29/09/2012

Promoting a union with Romania has divided citizens and politicians in Moldova.

By Paul Ciocoiu for Southeast European Times in Bucharest — 29/09/12

Heavily guarded pro-union marchers on the streets in Chisinau. [Platforma Actiunea Civica 2012]

Chisinau, Balti, Cahul, Sibiu in the Republic of Moldova and Bucharest in neighbouring Romania for more than a year have been stages for protesters demanding that Moldova unify with Romania — polarising Moldovan society in the process.

Ten thousand gathered in Chisinau under heavy police protection on September 16th holding Romanian flags and pro-union banners.

During a pro-union march in August, union opponents hurled stones at the marchers, seriously wounding one person.

March organisers accused pro-Russia parties of orchestrating the attack.

“We will have the next unionist march in Bucharest on October 21st where we expect at least 1,500 people,” Iulia Modiga, spokesperson for Platforma Actiunea Civica 2012, an umbrella of more than 30 organsations that promote unification with Romania, told SETimes.

“If we did not truly believe in this objective, we would not be doing this. A union with Romania is a closer target than Moldova’s integration in the EU, only a few years away,” Modiga said.

Those in favor of separate Moldovan statehood and identity have reacted fiercely. They rejected claims that Moldovan politicians are afraid to speak up for fear of losing their jobs in a unified country.

Moldova Prime Minister Vlad Filat, who runs the pro-EU ruling coalition, recommended that organisers drop their plans to march and warned he will seek to outlaw them if they continue. But march organisers said they are pressing on.

Vitalia Pavlicenko, head of the National Liberal Party, a member of the tripartite ruling coalition, said the pro-union demands may have destructive effects.

“Let us not hide the fact that unionist marches do not go down well. They remind us of the possible demise of Moldova right at a time when it has resumed negotiations with Transdniestria, which separated under the pretext of fearing a union with Romania,” Pavlicenko said.

“It is difficult to negotiate Transdniestria’s return to Moldova while there are shouts of ‘Romania, Romania’ outside,” she added.

Moldova, also known as Bessarabia, was part of interbellum Greater Romania, which ceded that territory in 1940, following the signing of the Nazi Germany-USSR Ribbentrop-Molotov treaty.

Many Moldovans have devised a way to avoid the debate. A union may occur in the EU if Moldova is accepted as a member, they said.

But the unionists have gone further, raising the question of whether Moldova’s national language is Moldovan or Romanian. The ruling coalition has firmly rejected any calls for amending the constitution to satisfy the unionists’ demands.

The Moldovan media reflected the vigorous debate in the society and politics about the marches. “Are you for or against unionist marches?” Unimedia asked its readers.

Most bloggers appear to favor a union. “Pro-union! Pro-Romanian values; we were forcibly separated,” Paulyark, a visitor says.

“To be against union marchers equals denying your mother, father, brother and sister … which in the end does not annul the quality of being family member,” Liliancik said. “Be it good or bad, Romania is part of us … even if you are against it, you still have the same blood.”

“How many polls should be done for the politicians to understand that union is the desire of the majority?” Lupan asks.

• Print Version
• .