Activity of the President on October 26 – November 7, 2005

Decrees

The chief of state has awarded the Labour Glory order to new Finance Minister Mihail Pop, with only two weeks after appointment, on his 50th anniversary. The order was awarded for long work in public administration bodies, high professionalism and contribution to improvement of financial-economic system of the country.

The chief of state awarded the Civic Merit medal to Mr. Brock Bierman, director of the Department for Europe and Eurasia of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), for intense support for democratic reforms and social-economic actions in Moldova.

Statements. Sittings

Transnistrian authorities have sold weapons

Vladimir Voronin told a meeting with a group of Russian journalists that the Russian Federation supports Moldova’s eastern breakaway enclave of Transnistria, and this country must withdraw its ammunition from this region. The Moldovan president noted that he holds data confirming that Tiraspol had sold weapons to the regime of Saddam Hussein. Competent services are studying these documents from the chancellery of Saddam Hussein. The chief of state fell short of revealing how the Moldovan authorities have got these documents and if they notified the Russian authorities.

Vladimir Voronin accused some state institutions of the Russian Federation of supporting the Tiraspol regime directly or indirectly through their actions. He indicated among others the State Duma of the Russian Federation (which is not informed enough and passes different provocative decisions), Defence Ministry (which delivers statements on the process of pullout of Russian troops from Tiraspol), the Central Bank of Russia (which opened correspondent accounts for transnistrian banks), Chamber of Industry and Trade (which issues certificates for transnistrian production).

Interview for Комсомольская правда в Молдове

Vladimir Voronin commented on political developments in Moldova in an interview with the Russian-language paper mentioned above.

In particular, the chief of state expressed satisfaction with activity of the Parliament, which has become “a much stronger political centre than previously.” In addition, the Government must work more for modernisation. The president threw doubts on quality of economic growth, saying that there are no concrete accomplishments behind rise figures, the growth paces in agriculture and industry are on the decline, the number of jobs does not increase. He indicated the overestimation of accomplishments, faulty promotion of some reforms, including the regulation, among causes of this phenomenon.

Speaking about activity of law enforcement bodies and anti-corruption struggle, Vladimir Voronin said that there are some fields that require a more efficient work and a serious revision of health insurance sector, education in Chisinau, and activity of police bodies. At the same time, the chief of state said that he did not get involved in activity of law enforcement bodies, which undertook a number of holdings that mass media described as political persecutions, and he “personally will resist to transformation of anti-corruption fight into repressions.” On the other hand, Mr. Voronin expressed dissatisfaction with activity of the company Air Moldova and officers of the Centre for the Struggle Against Economic Crimes and Corruption who “have left for this direction,” but the president “has no intention to tolerate this situation.”

Speaking about relations with the Russian Federation, Voronin reiterated the statements that Russian authorities are misinformed and the transnistrian conflict will be settled in line with the Ukrainian plan warmed by Chisinau.

Speaking about the forthcoming municipal elections, the president expressed regret that Chisinau residents did not back a proposal of PCRM last summer and promised that central authorities will cooperate with any mayor-general, though he indicated “a fruitful cooperation with acting administration of the municipality.”

Describing the political consensus as a vital necessity for country development, Voronin said that authorities must pay a constructive attitude to key problems, though there are many grounds to reconsider the situation. He underlined that “those who aim at disappearance of Moldova from the world map, rather than those in the Parliament” represent the opposition in Moldova.

Criticism of president

The chief of state attended a sitting of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources on October 25, and demanded the ministry to review radically all principles and methods of activity. The ministry was told to overcome the “phase of findings and to get involved in real activities aimed to improve the sector of responsibility.” He indicated the improvement and modernisation of environment legislation, combat of constructions in green areas under the pretext of free fields in the old city planning plan of Chisinau, lack of initiative from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources for implementation of national and international programmes on environment protection, implementation of legislation in effect, in order to stop the pollution of atmosphere, waters, soil, degradation of flora and fauna among key problems related to activity of the Environment Ministry.
Participating in the October 26 cabinet sitting, the chief of state criticized the executive for low quality of economic growth, lack of initiative and poor execution discipline. He described any delay, manifestation of non-professionalism, any cases of meddling of some obscure interests admitted by executive as “anti-patriotic actions”. Voronin’s objections must be included in summary of a cabinet decision on governing programme called Modernisation of Country — Welfare of People.
Article 83, which awards the right to the chief of state to attend sittings of the cabinet of ministers and to chair the sittings he attends, as well as the right to consult the executive on urgent issues and problems of special importance, was excluded from the supreme law through the July 2000 amendments to Constitution, which determined the introduction of the parliamentary system of political governance. However, the constitutional theory and practice admits the participation of chief of state in cabinet sittings, in the virtue of his quality of president, guarantor of sovereignty, national independence, territorial unity and integrity of the country (Article 77 of Moldovan Constitution).
Vladimir Voronin attended on October 27 an enlarged sitting of the Prosecutor-General’s Office that the prosecutor-general convoked at the initiative of the chief of state. The president warned the prosecutor’s office representatives over “need to respect the legislation and fundamental human rights through use of process restriction measures — preventive holding and arrest.” He bitterly criticized these practices applied by law enforcement bodies, saying that “the preventive arrest must not turn into evidence or penal punishment.”
The convocation of prosecutors and other representatives of law enforcement bodies and bitter criticism against their activity come shortly after a series of what mass media described as political arrests and after the European Court of Human Rights has sentenced Moldova for illegal detention of some persons.
According to existing data, the penitentiary # 3 in the Chisinau municipality holds 559 persons (including 230 for more than 3 months, 132 more than 6 months, 155 for more than one year), and most of them are detained for a long time because the court is hardly examining their cases. Judges working in the Chisinau municipality have told a recent special sitting of the Supreme Court of Justice that negligent attitude of lawyers and prosecutors, insufficient court halls, translators and court clerks are among main causes that delay the lawsuits. The Supreme Court of Justice adopted a series of recommendations for heads of courts, including on “constructive cooperation” with prosecutor’s office bodies, police and the bar in the process of presentation of evidence on time.
Participating in a meeting of republican sport staff in physical training and sport sector, which took place on October 29, the chief of state described the situation in this field as complicated enough. Voronin named the shortcomings related to organisation of physical training in secondary education, unsatisfactory health condition of children and youths.
The chief of state accused sport federations of admitting cases of trafficking in human beings and demanded the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport to take efficient measures against this phenomenon.

Meetings. Working visits

The Moldovan president attended a meeting with a group of lawmakers of the Popular Assembly of the administrative territorial unit Gagauzia who proposed the amendment of legislation of autonomy, in particular, the provisions on election of Gagauzian governor. According to this initiative, the Popular Assembly will elect the governor and this would adjust the Gagauzian legislation to constitutional norms of Moldova and would allow a substantial reduction of budgetary means needed for organisation and conduct of elections, lawmakers said. The representatives of Gagauzia noted that this initiative “was inspired among others with political consensus established in the Moldovan Parliament after election of chief of state.”

According to Voronin, the proposed amendments can be accepted only after consultation of opinion of the entire population of Gagauzia at a referendum, in order to avoid destabilisation of social-political situation in the autonomy.

It is important to highlight that the situation in the Gagauzian autonomy presents some signs of tension, being registered attempts on certain members of the Popular Assembly, as for example, the house of chairman of this representative structure Stepan Esir, leader of Communists in the autonomy, was the target of a grenade attempt.

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