29 elections, the topic of Transnistria often came up, particularly since the Communists accused the opposition of not wanting to reunite the country.

h/t www.jurnal.md
www.infotag.md

Leading civil society figures urge "liberal and democratic parties" to make nine changes if they form an alliance

Leading civil society figures like Igor Botan, head of the Association for Participatory Democracy, and Igor Munteanu, head of the Viitorul [Future] Institute for Development and Social Initiatives, have signed an appeal urging the leaders of the liberal and democratic parties that won seats in the next Parliament to implement nine fundamental changes if they form an alliance and come to power.

These include:
- depoliticizing the Presidency,
- fully and objectively investigating the April events (with international support),
- consolidating the legislature as a supreme representative authority,
- rigorously applying the principle of the separation and cooperation of powers in the state,
- forming an executive team that could accelerate democratic reforms,
- creating a National Anti-Crisis Council in Moldova,
- ensuring an environment that is favorable to the independence and freedom of the mass media,
- increasing citizen trust in public authorities,
- and consolidating Moldova's ties with the European Union, as well as normalizing the country's relationship with its neighbors.

President Voronin meets with U.S. and Russian Ambassadors

Acting President and Party of Communists head Vladimir Voronin had separate meetings with the U.S. and Russian Ambassadors to Moldova today. The officials spoke about recent events in Moldova, says a press release from the Presidency.

Liberal Party head Mihai Ghimpu confirmed for ProTV evening news that he will meet the Russian Ambassador in Moldova tomorrow, as well, after the heads of the other two liberal opposition parties - Serafim Urechean from Moldova Noastra and Vlad Filat from the Liberal Democratic Party - have already met with the Russian official.

Two opposition parties contest seat distribution formula, Central Election Commission reacts by showing math formulas on a board

Moldova uses the d'Hondt formula for the proportional distribution of legislative seats.

The Moldova Noastra [Our Moldova] Alliance and the Liberal Party, two of the three liberal opposition parties that gained seats in Parliament, have contested the final seat distribution, however, asking that they get more seats.

Central Election Commission secretary Iurie Ciocan, whose organization rejected the challenge, used a board to write down mathematical formulas proving the correctness of the seat distribution formula. He did so in response to a Moldova Noastra representative who presented his own mathematical formula.

This "debate" about mathematics is a rather amusing end to a very heated election.

If anyone would like to see Mr. Ciocan's explanation of the d'Hondt formula, it is available on Unimedia.

h/t www.jurnal.md
www.protv.md

Liberal Democrats met with Russian Ambassador, Western diplomats today

Contacts between the four opposition parties and Russian authorities have been a topic of considerable interest in Moldova in the last few days.

After Moldova Noastra [Our Moldova] head Serafim Urechean confirmed that he met with the Russian Ambassador in Chisinau, Liberal Democratic Party head Vlad Filat also stated during a press conference today that he had a meeting with the Moscow representative.

Mr. Filat then added that he also met with the American Ambassador in Chisinau, with whom he said he had a lengthier conversation than with the Russian official.

The Liberal Democratic Party president also mentioned a meeting with Kalman Miszei, the EU Special Representative in Moldova.

Liberal Democratic Party head holds press conference, urges National Bank and Customs to stop flight of capital from country

Vlad Filat, head of the Liberal Democratic Party, the opposition party with the largest number of seats (18) in the next Parliament, held a press conference today.

Mr. Filat asked Moldova's National Bank to "take every measure to stop the illegal transfer of capital abroad and to ensure the state's financial security."

The Liberal Democrats have also asked the Customs Office to prevent any capital flight from the country.

Mr. Filat said that most of the businesses that made a profit in the last eight years of Communist rule were allies of the Party of Communists. These businesses are now allegedly trying to move their capital outside of the country in order to secure their gains.

The Liberal Democrats also made an appeal to state institutions to continue doing their jobs instead of waiting to see the make-up of the future coalition.

h/t www.unimedia.md
www.privesc.eu
www.jurnal.md
www.hotnews.md

Constitutional Court rejects Christian Democrats' request for vote recount

The Constitutional Court of Moldova rejected a request made by the Christian Democratic People's Party regarding a vote recount. The Court said that the party did not present any evidence that would warrant a recount.

The Christian Democrats won less than two percent of the vote on July 29, short of the five-percent threshold to gain seats in the next legislature. Its leader, Iurie Rosca, is acting deputy Prime Minister responsible for the coordination of Moldovan security forces.

h/t www.jurnal.md

One of the opposition leaders meets the Russian Ambassador in Chisinau

If the opposition manages to form a cabinet, its relationship with Russia will be an important topic to follow.

Serafim Urechean, head of the Moldova Noastra [Our Moldova] Alliance, one of the three liberal opposition parties that gained seats in the next Parliament, confirmed yesterday that he met with Russian Ambassador to Chisinau Valery Kuzmin after the elections.

Mr. Urechean stressed that he did not talk about elections or negotiations surrounding the formation of a cabinet, but about "an entirely different topic."

A few days ago, Russian daily Kommersant said that Vlad Filat, head of the Liberal Democratic Party (another liberal opposition party), would soon visit Moscow to convince authorities there that he is "neither an enemy nor a nationalist."

h/t www.unimedia.md
www.politik.md

Non-parliamentary party asks for recount

The Christian Democratic People's Party (CDPP) released a statement today asking for a recount of the ballots cast during the July 29 parliamentary elections.

The statement says that „the CDPP would like to express its disagreement with the preliminary results of the July 29, 2009 early parliamentary elections and, according to the electoral code, would like to ask the Constitutional Court to recount the ballots before elections are validated."

The CDPP garnered less than two percent of the vote on July 29, and about three percent on April 5, falling short of winning seats both times.

Before April 5, the Christian Democrats had been in every single legislature since Moldova's independence and were generally considered to be the longest-living inheritor of the National Front movements that appeared in the Soviet Union at the end of the 1980s. CDPP head Iurie Rosca has also been a highly visible figure in Moldovan politics since independence.

The CDPP lost a lot of support after it helped elect President Vladimir Voronin (Party of Communists) in 2005. Until then, the Christian Democrats had been loud opponents of the ruling party, and their leaders had exchanged numerous harsh accusations. There was a rapprochement between the two parties after 2005, however, and Iurie Rosca is currently acting deputy Prime Minister responsible for the coordination of security forces in Moldova.

h/t www.jurnal.md
www.info-prim.md

Opposition leaders meet yet again, some leaks regarding the distribution of positions appear

Stirea Zilei spoke with Liberal Party vice-President Corina Fusu, who said that one particular option for distributing leadership positions "is agreeable" to her party:

Marian Lupu (Democratic Party) - President.
Vlad Filat (Liberal Democratic Party) - Prime Minister.
Mihai Ghimpu (Liberal Party) - Speaker.

Serafim Urechean, head of the Moldova Noastra [Our Moldova] Alliance, whose party has the smallest number of seats of all the four opposition parties, would become deputy Speaker, according to some sources.

At this point, however, Chisinau is buzzing with rumors, and the opposition leaders have been rather secretive about their negotiations.

Time magazine publishes lengthy article on Moldova

"Ninety-two years after the Russian Revolution and 20 years on from the fall of the Berlin Wall, Europe's last Soviet-style government is finally on its way out. In Moldova this week, four months after popular upheaval, the Communist Party accepted defeat in a national election."

Full article here.

Romanian President says he "lent a helping hand" to elect President Voronin in 2005, Romanian opposition asks for explanations

In the wake of the July 29 parliamentary elections, Moldovan politics has been a subject of bickering between the Romanian President and a few political parties that are generally considered to be unsupportive of Mr. Basescu.

On Thursday, Romanian head of state Traian Basescu told Romanian Public Radio that "President Voronin probably remembered that at one point I lent a helping hand to him when he was trying to form a majority after the last elections [Imedia: referring to 2005, when President Voronin had a falling out with the Russian leadership and turned to the West, declaring European integration as a national priority]. [...] This time, President Voronin cannot hope for my support in order to get the majority he needs to appoint a President."

Titus Corlatean, head of the Romanian Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee and a leading member of the Social Democratic Party, said Mr. Basescu's statements made him "a party to and responsible for the entire drama of Moldovan society in the last four years." The Social Democrats are currently in a grand coalition with the pro-presidential Democratic Liberal Party, but the two partners have not been getting along as the November presidential elections get closer.

The opposition National Liberal Party, also released a press statement calling Mr. Basescu's statement "a major foreign policy blunder" that could "place Romania in a delicate position within the European Union."

h/t www.jurnal.md
www.realitatea.tv

Opposition leaders meet again

ProTV evening news showed footage of three opposition leaders (the Liberal Democrats, the Liberals, and the Democrats) getting into their cars after a lunch meeting outside of Chisinau today. Marian Lupu, Democratic Party head, who recently left the Party of Communists, said that "nothing special" happened and that "talks are continuing."

The leader of the fourth opposition party - Serafim Urechean (Moldova Noastra-Our Moldova) - was on the phone with the other three leaders during the meeting.

First A(H1N1) influenza virus case confirmed in Moldova

Moldova's Health Ministry identified the first case of A(H1N1), also known as "swine flu," in the country. The announcement was made on July 30. The patient is a 24-year-old woman who recently returned from a two-week trip to several European countries.

Media outlets in Chisinau have also been talking about a second case.

Live-feeds from Moldova

Privesc.eu and Unimedia have been providing live feeds from press conferences and various other events in Moldova. It seems to have worked rather well so far. Unfortunately, the feeds don't come with simultaneous English-language coverage, but it gives anyone the opportunity to follow certain events in Moldova in real time.

Interview with acting President Vladimir Voronin on RFE/RL

Excerpt:

"Since we don’t have the majority necessary to elect a president, I think things will be very complicated. For one thing, they are going to promote themselves -- handsome, smart, and very principled. But when that doesn’t fly, they will begin fighting among themselves. We also know how to negotiate, how to conduct talks. We’ve been practicing for years. We know more or less how they survive and whom they intend to nominate. And we can also arrange a competition among them: let them fight for a while about unification and how to vote. We’ll see how it all shakes out."

Full interview here.