Sunday, August 12, 2007

Moldovans Leaving for Romania? Part 2

This news is far from impartial, since it comes from the Pro-Transnistria Tiraspol Times. But still.....

Chisinau organizations support merger with Romania; calling Moldova "failed state"
TransnistriaComing out in support of Romania's desire for reunification of Moldova and Romania, civil society groups in Moldova publicly issued statements calling Moldova a failed state, insolvent and on its way to bankruptcy. Its only future, the groups say, is to join Romania as one country.

CHISINAU (Tiraspol Times) - Following similar statements by Romanian president Traian Băsescu, leaders of civil society groups in Moldova today called for a reunification of the two countries, publicly declaring that Moldova is insolvent and needs to join with Romania in order to survive.

To support reunification efforts, civil society leaders created a committee to support the Romanian president's efforts for reuniting the two countries. The committee is founded by the Unionists of Moldova, the Romanian Democratic Forum of Moldova, the Union of Romanians of Bessarabia, North Bukovina and Hertza, and the Romanian National Party of Moldova.

Reunification would fit with shared historical past

In its first public statement, issued 13 July in Chisinau, the joint committee noted that "Moldova is insolvent and virtually a bankrupt state, which cannot exist on its own without integration into the European and Euro-Atlantic structures. The integration of Moldova into the European Union is possible only when when it again becomes the part of Romania."

The committe plans a "Great National Reunion" for 29 October in downtown Chisinau to support statements made to the same effect by the President of Romania. It states that "after the reunification of Germany, Romania now remains the only country in Europe which is still divided into two parts".

The move to a joint state would match historical precedence, as historically the two countries have consistently been united as one. When Moldova achieved independent statehood in 1991, it was widely believed that it would soon reunited with Romania; having traditionally been part of Romania for most of its history. Moldova and Romania share the same language, culture and ethnic composition, in contrast to Pridnestrovie which was never part of Romania at any time in history.

US report also classifies Moldova as failed state

Civil society in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, are not the only organizations calling attention to the "failed state" status of their country. The statement comes just weeks after a similar report was issued in Washington D.C., officially placing Moldova on the Failed State Index. The index, which ranked Moldova alongside a number of African and Central American state failures, is a list of places with serious governance problems.

Pridnestrovie - or Transnistria, as it is also sometimes called - was never part of Romania. In 2500 years of history, the territory to the east of the Dniester River has never been part of Romania or any independent Moldovan state. It has a majority Slavic population with a different culture and language than Moldova and Romania.

Recognizing its separate and independent history, past proposals from the Moldovan parliament have guaranteed the right of secession to Pridnestrovie in case of reunification of Romania and Moldova. But in a statement to Tiraspol Times, a government official from Pridnestrovie, speaking off the record, points out that Moldova's parliament forgets an important historical fact:
" - The Republic of Moldova pretends to give us something which is not theirs to give. By the time the Republic of Moldova was formed (in 1991, ed.), Pridnestrovie had already declared its independence (in 1990, ed.) in accordance with international law. The fact that they did not recognize our declaration did not in itself make it invalid or less legal. We were never part of the independent Republic of Moldova, so it is ridiculous for them to talk of their territorial integrity or of granting us the right to secede from something which we were never part of in the first place."

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