HAPPENING THIS WEEK

Greetings from Chişinău! Here’s what’s happening this week: Our feature story takes us to Constituency 18, Orhei, where locals are coming to terms with the fact that their parliamentary deputy, Ilan Shor, has fled the country after being convicted of money laundering and fraud. In this week’s editorials, our Executive Director takes a look at Vlad Plahotniuc’s resignation letter to parliament, while our Politics Editor asks some questions of the ACUM Bloc. Meanwhile, ZdG’s Editor-in-Chief tells us what Moldova can learn from the tragic killings in Romania’s town of Caracal. In the Foreign Brief, we share Prime Minister Sandu’s plans for her upcoming official visit to Moscow and mark the twenty-seventh anniversary of the Moldovan Security Zone’s Joint Peacekeeping Forces. We also examine the criminal case initiated in response to the expulsion of seven Turkish teachers from Moldova, as well as the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) case of Andrei Năstase vs. Moldova. Plus we explain the latest amendments to Moldova’s Electoral Code, which recently passed in their second parliamentary reading. As always, we have our weekly roundup of news and analysis about Moldova from around the world. And don’t forget to like our new English-language Facebook page for the latest updates from ZDG throughout the week. Happy reading!  

THIS WEEK’S FEATURE

“SO WHAT IF HE STOLE?”: Ilan Shor may have fled Moldova illegally, but he’s still a parliamentary deputy representing Constituency 18 – Orhei. So to find out what the people who voted for him think of his recent conviction for money laundering and fraud, ZdG travelled to Shor’s constituency to meet them. While many residents were aware of the charges against him, few believed Shor had truly done anything wrong. Some remained skeptical because, as one man put it, “one doesn’t flee without reason.” But pensioners were often especially supportive and said they would vote for Shor again, even knowing the criminal charges he’s received. “There are many [politicians] who stole money, maybe he stole it too. Even if he did it, I trust him. That’s our conviction,” one woman told ZdG. “He did not run away, he will come back and fulfill his promises.”

FROM THE EDITORS

PLAHOTNIUC RESIGNS: After fleeing the country last month Democratic Party leader and oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc finally broke his silence on Tuesday with a Facebook message and an official letter to Parliament. This was Plahotniuc’s way of submitting his resignation as a parliamentary deputy, but according ZdG’s Executive Director Alina Radu, “It is obvious that, having disappeared, Plahotniuc is not definitively gone. He is still working in Moldova.” 

QUESTIONS FOR ACUM: With Vlad Plahotniuc and the Democratic Party all but out of the picture, the biggest threat in Moldovan politics seems to have been removed. But while this was going on, President Igor Dodon of the pro-Russian Socialist Party was working to consolidate his hold on state institutions. “If this is the price of the alleged ‘de-oligarchization,’ then Moldovans have to be asked if they agree to pay this price,”  ZdG Politics Editor Petru Grozavuwarns.

CARACAL CASE: The small town of Caracal has become the crime capital of Romania after a number of young women became the victims of an alleged serial killer. To this day no one knows the exact number of women that have been killed or the place where they died – highlighting the shortcomings of regional law enforcement. And as Moldova seeks to reform its institutions – including the police and the Prosecutor’s Office – the Caracal case underscores the need for personnel changes that are justified, objective and well founded, argues ZdG Editor-in-Chief Aneta Grosu.

THE FOREIGN BRIEF

NEXT STOP MOSCOW: Moldova’s Prime Minister Maia Sandu is planning an official visit to Moscow in September, at the invitation of her Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev. A joint intergovernmental meeting is set to take place between the two countries that month, to discuss the entire spectrum of their bilateral agenda. Key issues to be considered include trade, Transnistria and the supply of Russian natural gas to Moldova, among other things. President Igor Dodon will also be returning to Russia at the end of August. 

TROUBLED PEACEKEEPING: July 31, 2019 marked 27 years since the creation of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces in the Moldovan Security Zone. In that time, the peacekeeping operation has been criticized for failing to contribute to the settlement of the frozen conflict or address the problems that the Moldovan authorities and the populations on the two banks of the Nistru River face. What’s more, the mission – made up of military divisions from Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and the Transnistrian region – does not comply with the UN’s peacekeeping standards of conduct. The involvement of Russia, a party to the Transnistrian conflict, as a peacekeeper is also questionable. And the ECHR has taken on multiple cases regarding abuses at the hands of peacekeeping forces. As a result, the role of the mission remains contested.

TURKISH TEACHERS: Moldova’s Prosecutor General’s Office has announced a criminal case in response to the abuse of power and overstepping of authority that took place during the forced expulsion of seven Turkish teachers in September 2018. The case was initiated after the ECHR condemned Moldova for violating the rights of the Turkish citizens, obliging the country to  pay a total of €125,000 in damages to five of the seven teachers involved. Meanwhile, Balkan Insight reports that Turkey has sentenced another one of the deported teachers to 12 years in prison. 

NĂSTASE VS. MOLDOVA: The ECHR has begun examining the case of  Andrei Năstase vs. Moldova, regarding the invalidation of the June 2018 mayoral election results in Chişinău. A magistrate from the Chişinău Court dismissed the results of the election because of a Facebook post from the now Deputy Prime Minister urging people to go to the polling stations on election day. The court qualified Năstase’s message as an illegal act of electoral campaigning during the election day period of silence. The ECHR has addressed questions to both parties regarding the violation of articles of the Convention on Human Rights related to freedom of expression.

ZDG INVESTIGATES

ELECTION UPDATES: During the Parliament’s last meeting of the Spring-Summer session, Moldova’s deputies voted in the second reading a draft law that amends the Electoral Code. On July 31, the deputies voted in favor of revoking the mixed electoral system, banning campaigning on election day and changing diaspora-related voting procedures. As a result, the next parliamentary elections should be based on a proportional voting system and party lists. But the deputies will have to approve all of these amendments in a final reading. ZdG breaks down what these changes could mean for Moldova’s next election.

MOLDOVA IN WORLD NEWS

ANTI-GRAFT CHIEF: A former advisor to President Igor Dodon has been appointed as the new head of Moldova’s National Anti-Corruption Centre (CNA). As Balkan Insight reports, Ruslan Flocea is the third former advisor to the pro-Russian President to take up a top position in the state under the new government. Flocea was also investigated for corruption-related crimes under the Communist-led government, but insists that he plans to depoliticize the CNA and ensure its independence. 

TIRASPOL & OSCE: The OSCE may be the leading international actor involved in the conflict management and resolution process in the Transnistrian region, but they’re often met with impunity, explains Vladimir Socor in his latest analysis for the Jamestown Foundation’s Eurasia Daily Monitor. “With Moscow’s support, Tiraspol is continually stretching the limits of the OSCE’s tolerance of Transnistrian breaches of the ground rules of this process.”

NATIONAL PRIORITIES: The International Republican Institute has published the results of their latest nationwide poll of Moldova, which was conducted prior to the formation of the new coalition government in June. The results indicate that citizens think economic issues and public service delivery at all levels should be the top priorities for the new politicians in power. 

HUMAN RIGHTS: Interested in human rights promotion in Moldova? Meduza Managing Editor Kevin Rothrock has got you covered with this episode of The Russia Guy podcast. He  interviews Gina S. Lentine, Senior Program Officer for Europe and Eurasia at Freedom House, on the work the organization is doing to support the advancement of freedom of expression  in Moldova.

SPOTTED THIS WEEK

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HUMAN TRAFFICKING: To mark the World Day Against Human Trafficking on July 30, the U.S. Embassy in Moldova hosted the OSCE Mission in Moldova, IOM Moldova, representatives of the Moldovan Government and the La Strada center for the unveiling of “Invisible in Plain Sight” – an art installation based on the real-life stories of human trafficking victims. That same day, IOM Moldova, the Moldovan Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Protection and the National Agency for Social Assistance signed a Memorandum of Understanding on U.S. Government assistance for the development  of specialized services for male trafficking victims specifically. 

WELCOME HOME: On July 31, Moldovan Troops returned home from military exercises at the National Training Center of the U.S. Army in Fort Irwin, California. Moldova’s Prime Minister Maia Sandu, Defense Minister Pavel Voicu and U.S. Ambassador to Chișinău Dereck J. Hogan welcomed home 102 Moldovan soldiers following the largest dislocation of Moldovan troops outside of Europe since the country’s independence. This took place on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the partnership between Moldova’s Armed Forces and the National Guard of North Carolina, who also attended the event. 

NATO MEETING: Kristina Baleisyte, Head of the NATO Liaison Office in Moldova, met with the country’s Defense Minister Pavel Voicu, on August 1. The two officials discussed the different initiatives, programs and partnerships between Moldova and NATO, designed to offer assistance and expertise in the framework of the National Army’s modernization process. 

EDUCATION: The Japanese Embassy in Moldova invested over $100,000 in the renovation of a Chișinău kindergarten. Japanese Ambassador to Moldova, Masanobu Yoshii declared that Japan will continue to directly support efforts to develop the educational system in the country and to help improve the quality of life in Moldova.

Thank you for your continued interest! To keep up with our Moldova coverage throughout the week, you can like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @ZiarulDe or check in at zdg.md/eng for our latest stories in English. More subscription options coming soon. Until next week!

– Daniela Bechet,  Cristina Carmanu, Maksym Eristavi, Eilish Hart and others from the ZdG Newsroom. Created with support from the Russian Language News Exchange.